Our Lady of the Valley

https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/our-lady-of-the-valley.html 

April 8: Our Lady of the Valley, Sicily (1040)

The Sicilian shrine to Our Lady of the Valley, or of the Green Valley, (Our Lady of Valverde) is said to have originated about year 1040.

According to tradition, a soldier named Dionysius remained behind on island of Sicily to engage in banditry, having been enticed by wealth on island & his greed for money he felt he could easily steal from others.

Assault, theft & murder meant nothing to him. Dionysius found a cave in which to hide, & then lurked in shadows of thick woods along path that led from Catania to Aci.
Dionysius was so active that this region near Mount Etna soon became infamous as scene of robberies, violence & even murder.

At that time there was a certain man named Giles who lived in city of Catania.
In course of business it became necessary for him to make dangerous trip to Aci.
Now, while Giles was aware of danger, he was a pious man who was greatly devoted to Blessed Virgin Mary, & he was absolutely convinced that she'd watch out over him on his journey.

As Giles passed through wood beneath Mount Etna, (which is actually a volcano) a bandit barred his way & threatened his life with a dagger.

Suddenly earth shook violently & a globe of blinding light appeared nearby.
From within light a woman’s voice could be heard:

“Dionysisus, Dionysius, don't touch my devotee.”

The assassin’s arm was frozen by command.
He turned & looked around at light.

“Lay down that weapon – & cease this life of banditry.”

At these words Dionysius saw in a flash monstrosity of what had been his life passing before his eyes. Throwing away his knife, he humbly acknowledged the errors of his former life & prostrated himself at feet of his intended victim, begging his forgiveness.

Dionysus retreated alone to his cave to weep over his sins.
Knowing his sincerity, Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him where he lived to comfort him.

She urged him to trust in goodness & mercy of God & go at once to confession.
She also requested that a church be built on hill of Valverde with wealth Dionysius had obtained through his life of crime.

Within a few days word got out about what had happened, & faithful from Aci processed to hill of Valverde.
Once on hill they observed a noisy flock of cranes hovering in sky before landing on a particular clearing nearby.

Taking it as a sign, bandit turned hermit began work of constructing chapel on that very spot.
Although he began working immediately, & with impressive fervor, progress soon came to a halt due to lack of a water supply.

Dionysius turned in prayer to Virgin Mary, who once again appeared to order that a pickaxe be used to strike at base of rock forming entrance to bandit’s cave.
The result of blow was a trickle of water that formed a pool sufficient not only for continuation of work, but also proved to be miraculous, as it soon became a source of healing for many of sick who came & drank there.

So many people came to assist that work that had begun in year 1038 was finished only 2 years later.

Dionysius kept the faith & continued to live on Valverde as a hermit.
One night he was rapt in prayer when he was struck by an intense beam of light & saw a cloud in which Madonna appeared surrounded by heavenly angels.

The light dispersed as cloud rose toward heaven, revealing a magnificent image of Blessed Virgin & her Divine Son imprinted on rough wall of a pillar of the church.

The image, now known as Our Lady of the Valley, depicts Virgin Mary seated & wearing a robe with gold accents. Her head is covered with a veil, although Mary’s hair can be seen framing her face.
With her right hand she holds Divine Child, who is seated upon a red & gold cushion.
He has curly hair, & is dressed in a white tunic.
His right hand is raised in blessing, while other rests upon a small crane that seems to hide behind Virgin’s left hand.

In year 1565 a group of Christian soldiers stopped here to invoke aid of Our Lady of the Valley while on their way to island of Malta.
Suleiman the Magnificent was about to lay siege to island fortress with countless thousands of his finest warriors, while only 600 knights of St. John would stand against them to defend the stronghold.

These Christian soldiers were same who'd later operate cannon that fired round that mortally wounded infamous pirate commander Dragut Rais.
A votive offering of 2 iron cannon balls now hang to left of altar as testimony & thanksgiving for the assistance of Mother of God during that siege.

The feast of Our Lady of the Valley is kept throughout 3 dioceses of Sicily