In a letter published on July 8, 2024, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, authorized the promotion of the Italian Marian apparitions known as the "Mystical Rose of Fontanelle" – or the "Madonna of Montichiari." The Dicastery thus granted the "nulla osta" (no objection – essentially, the green light) to these apparitions, and permitted public worship of the Marian devotion tied to the messages received in 1947 and 1966 by the seer Pierina Gilli. This approval also allows churches and sacred places to be dedicated to this specific devotion, along with the corresponding image. Cardinal Fernández's letter states that there are "no negative moral or other critical aspects. On the contrary, several positive aspects can be found."
More recently, on April 14, 2025, a statue of the Virgin Mary—gifted by Pope Francis—was inaugurated by Cardinal Fernández in the Vatican Gardens. It depicts the Virgin with three roses, as she is said to have appeared to Pierina Gilli on July 13, 1947.
Montichiari, a town in the Diocese of Brescia, Lombardy, was visited multiple times by the Virgin Mary in 1947. She appeared to Pierina Gilli, a young woman, asked to be invoked under the title Rosa Mystica (Mystical Rose), and delivered several messages, including the one concerning the "Hour of Grace" on December 8, 1947.
Pierina lived a very simple life until her death in 1991 at the age of 80. Her mystical experiences span two main periods: the first in 1947, when the Virgin is said to have appeared to her under the titles "Mystical Rose" and "Mother of the Church." Pierina said she saw three roses—white, red, and yellow—on Mary's white robe, symbolizing prayer, penance, and suffering.
Born August 3, 1911, in Montichiari, Pierina was the eldest of nine children in a farming family. Her father died upon returning from World War I in 1918. She was targeted with pedophilic advances by a relative of a widow and had to muster all her strength to escape her abuser, who threatened, "If you speak, I'll kill you." Her resistance led others to wrongly label her as disobedient and stubborn.
When her mother found out, Pierina decided to become a nun. However, her fragile health prevented her, despite numerous attempts. During World War II, she served at the Desenzano Civil Hospital, run by the Servants of Charity. On April 14, 1944, at age 33, she was accepted as a postulant with the same order and sent to work as a nurse at the children's hospital in Brescia.
On December 1, 1944, she contracted meningitis and was expected to die. But on December 17, 1944, Mary Crucified di Rosa (1813–1855, canonized in 1954), founder of the Servants of Charity, appeared and healed her. Her condition worsened again in July, and by December, her prognosis was dire. Yet by late April 1946, she returned to work at the Montichiari hospital. In November 1946, she suffered a relapse with a severe intestinal blockage, requiring emergency surgery.
Once again at death's door, Pierina had a vision during the night of November 23–24. Mary Crucified di Rosa appeared to her again and pointed to a corner of the room. Pierina, fully awake and with clear perception, recounts:
"I then saw [...] a very beautiful lady, transparent, wearing violet garments with a white veil that flowed from her head to her feet. She was transparent. She opened her arms, and I saw three swords piercing her chest at heart level.'It's the Madonna,'the foundress told me."
The apparition asked her to offer prayers and sacrifices for religious souls who betray their vocation, to make reparation for mortal sins, and for priests who dishonor their ministry. "She especially asked me for the sanctification of priests. If they are holy, many souls will be sanctified." Inviting prayer and penance, the Virgin asked to be venerated under the title "Mystical Rose."
On June 1, 1947, the Virgin appeared again. This time, she was not transparent but physically present, with three roses arranged horizontally on her chest: white, red, and yellow. When Pierina asked their meaning, she was told:
• The white rose symbolizes prayer;
• The pink (or red) rose, reparation;
• The yellow-golden rose, the spirit of sacrifice.
On July 13, the Madonna clarified further:
• The white rose symbolizes the spirit of prayer to make reparation for offenses by consecrated people who do not live their vocation sincerely;
• The red rose, the spirit of sacrifice for sins of consecrated people living in mortal sin;
• The golden-yellow rose, the spirit of immolation to make reparation for priests who betray their vocation, particularly to obtain their sanctification.
Only if these three roses are offered with love will the three swords fall from the Virgin's Heart.
On that same July 13, the Madonna revealed:
"I am the Mother of Jesus and your Mother. The Lord sends me to promote deeper Marian devotion in religious institutes [...] and among priests. I promise to all who honor my protection a renewal of vocations, less apostasy, and a great longing for holiness. Let the 13th of each month be a day of prayer to Mary, prepared by twelve days of devotion. I will pour out abundant graces and vocations on that day."
On November 22, 1947, Our Lady announced she would appear again in the Montichiari Cathedral. Upon hearing this, thousands gathered at the specified time.
During the sixth apparition on December 7, 1947, before a packed cathedral, the Virgin appeared wearing a white cloak held on the right by a boy and on the left by a girl, both also dressed in white. She announced:
"Tomorrow I will show my Immaculate Heart, so little known to mankind… At Fatima, I asked for devotion to my Heart's consecration. Here in Montichiari, I want that same devotion—as Mystical Rose—joined with the veneration of my Immaculate Heart to be deepened […], so that consecrated souls may receive more graces from my motherly Heart."
When Pierina asked, "Who are the children with you?" Mary answered: "Jacinta and Francisco [two of the three Fatima seers]. They will now be your companions in your tribulations. They too suffered greatly, though they were much younger than you. See, what I want from you is simplicity and kindness like theirs."
The Hour of Grace
The next day, December 8, 1947, the Virgin appeared:
"On a great white staircase adorned with white, red, and golden roses on both sides," smiling and saying, "I am the Immaculate Conception."
As she began descending the steps, she added:
"I am Mary of Grace, the Mother of my divine Son, Jesus Christ. […] Here in Montichiari, I wish to be called Mystical Rose. I desire that each year, on December 8 at noon, the Hour of Grace be celebrated for the whole world. Many graces will be granted through this devotion. Inform Pope Pius XII as soon as possible that this is my wish: that the Hour of Grace be known and spread throughout the world. Whoever cannot go to church should pray at home at noon and will receive my graces. Whoever prays here, weeping in repentance, will find a sure path and receive protection and grace from my motherly Heart."
She then showed her Heart and said: "See this Heart, which loves mankind so much, yet is burdened by their insults! When the good and the wicked unite in a single prayer, they will obtain mercy and peace from this Heart."
That day, three extraordinary healings took place:
1. A five-year-old boy with polio who had never walked suddenly stood and walked without aids or braces.
2. A 26-year-old woman, gravely ill with tuberculosis and unable to speak, was healed.
3. A 36-year-old person, suffering from serious brain issues and chronic incontinence, was instantly and permanently healed nearby.
Also on December 8, 1947, at 1 p.m. in L'Île-Bouchard, France, the Virgin Mary appeared to three children, asking them to pray for the salvation of France.
Bishop Giacinto Tredici of Brescia initially investigated quietly. Due to the crowds, he asked Pierina in May 1949 to avoid public appearances and retire to a Franciscan convent in Giglio di Brescia as a simple servant. Her exile lasted 19 years, during which she never disobeyed Church authorities.
Though it seemed the messages and apparitions had ended, the local clergy gradually assumed care of the emerging pilgrimage. As always, time proved essential. In the following months, spiritual fruits abounded: renewed faith, rosary devotion, conversions, healings, vocations... The crowds never stopped. Pierina eventually returned.
In 1966, the second series of apparitions took place at Fontanelle, in the Montichiari countryside. On April 17, 1966, Pierina prayed at a grotto with a spring. The Virgin appeared and said:
"My Divine Son, all Love, sends me to make this spring miraculous, as a sign of purification and penance. Let all the sick ask my Son's forgiveness with a kiss of love before drinking from this source."
On May 13, she asked that the spring be called the "Source of Grace" and that a basin be built to welcome all her children, especially the sick.
On June 9, the Feast of Corpus Domini, Pierina saw the Mystical Rose again in the wheat fields. The Virgin asked that this wheat be made into Eucharistic bread:
"How I long for this wheat to become Eucharistic Bread… through so many reparative Communions."
On August 6, Feast of the Transfiguration, Mary asked for a World Day of Reparative Communion to be celebrated each year on October 13.
Though cautious, the Bishop of Brescia eventually permitted prayer gatherings at Fontanelle and authorized the distribution of Pierina's messages.
Construction of a sanctuary began in 1966. The site was designed not as a traditional church, but as an open amphitheater, with one chapel for the Eucharist and another protecting the spring.
The fame of Montichiari-Fontanelle soon spread beyond Italy. Since 1949, Bishop Zheng of Fuzhou (China) has promoted the messages as a spiritual support during his 18 years in forced labor camps. Today, there is a Rosa Mystica shrine in Fujian, China.
Since 1990, the Rosa Mystica Association of Fontanelle—under ecclesiastical oversight—has promoted this Marian devotion in some 20 countries.
Pierina's life and the messages she received have been carefully examined by the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. Reports unanimously affirm her psychological and physical health and the authenticity of her experiences. In 2018, a thorough theological analysis found the messages fully aligned with Catholic doctrine and exemplary in spiritual and moral content. Finally, on July 8, 2024, the Vatican officially authorized promotion of the Marian apparitions of the Madonna of Montichiari.
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