I AM BLACK AND BEAUTIFUL.

“I am black and beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.” – Song of Solomon 1:5

The Black Madonna of Foggia: My Italy Pilgrimage

Last January I was booked, and en route to San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. To live like a monk, simply, in a beautiful little room with only a bed and Crucifix. To stand and pray, and walk and cry, where St. Padre Pio did all of the above. To attend Mass in the same chapel where he said the Mass. To sit amongst the nuns. To sit by his tomb. To visit Gargano, the Cave of St. Michael the Archangel where St. Francis visited (outside- he said he didn’t feel worthy of going inside). But I was already at the airport when I found out why else I was called to that remote part of the world, and who was calling.

The Mother of God.

On my way, in a book I’d had for a long time but had never read, I thumbed past a page that said, ‘The Black Madonna of Foggia’. Foggia was the province I was heading to and hadn’t heard of until a few weeks prior. I definitely didn’t know they had their own version of Lourdes there- they call it the Italian Lourdes. An ancient statue of Mother Mary that dated back to the 1100s. You can read more about it here. But it’s not the details for me.

It’s always the ‘my steps are guided’… He’s calling before I can even hear… I can’t misstep. Everything I did in my life to bring me to that moment of booking to travel to Foggia, Italy, wasn’t just for the obvious- to get closer to Padre Pio. But to come to the church that was built on the land where Mother Mary appeared. And of course, I walked in with my driver, and there was no one else there. That’s how my life works.

God knows I don’t do well with crowds or waiting lol. I’ve been to Kainchi Dham in India (Neem Karoli Baba’s ashram) twice. Once, I went during the biggest celebration of the year, and it was a ghost town. 2-5 people at most. Even during the celebration where the line was miles to get in. When I decided to walk down the hill to visit the temple, the crowd had diminished. There was no line. I walked right through, and as I exited, the line re-appeared and was growing greatly. Now there’s droves of people pilgrimaging there, even today!

I walked into that church in Italy about 45 minutes away from Padre Pio’s home church, and there was no one there but the attendant, and my driver friend, and then later one other tourist. Grace. Again, I still don’t even know all the details of this Marian apparition, but people leave the church blessed, healed, seeing and walking where they once couldn’t see or walk. Jesus, Mary, Holy Oil. I purchased several items on location, had them blessed, and brought them home. This image sat on my mother’s altar until I borrowed it back haha a few weeks ago for inspiration. She sits near my mic and sometimes near my bed. I’m getting some rosaries tomorrow and I’ll place them near her and do a giveaway.

I Love you,

nik

Pictures I took while at the church in Foggia-