To the Sanctuary of Oropa

 

The Sanctuary of Oropa is located in the city of Biella (Piedmont) and is one of the most important places of Marian worship in northern Italy. It stands at 1159 metres above sea level, along the mountain itinerary that connects the Biellese with the Valle d'Aosta, and from there one can admire the splendid panorama of Biella and, on clear days, the wide expanse of the Piedmont and Lombardy plains.

The grandiose complex comprises two churches, the chapels of Sacro Monte and the buildings used to welcome pilgrims.

The Sanctuary dates back to the mid 4th century and one cannot fail to make reference to the distinguished figure of the bishop and martyr Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, at the time when he was condemned to exile by the Roman Emperor Constantius II in Scythopolis, Israel, because he was a strenuous defender of Catholic orthodoxy against the Arian heresy.

When Emperor Constantius died, his successor was Julian the Apostate, who made a decree that Eusebius should return to his see in Vercelli. The latter, however, decided to visit Palestine before returning to his diocese. In the city of Jerusalem, he became aware of a particular place where three statues depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary were buried. According to a very ancient tradition, they had been sculpted by St Luke the Evangelist. The three statues were hidden there in the period before the siege of the Holy City. St Eusebius had them unearthed and took them away with him. He donated one statue to Cagliari, as he was born in Sardinia; another he took to the mountain of Crea, in Monferrato (Piedmont), and the last statue he decided to place in the cathedral of Vercelli.

The bishop was unsuccessful, as the persecutions of the Arians soon began again. He was thus forced to leave Vercelli and sought refuge in the mountains where the Sanctuary of Oropa stands today, as all that territory was part of his diocese. In his hasty escape, Saint Eusebius took with him the third statue of the Black Madonna and placed it in the void formed by two large erratic boulders that stood in that area. Later, a small chapel, called the ‘Chapel of the Rock’, was built on that spot to commemorate that event, and it is the one that stands on the east side of the Sanctuary, near the New Church. Later, the holy bishop had a chapel built on the right side of the Oropa stream, so as to give the statue a worthy location. According to tradition, he was then able to return to Vercelli, and left his clerics there, but from time to time he would return to the mountains of Oropa to venerate the sacred Effigy.

At the time the Saint arrived in the area, the local population was still strongly pagan. In fact, there is historical evidence that rites dedicated to Epona, the Celtic goddess of horses and mules, were particularly frequent throughout the area.

Superstitious customs, therefore, were very deeply rooted in the people and that situation constituted a not inconsiderable obstacle for Saint Eusebius. Therefore, all his charisma was needed to eradicate most of those beliefs that had been widespread for millennia among all those populations derived from the Celts and still firmly tied to the polytheism practised in the Roman Empire.

Not even the advent of Christianity succeeded in completely eradicating certain ritual acts, although they were transformed into a kind of Christian fervour and accompanied by prayers.

Large erratic boulders were piled up against each other around the ‘Chapel of the Rock’ and were the site of pagan cults by the Celto-Ligurian people living there.

The cavern, called balma, indicates the passage from which a route flowed downwards before the Romans conquered the Oropa basin.

When the boulders were subjected to a thorough examination, sketched crosses appeared under the various lichen substrata, a clear indication of an act that underwent a process of conversion to Christianity of the entire surrounding area and led to the disappearance of the cult of the goddess Matrona of Celtic mythology dwelling near the caves and springs.

In the meantime, the population of Biella began to go up to Oropa more and more frequently, with the intention of venerating the sacred Statue, attracted, above all, by the increasingly frequent news of graces received through the intercession of the Black Madonna.

Due to the large influx of pilgrims, several buildings were built around the chapel to house the religious and others as asylum for the pilgrims themselves, coming not only from nearby Biella, but also from neighbouring places.

At a certain point, changes took place: the monks of St Eusebius were replaced by monks belonging to the Order of St Benedict and later by monks of the Cistercian Order.

After several vicissitudes, in the 15th century, Pope Pius II, through his Decree, associated the Sacred Mount of Oropa and all the properties of the priories of Santa Maria di Oropa and San Bartolomeo to the Chapter of the Cathedral of Santo Stefano in Biella.

In the 16th century, the Biellese was struck by a terrible scourge: the plague. The disease spread to affect large numbers of people. The city of Biella vowed to Our Lady of Oropa, asking for the grace to stop this terrible calamity. Within a short time, the infectious disease ceased, while in all the neighbouring towns it caused a massacre.

The city, the Cathedral Chapter, all the clergy and the people of Biella decided to be grateful to the Holy Virgin of Oropa for having escaped the grave danger and so, in 1600, they undertook the construction of a new church at Oropa. The old one of Santa Maria, built by the Benedictines, was demolished and the Basilica Antica was built, which houses the precious Eusebian Sacellum, which has remained intact. Inside the Sacellum, the Statue of the Black Madonna is kept.

After the construction of the church, thought had to be given to the planning and subsequent construction of a new and wider road from Biella to the Sanctuary. The people of Biella committed themselves admirably, competing in offerings and free labour, and so in less than three years the road was built.

In the meantime, the idea of honouring the Madonna with a solemn coronation of the sacred Statue came forward. The first solemn coronation took place on 30 August 1620; it has taken place every hundred years since that date.

In the 17th century, Charles Emmanuel I and his son Victor Amadeus I, Dukes of Savoy, allocated a large sum of money to the Sanctuary to construct an imposing building, called the Royal Pavilion. From that moment on, many noble families from Biella also took action, with the aim of constructing other buildings around the Sanctuary. Later, thanks to further conspicuous donations from the House of Savoy, the façade was built to the design of architect Filippo Juvarra.

At the same time, Biella and other municipalities began the construction of the Chapels, which, surrounding the Sanctuary, create a beautiful overall effect.

Maria Apollonia and Francesca Caterina di Savoia founded the institution of the ‘Daughters of Mary of Oropa’, a group of women who still dedicate themselves to the needs of the Sanctuary's church, the care of linen and the repair of sacred vestments.

The symbol par excellence of Oropa is the famous Bôrnell, which stands in the centre of the cloister around the Basilica Antica. Its basin is enclosed by eight panels of serizzo, a very common rock in the Oropa basin. From the bottom of the basin, in the centre, rises a supporting element, also octagonal, supported by a plinth. It is very turned and looks like the calyx of a flower with its own stem. Resting on it is a large monolithic bowl covering the basin, from which dangle ladles, the cassuij, from which countless pilgrims over the centuries have found refreshment by drinking the very cool water gushing from the mouths of four bizarre mostacci.

The thaumaturge Effigy of the Madonna of Oropa is depicted standing with the Child Jesus seated on her left arm and is shown with his right hand blessing her, while holding a small bird in his left hand. In her right hand, the Virgin holds a golden apple, surmounted by a cross and leaves made of precious stones, and wears a long golden dress with a belt at waist level. The sacred Statue depicts Our Lady in the act of advancing with a solemn and majestic movement, placing her left foot forward, while her right foot, obviously left behind, is slightly raised.

Although tradition claims that it was St. Luke the Evangelist who sculpted the Statue, more recent studies assert that the Simulacrum is the work of an alleged 13th-century sculptor from Valle d'Aosta.

In 1957, Pope Pius XII elevated the ancient Church of the Sanctuary to the dignity of a minor basilica and, in 2003, Sacro Monte di Oropa was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.