{"id":2074,"date":"2019-06-08T20:00:35","date_gmt":"2019-06-08T18:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fontecesia.it\/?p=2074"},"modified":"2019-06-08T20:00:35","modified_gmt":"2019-06-08T18:00:35","slug":"pilgrimage-mother-speranzas-sanctuary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fontecesia.it\/en\/travel-itineraries-umbria\/pilgrimage-mother-speranzas-sanctuary\/","title":{"rendered":"Pilgrimages to Mother Speranza\u2019s Sanctuary"},"content":{"rendered":"

The many things there are to do and discover in Todi also include the visit and the Pilgrimage to Collevalenza: Mother Speranza\u2019s Sanctuary – Sanctuary of Collevalenza<\/a><\/strong> , the destination for thousands of visitors.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims<\/strong> go to the church to pray to Mother Speranza<\/strong>, founder of the Congregation of the Handmaids and Sons of Merciful Love every year: a continuous flow that never peters in any period, but only intensifies during the main religious events and in spring and summer.<\/p>\n

Mother Speranza<\/h2>\n

Mother Speranza was born in\u00a0Santomera, in Spain, in 1893 from a poor family of which she was the eldest of nine children. As a young child she was\u00a0raised by the parson\u00a0of the city and at this clergyman’s home she developed her religious vocation.<\/p>\n

She took her vows in 1914 and in 1930 founded the\u00a0Congregation of the Handmaids of Merciful Love<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In the 50s she established the male branch of the congregation, the\u00a0Sons of Merciful Love, and in 1951 she came to Todi, specifically Collevalenza, with some fellow sisters.<\/p>\n

She decided to settle there and found a\u00a0sanctuary\u00a0dedicated to the Merciful Love of God: this was her life’s mission<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In 1981 also\u00a0Pope John Paul II<\/strong>\u00a0visited the sanctuary and Mother Speranza.<\/p>\n

She has been recognised as performing\u00a0miracles<\/strong> and prodigious<\/strong> events\u00a0including the time she healed a young boy who was afflicted with numerous serious intolerances and was unable to feed and which led to the\u00a0nun’s beatification<\/strong>\u00a0process, occurring in 2013 when it was approved and celebrated in Collevalenza in 2014<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Pilgrimage to Mother Speranza’s Sanctuary Collevalenza\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Every year the sanctuary is visited by approximately 200 thousand pilgrims and is considered a \u201clittle Lourdes<\/strong>\u201d also because of its\u00a0pools\u00a0that are considered miraculous<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Many pilgrims (approximately 50 thousand a year) immerse themselves in the water of Collevalenza, but there are many other reasons why devotees to go to this sacred village in the Todi area.<\/p>\n

The visit to the church is an emotional experience in itself, as it also offers the chance to pray on\u00a0Mother Speranza’s tomb<\/strong>, who passed away in Collevalenza in 1983.<\/p>\n

You then have the large\u00a0Crucifix of Merciful Love, the\u00a0well\u00a0that the prodigious water comes from, the\u00a0Via Crucis, the large statue of Mary Mediatrix, the enchanting permanent nativity scene.<\/p>\n

The pilgrimage to\u00a0Mother Speranza’s Sanctuary<\/strong>\u00a0can be an excellent occasion to visit the city of Todi<\/strong> and Umbria, the perfect example of a mystical land very rich in very important religious and spiritual places<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The many things there are to do in Todi also include the visit and the Pilgrimage to Mother Speranza\u2019s Sanctuary considered a \u201clittle Lourdes\u201d. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[98],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n