The Catholic Defender: Apparitions of Mary the Mystical Rose

The apparitions of Mary “Mystical Rose” and “Mother of the Church” are associated with Fontanelle, located south of Montichiari in the province of Brescia, northern Italy. Pierina Gilli, the visionary, was born into a peasant family and worked as a housekeeper and nurse.

The title "Rosa Mystica" comes from Song of Songs 2:1, which is often translated as "I am the Rose of Sharon".

The apparitions of Mary the Mystical Rose, also known as Maria Rosa Mystica, are associated with Pierina Gilli and the town of Fontanelle in Italy: 

• 1947

  Pierina Gilli, a nurse and postulant for the Handmaids of Charity, first saw the Virgin Mary in a hospital chapel in Montichiari. The Virgin Mary appeared in a violet dress and white veil, and asked for prayer, penance, and sacrifice. On July 13, 1947, the Virgin Mary appeared again wearing white and holding three roses on her robe. The roses represented the spirits of prayer, sacrifice, and penance. The Virgin Mary also told Pierina that she wanted the 13th of July to be celebrated in honor of the Mystical Rose. 

• 1966

  The Virgin Mary appeared to Pierina again in Fontanelle, indicating a spring as a place of purification and source of graces. 

• 1970

  The Virgin Mary appeared to Pierina, showing her two gold medals in her hands. On one medal, Pierina saw an image of Mary surrounded by roses, with the words "Rosa" and "Mystica" written around it. 

• 1960–1975

  The Virgin Mary appeared to Pierina, giving her the image for a medal and asking for a consecration to her Heart. 

The title "Rosa Mystica" comes from Song of Songs 2:1, which is often translated as "I am the Rose of Sharon".

On July 5, 2024, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a statement approving of the apparitions

In a letter sent to the Bishop of Brescia, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández said that the “spiritual proposal that emerges from the experiences narrated by Pierina Gilli in relation to María Rosa Mystica does not contain theological or moral elements contrary to the doctrine of the Church.

This determination was given in light of the "Norms for Proceeding in the Discernment of Alleged Supernatural Phenomena" issued by the DDF in May of the same year.

1947: First Cycle of Marian Apparitions at Montichiari. In the summer of 1947, Pierina again witnessed apparitions of Sister Maria, with daily visions of her from June 11 to July 12, 1947, as well as a second apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary with three swords piercing her Immaculate Heart.