He wants to destroy the Church; this is Bruno Cornacchiola’s fixed obsession. He comes under the influence of a friend who belonged to the Protestant sect of the “Seventh-day Adventists,” who instills hatred of the Church and the Pope in him. He throws away all the devotional images his wife had placed in their home, including the crucifix that was in their bedroom. He forbids his children from attending catechism.
The unexpected conversion thanks to the intervention of the Heavenly Mother
Bruno Cornacchiola, who had been a persecutor of the Church, becomes a defender of the Gospel thanks to an extraordinary event in which he is the protagonist.
It is a day in April 1947, at Tre Fontane (Rome). After a walk, Bruno Cornacchiola sits down to write a harsh article against the Virgin Mary. His three children go to play with a ball and move away from him. When he does not see them return, he becomes worried and sets out to look for them.
He finds them in front of the entrance to a cave, gazing ecstatically inside; he hears them saying: “Beautiful Lady, beautiful Lady…” Their faces are pale, and their father is frightened. Bruno thinks of some kind of spell, witches, the devil, or a priest who may have hypnotized the children. He enters the cave and, at this point, he too is drawn to a golden light and begins saying: “Beautiful Lady, beautiful Lady…” He himself recounts: “Little by little, the darkness faded and allowed a faint light to filter through, growing and intensifying until it illuminated the entire cave […]. At that moment, I no longer saw either the cavity or what it might contain, but I was filled with extraordinary joy.”
“Enough now. Return to the holy fold”
Bruno is in ecstasy, kneels down, and the Virgin tells him: “You persecute me. Enough now. Return to the holy fold […]. Pray and recite the Rosary daily for the conversion of sinners, of unbelievers, and for the unity of Christians.” She then tells him to be cautious and, before dictating a secret message for him to deliver to the Holy Father, tells him that “science will deny God!” She then gives him many revelations about the Church and the faith. She tells him that “people will no longer believe… that many things are coming true today and others will still have to come true…”, and tells him that “among those who hear this vision recounted, there will be some who will not believe him,” but urges him not to become discouraged.
The Virgin appears
At the end of the encounter, the Virgin introduced herself to Bruno with these words: «I am she who is in the divine Trinity. I am the Virgin of Revelation. Before I leave, I tell you this: Revelation is the Word of God, and this Revelation speaks of me. That is why I bear this title: Virgin of Revelation».
That same day Bruno engraved on the rock: «In this cave the divine Mother appeared to me. She invites me with love to return to the Catholic, Apostolic, Roman Church».
An unstoppable conversion
Bruno’s conversion was now firm and unstoppable. He even managed to go to Pope Pius XII and ask his forgiveness because he had previously intended to kill him.
In 1978 he also met John Paul II, who is said to have told him: «You have seen the Mother of God, so you must become a saint».
On February 23, 1982, the Virgin appeared to Bruno again, asking him to build a “sanctuary-home” in her honor, so that «the thirsty and all those who are exhausted» might find there «love, understanding, consolation: the true meaning of life».
The Virgin then said: «Here, in this cave where I have appeared several times the sanctuary of expiation will arise, as if it were purgatory on Earth. There will be a door with the significant name “Door of Peace”. Everyone will have to pass through this door».
«The Virgin was an educator for me»
Bruno Cornacchiola recounted what had happened to him everywhere and became an apostle of Mary. He said: «The Most Holy Virgin was an unsurpassable educator for me, who was not content merely to ground me in a solid catechetical education, but also helped me become her witness. Whoever finds Mary finds Jesus: the Way, the Truth, the Life. He finds life and grace in the Church of Salvation, the Mystical Body of Christ. And he also finds the Mother of the Church».
The apparitions of the Virgin at the “Three Fountains” were studied in meticulous detail by the Vatican, particularly by Pius XII, who received Bruno Cornacchiola in private audience several times and blessed the statue that was later placed in the cave.
In the same cave, ten years before the apparitions to Cornacchiola, the Virgin had appeared to a girl who was recognized as having exceptional charismatic gifts. The Virgin is said to have told her: «In ten years I will appear again, in this cave, to a nonbeliever, an enemy of the Church and the Pope».
