Sanctuary of Maria SS. degli Angeli in Cicciano, Naples

The Sanctuary of Maria SS. degli Angeli stands northwest of Cicciano in the province of Naples, positioned on the right side of the Royal road leading to Caserta, nearly at the base of Monte Fellino. Located approximately one kilometer from the settlement, this temple honors the Augusta Queen of Angels, where ancient residents of Cicciano and Camposano discovered a cherished image of the "Great Lady Mary" in 1446. They saluted her with this title, as the image features three small angel heads positioned above, to the right and left.

Behind the small temple rises Monte Fellino, historically significant for the battle between Roman legions and Carthaginians near Nola. The definitive victory occurred near this mountain. Roman legionaries descended from the opposite valley of Monte Fellino, attacking the invading army from behind. Surrounded and pressed from the south by the Nolans and from the north by Marcellus's legionaries, the enemy was defeated and forced to retreat toward Capua. The route taken by the Roman commander remains known as Via Claudio Marcello.

Historical Significance

This mountain held sacred importance, as Saint Guglielmo Abate constructed a church dedicated to the Holy Virgin, called "S. Maria in Fellino," with a hospice where friars could rest during their journey between the monastery of Monte Cassino and that of Montevergine.

Following Saint Guglielmo's death, the hospice fell under Montecassino's jurisdiction for several centuries. In 1653, it was abandoned when the municipality of Roccarainola transported plague victims to this location during the outbreak affecting the entire Nolan area. Left without monks for nearly two centuries, the church was reconstructed in 1894 at the expense of lawyer Francesco Siciliano from Camposano and reopened for worship in 1900.

The Miraculous Discovery

To the right and left of the little church of the Queen of Angels stand two two-story buildings that, together with the temple, remain under the care of the Charity congregation, which appoints a rector and hermit for religious services in the church.

Living tradition, serving as living history passed from generation to generation, recalls this grand and precious event. Archpriest Ravelli, parish priest of Cicciano from 1814 to 1857, a man of holy life, recounted the following: The discovery of the miraculous painting of the Virgin of Angels occurred through divine work. The land bordering the sanctuary was surrounded by a thick hedge of thorns and birches, as it now stands encircled by a boundary wall. The tenant farmer, a citizen of Camposano (which explains why Camposano residents compete with Cicciano residents in honoring this Celestial Queen during Easter week and throughout the year), one fine day while plowing the land with two young oxen, found that upon reaching the hedge where the painting lay buried, the animals stopped. Despite being whipped until bloodied, they knelt and refused to rise.

The God-fearing man understood that something miraculous must exist within the thick hedge. Leaving the oxen prostrate in divine adoration, he rushed to inform his fellow citizens and those of Cicciano. News spread rapidly, and all the people gathered to observe the oxen's position and decided to demolish the bush and excavate. Indeed, many people undertook the work while reciting the divine rosary. God rewarded their efforts. One meter below the bush, they found a wall with a niche containing the image of the Most Holy Mary seated on clouds, nursing the divine child Jesus resting on her knees, with three seraph heads to the right and left of her head, contemplating and saluting her as their Queen. As observed, the miraculous painting represents an ancient fresco.

A Deaf Shepherd's Miracle

During the year 1656, when plague devastation reached Cicciano, its inhabitants, pale with mortal appearance, invoked the Madonna degli Angeli in the temple dedicated to her. Immediately the poisoned air became healthy, breathing fresh and fragrant, and the pestilential disease vanished as if by magic.

Tradition also recounts how the Blessed Virgin demonstrated her great protection toward her dear children through an evident miracle. A pious priest, Don Giovanni Miele, who served for many years as a zealous chaplain to the Blessed Virgin, related: The blessed memory of Archpriest Ravelli told me that among the many miracles the Madonna degli Angeli bestowed upon her devotees was this one. While death's pestilential scythe reaped human lives, a deaf-mute shepherd frequently visited the Madonna's little temple to greet her, if not with his tongue, then with his heart. One beautiful day, the Queen of Angels appeared to him in the form of a beautiful Lady and, caressing him, said: go immediately to the village to the Lord Commander and tell him that the Blessed Virgin of Angels has from this moment removed the plague scourge from Cicciano and neighboring towns, and you will also tell everyone you meet. The miraculous event increased faith toward such a great Lady, and all Cicciano residents hailed her as their special patron, swearing to honor her annually during Easter week with solemn pomp and a penitential procession on the first Sunday of August, which by concession from Bishop Renzullo was later moved to August fifteenth, a day sacred and solemn to the Lord's mother.

Modern Devotion

The illustrious citizen, Commander Don Girolamo Branciforti, then Governor of Cicciano, ensured the church's expansion, adding two small altars honoring Saints Stephen and Elijah. In more recent times, these small altars were demolished because the church was not only enlarged but also raised, partly to protect it from the nearby stream's waters. Engineering work spanned five years (1869-74) under the direction of Engineer Don Francesco Maietta, administrator and President of the local Charity Congregation.

No devotee of the Augusta Sovereign of Angels, struck by any accident, has invoked her beautiful name in vain. All have been relieved of their miseries and infirmities. One need only enter her temple and observe the gifts of every kind, including precious ones made to her, to understand how many sick people, although abandoned by doctors, obtained the longed-for healing through the Augusta Lady's intercession.

For More Information

• Cicciano Online
• Municipality of Cicciano
• Sanctuary of Maria SS. degli Angeli