{{Infobox Catholic apparition , name = La Madonna della Fiducia
Our Lady of Confidence , image = Madonna della Fiducia al Laterano.jpg , caption = , size = , location =

Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...

, date = 14 October 1838 , witness =

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...

, type = Oil painting , approval =

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...

, shrine = Papal Archbasilica of

Saint John Lateran The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...

Our Lady of Confidence, also known as La Madonna della Fiducia or Our Lady of Trust, is a venerated image of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

enshrined at the

Lateran Basilica The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...

. The feast of Our Lady of Confidence falls on the last Saturday prior to Lent.

granted a

canonical coronation A canonical coronation ( la, Coronatio Canonica) is a pious institutional act of the pope, duly expressed in a bull, in which the pope bestows the right to impose an ornamental crown, a diadem or an aureole to an image of Christ, Mary or Josep ...

to the image on 14 October 1838, via Cardinal Carlo Odescalchi, at the requested petition of the Roman seminarians. In addition,

was particularly devoted to Mary under this title.

History

The image was originally painted by

Carlo Maratta Carlo Maratta or Maratti (13 May 162515 December 1713) was an Italian painter, active mostly in Rome, and known principally for his classicizing paintings executed in a Late Baroque Classical manner. Although he is part of the classical tradition ...

, who gave it to a young noblewoman, Chiara Isabella Fornari, who later became Abbess of the Convent of the

Poor Clares The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare ( la, Ordo sanctae Clarae) – originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and later the Clarisses, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Order, and the Second Order of Saint Francis ...

Todi, Italy Todi () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction. I ...

."Who is the Madonna della Fiducia (or Confidence)?", Marian Library, University of Dayton
/ref> The image, was venerated in Todi under the Marian title ''"Refugium peccatorum"'', (English: “Refuge of Sinners”).

Pontifical Major Seminary in Rome

The patroness of Rome's Major Seminary is the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title ''Madonna della Fiducia''. The Image of the Madonna that has been venerated for almost two centuries in the Roman Seminary is the figure of Madonna and Child, painted on a copper oval. It is a copy of the image at Todi, and noteworthy in that the child Jesus points to his mother, and Mary's intercession is typically invoked through the short prayer "Mater Mea, Fiducia Mea" (My Mother, My Confidence). Originally, this Madonna was located at the chapel of St. Louis at the Jesuit ''

Collegio Romano The Roman College ( la, Collegium Romanum, it, Collegio Romano) was a school established by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1551, just 11 years after he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It quickly grew to include classes from elementary school t ...

'', where was known as "Our Lady of Confidence". When the Jesuits were suppressed in 1773, the college was given to the diocesan clergy for a seminary. It is believed she protected the seminarians from the Asiatic flu epidemic of 1837, which claimed many lives in Rome. In thanksgiving, the seminarians crowned Mother and Child with golden bejeweled diadems. In 1913, the Roman Seminary relocated to the

Basilica of Saint John Lateran The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...

complex.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

started the papal tradition of venerating this miraculous image each year; subsequently,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

carried on the tradition. During his visit on the feast day of Our Lady of Confidence on 9 February 2002,

ended his time at the seminary commenting on the devotion his predecessors had to Mary as ''Madonna della Fiducia'', saying,

We heard how Our Lady of Confidence guided the steps of
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
on a path that brought him from this Seminary to the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...
, which was also a great seminary, the seminary of the bishops of the world. Let us thank Our Lady of Confidence for all that she did to assist Pope John XXIII in the preparation for and in the adventure of the Second Vatican Council. I wish all of you the grace to find her guidance in your lives: from the image of Our Lady of Confidence to the goals that Providence foresees for you and even asks of you to be accomplished through you. Once again, thank you for this wonderful evening. Many thanks.Address given by Pope John Paul II 9 February 2002
/ref>

References

Catholic devotions Titles of Mary Paintings of the Madonna and Child