ACI Digital, Nov 27, 2023 / 04:30 am
The town of Monte Sião in southern Minas Gerais state in Brazil can be considered a land of graces, since the first church dedicated to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal is located there. Our Lady’s intercession is credited with ending a prolonged period of drought there in the 1930s.
In 1830, Our Lady appeared to St. Catherine Labouré in France and asked her to have a medal made according to the design she had been shown: the Virgin standing on a globe with outstretched hands with rays of light emanating from them, her foot on a serpent, and bearing the inscription: “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”
The letter M is inscribed on the back side, with a cross rising from the middle of the letter. Below are the Sacred Heart of Jesus encircled with a crown of thorns and the Immaculate Heart of Mary pierced by a sword. Around the edge of the medal are 12 stars.
The Virgin promised the nun that she would give abundant graces to those who wore the medal. The devotion spread throughout the world and made its way to Brazil.