The first weekend of September, in Grotte di Castro the Madonna del Suffragio is celebrated with solemn religious events.
Every 10 years it is celebrated with a special party and procession called 'descent'.
The story begins in 1616 when the Capuchin friar Father Angelo da Ronciglione came to preach in Grotte by sending a wooden statue of the Madonna from Rome from the Via del Lago which connected the town to Bolsena.
People crowded along the way and many fell off the somewhat unstable cliff. Miraculously, no one was hurt.
This prodigy and others that followed drew pilgrims from all over and the Madonna was called Madonna dei Miracoli.
In 1723 the Vatican Chapter established the coronation of the statue of the Madonna del Suffragio with a ceremony that was held on May 23, 1728, feast of the SS. Trinity.
It was decided to repeat the celebrations in honor of the Holy Virgin of Suffrage every 15 years with the same solemnity for three days.
The feast of the Madonna del Suffragio is still celebrated every year on 8 September.
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