Sanctuary of Saint Michael the Archangel

Image: Wikimedia Commons

High on the Gargano promontory, pilgrims descend a long stair into the mountain itself, for the church here is a cave, the oldest shrine of Saint Michael in Western Europe. Three times, tradition tells, the Archangel appeared to Bishop Lorenzo Maiorano of Siponto, in 490, 492, and 493, and at the last he declared that he had consecrated the grotto himself, which is why this Celestial Basilica was never consecrated by human hands, and why its dedication is remembered on September 29, today's feast of the Archangel. Over the entrance an inscription warns and welcomes at once: Terribilis est locus iste, awesome is this place, this is the house of God and the gate of heaven. The Lombards made the cave their national shrine, and the tomb of King Rothari stands nearby; Charles I of Anjou raised the octagonal bell tower in 1282; fifteen centuries of pilgrims, from Crusaders to John Paul II in 1987, have gone down these steps, and since 2011 the sanctuary is inscribed by UNESCO among the treasures of Lombard Italy.