Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Guard (Tortona)

The sanctuary occupies the place where, already in 1000, there was the church of the Blessed Virgin of Graces, held by the Benedictines and then by the Franciscans. In 1418 before it he preached Bernardino da Siena, from which the village took its name.

After the 1500s called "Madonna di San Bernardino", the church was ruined, but Catholic devotees continued to pray to the Virgin, and the chronicles of time reported that thanks and favors were obtained. Therefore, in 1585, they built a "pilone" or four-sided tabernacle at the site of the primitive church.

A few years later, in 1607, the bishop of Tortona Umberto Gambara, pressed by the people of Turin, began the construction, around the "pilone", of a larger sanctuary, with a Greek cross plan. To facilitate the influx of devotees, later Bishop Cosmo Dossena built a solid bridge over the Ossona, the stream that divides the city from the San Bernardino district; he raised the dome, paint the church, build before it, for pilgrims, a portico and a square surrounded by stone columns. In those centuries, followed by the Protestant split, the sanctuary was defended against heresies of the faith in the city.

Pope Paul V was also interested in it, who twice praised the pity of the people of the doves.

In 1662, the Franciscans took over the Augustinians until 1802, when they were removed from Napoleon.

The sacred building, then, already damaged before the wars, was transformed into a private building, as is still preserved: one part, however, remained used as a church where the Madonna continued to honor.

Luigi Orione in 1893 opened his first children's collar in San Bernardino. Speaking to them about the future work, which already wandered in mind, he said indicating the area: "Here will rise a great sanctuary...".

In 1917, the Rione of San Bernardino, made up of very poor families, was in ferment for the absence of men and young people who were at the front; a strong extremist propaganda passed away some, so that on May 1, a procession of exasperates departed from San Bernardino to assault the episcopate: Don Orione was ready to intervene with some young people, but he understood that they had to act with charity. Thus he began to welcome the most needy children, helped the poor and, only among the priests, could pass the Ossona to celebrate Mass in the chapel of Our Lady. During the First World War, he vowed to build a great sanctuary to Our Lady, if the soldiers of the Rione returned safely.

The vote was made on 29 August 1918; on 4 November the war ended.

On 23 October 1926 Cardinal Carlo Perosi blessed the first stone of the new sanctuary, designed by the architect of the Holy See Spirit Maria Chiappetta

In April 1928 the works began; on August 28, 1931 – in the fifteenth centenary of the Council of Ephesus and the Mater Dei – the new artistic temple was inaugurated by Bishop Simon Pietro Grassi and began the series of those that the faithful of Orion will call " Marian triumphs" and that connect in his mind to the two ancient shrines, in a tradition of faith and love to Our Lady which lasted for centuries.

On the evening of August 28, 1958 he was present with the Metropolitan of Genoa, Giuseppe Siri – for the blessing of the great statue placed on the shrine’s feast – Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who after two exact months would be elected Pope under the name of John XXIII.

On August 28, 1959 John XXIII still wanted to be present, illuminating the statue raised on the 27th at the top of the tower, and addressing a blessing radio message to the multitude of the faithful.

The sanctuary was solemnly consecrated by Monsignor Luigi Bongianino, bishop of Tortona, on August 24, 1991, dedicating it to God in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mother of God, venerated under the popular title of Madonna della Guardia. They crowned the bishop of Tortona:

• Andrea Mariano Magrassi, Archbishop of Bari-Bitonto
• Andrea Gemma, bishop of Isernia–Venafro
• Giuseppe Masiero, Superior General of the "Opera don Orione"
• Giuseppe Rigo, rector of the sanctuary

There were also many priests, religious, and a large number of faithful.

On 1 October 1991 the sanctuary was elevated to the dignity of a minor Basilica by Pope John Paul II.^[1]

The sanctuary houses in the right aisle, the tomb of San Luigi Orione, a destination for pilgrimages from all over the world. The body of the saint is preserved in a canvas with glass walls and is therefore visible by the faithful. In the crypt it is possible to see the first tomb of Don Orione, that which welcomed the remains of the saint immediately after his death. In the crypt are buried the first successors of Don Orione to other children and daughters of the Little Opera of Divine Providence. The beautiful Via Crucis by Antonio Ciseri is worth noting in the basilica. In the via crucis of the crypt, once in the upper basilica, the face of Cireneo, in the fifth station, has the likeness of Don Orione. Behind the sanctuary and connected to it is the 60 meters high tower built in the years 1954-58 on design of the architect Gallo di Torino. At its top is the golden bronze statue of Our Lady with Jesus Child arm. Made by the sculptor Narciso Cassino, it is, with its 14 meters high and its 12 tons of weight, the largest bronze statue in the world placed on top of a building.^[2] It was realized using as raw material the copper of the broken pots collected in the diocese of Tortona following the mission of preaching launched by Don Orione for the realization of the monument.^[3] The tower can be visited to the balcony at the base of the statue; to get to the top you have to climb over 300 steps, or take 2 lifts.

On January 1, the Church celebrates Mary Mother of God. Being the sanctuary dedicated to Mater Dei It is possible for the faithful to obtain plenary indulgence under the usual conditions (sacrational confession of their sins, Eucharistic communion, prayer according to the intention of the Supreme Pontiff, I live purpose not to sin anymore). Plenary indulgence is also scheduled on 29 June, feast of Saints Peter and Paul (one of the pillars of Don Orione's spirituality is fidelity to the Pope), on 2 August, feast of the Porziuncola, on 24 August, date of the dedication of the church. Plenary indulgence may also be lucrative on a day of the year freely chosen by the faithful as the date of their pilgrimage to the sanctuary. The most typical feast of the sanctuary, celebrated with great solemnity and contest of people, is that of the Apparition, on 29 August, in memory of Mary's apparition on Mount Figogna to Pastor Benedict Pareto. On this occasion, St. Bernardino's reon becomes the center of celebrations that culminate with the afternoon procession and fireworks in the evening.