Our Lady, Rosa Mystica

Our Lady, Rosa Mystica, or the Mystical Rose, is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary that is ancient in itself, being one of the invocations by which she has long been honored, evoking her beauty, purity, and hidden glory. In more recent times the title has become especially associated with a series of reported apparitions at Montichiari and nearby Fontanelle in northern Italy, beginning in 1947, to a woman named Pierina Gilli.

In these reported apparitions the Virgin is said to have appeared under the title Rosa Mystica, calling for prayer, penance, and reparation, especially for the sanctification of priests and religious, and asking for devotions in her honor. It should be noted that these particular apparitions at Montichiari have not received formal approval as authentic from the competent Church authority, and indeed have met with reserve; the devotion connected with them is therefore a matter of private piety. The title Rosa Mystica itself, however, as an honor of Our Lady, remains a cherished and legitimate invocation of Mary.