Basilica Sanctuary of Monte Sant’Angelo

Impressionante è questo luogo.

Qui è la casa di Dio e la porta del cielo.

In questa grotta i peccati degli uomini

sono perdonati.

The Sanctuary of San Michele Arcangelo is located in Monte Sant’Angelo, a charming town located on the Gargano, in the province of Foggia. This important place of worship is dedicated to San Michele Arcangelo and is part of the archdiocese of Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo. Also known as the “Celeste Basilica”, the sanctuary is an important center of worship, recognized among the largest in the West, together with the Sacra di San Michele in Val di Susa and Mont-Saint-Michel in France. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2011, as part of the site “Longobards in Italy: places of power”.

Furthermore, in 2014, the prestigious American magazine National Geographic included the Grotto of the Archangel Michael among the ten most beautiful Sacred Caves in the world, the only Italian one in the ranking. The Sanctuary has a two-level structure. On the upper level, a 27-meter tower reaches towards the sky and with the sound of its bells envelops the entire city. It is an octagonal bell tower, the "Angevin Tower", built on the plan of Castel del Monte in Andria. After passing the entrance portal, the 86 steps of the staircase descend to the so-called "Bull's Gate". Along the route, the traces and signs of pilgrims are still visible, engraved in the stone. Here we are at the lower level. After passing through the Bronze Doors, cast in Constantinople in 1076, we access the Angevin nave. At the center of the Basilica is the imposing and ascetic Grotto of San Michele Arcangelo, a real cave with a rocky vault, which houses the high altar and the statue of San Michele in Carrara marble. Going further down, we can admire the “Alto Medioevale Sanctuary”, the Lombard Crypts, which preserves the inscriptions of the Dukes of Benevento. The Lombards, in fact, made it their national sanctuary. In the Middle Ages, this place was part of the itinerary of spiritual redemption known as “Homo, Angelus, Deus”: a journey that included visits to the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul in Rome and to San Giacomo di Compostella in Spain (Homo), to the Angel of the sacred Cave of Monte Sant’Angelo (Angelus) and finally to the places of the Holy Land (Deus). Over the centuries, together with pilgrims from all over the world, a long series of popes have visited the Sanctuary of the Archangel on Gargano. The last was Pope John Paul II in 1987. The Sanctuary houses two museums: the Devotional Museum and the Lapidary Museum, which, together with the Lombard Crypts, constitute the TECUM Museums (Treasures of the Michaelic Cult).

The veneration of the place dates back to 490 AD, when, according to tradition, the Archangel Michael appeared to San Lorenzo Maiorano. A first sanctuary was built in 493 on the cave of the apparition. With the arrival of the Lombards in the 7th century, the sanctuary became an important center of worship, especially during the Duchy of Benevento. The Lombards, already on the path to conversion, considered San Michele a saint similar to their warrior deities, attributing to him virtues similar to those of Odin, the Germanic god of war.

The sanctuary is known for its miraculous apparitions:

The Episode of the Bull and the First Apparition of the Archangel

According to the Liber de apparitione Sancti Michaelis in Monte Gargano, a hagiographic testimony written between the 5th and 8th centuries, the first apparition of the Archangel Michael occurred in 490 AD. The story tells of a very rich man named Gargano, who gave his name to the mountain itself. One day, while his herds were grazing, a bull, who despised the company of other animals, did not return to the stable. Worried, Gargano gathered his servants and, after searching in vain in various places, found the bull on the top of the mountain, in front of a cave. Moved by anger, he tried to hit it with a poisoned arrow, but the arrow, struck by the wind, came back and hit him.

Troubled by the incident, Gargano went to Bishop Lorenzo Maiorano, who, after hearing the story, called for three days of prayer and fasting. At the end of the third day, the Archangel Michael appeared to the bishop, revealing himself as the guardian of the cave and promising forgiveness for the sins of those who would go there to pray. Although the bishop was reluctant to dedicate the place to Christian worship because of previous pagan cults, the vision of the Archangel encouraged him to do so.

The Battle and the Second Apparition

The second apparition, known as “of Victory,” is traditionally dated to 492 AD. During a siege of the city of Siponto by the forces of the barbarian king Odoacer, Bishop Maiorano obtained a truce and, together with the people, prayed. On the night before the battle, Saint Michael appeared to the bishop, promising victory. The following day, the battle ended with the victory of the defenders, accompanied by extraordinary events such as earthquakes and storms. May 8 later became the feast of Saint Michael on the Gargano.

The Dedication and the Third Apparition

In 493 AD, after the victory, Bishop Maiorano decided to consecrate the cave as a sign of gratitude, also encouraged by the positive opinion of Pope Gelasius I. However, St. Michael appeared again to the bishop, telling him that it was not necessary to consecrate the cave, since it had already been consecrated by his presence. Thus, the bishop and other bishops of Puglia went in procession to the cave, where they found an altar erected. On September 29, Maiorano offered the first Divine Sacrament in the cave, which remained unconsecrated by human hands and received the title of “Celestial Basilica”.

The Fourth Apparition

In 1656, during an epidemic of plague in southern Italy, Archbishop Alfonso Puccinelli turned to Saint Michael with prayers and fasting. One day, while praying, he felt an earthquake and saw Saint Michael appear in a flash. The Archangel ordered him to bless the stones in the cave, promising that whoever kept them would be immune from the plague. The archbishop followed the command, and the city was freed from the epidemic. To commemorate the miracle, Puccinelli erected a monument to Saint Michael in the city square, with an inscription of gratitude.