Our Lady of the Apocalypse

From hatred to conversion: the story of Bruno Cornacchiola

It was a beautiful April day in 1947. The city of Rome was still enduring the fresh and terrible consequences of World War II.

Bruno Cornacchiola, a Seventh-day Adventist, had gone out with his three young children to an area on the outskirts of Rome, near the Abbey of Tre Fontane.

The events unfolded in a surprising way. The children's ball went missing. They searched for it. A boy disappeared. They found him kneeling, motionless, before a grotto. They perceived a beautiful and unusual fragrance. The Virgin had appeared... Yes: the apparition of April 12, 1947, was a complete surprise to Bruno. Moments before, he had been writing notes to refute the Catholics, especially regarding Marian dogmas.

The children remained kneeling before the Virgin, whom they simply called the "Beautiful Lady." Bruno heard the Lady say these words: "I am she who is in the Holy Trinity... I am the Virgin of Revelation." Then the Virgin rebuked Bruno for his sinful life and spoke to him at length. Among other things, she indicated that there would be persecutions. Then she invited him to return to the Catholic Church.

Towards the end of that first encounter, the “Beautiful Lady” explained the expression with which she had identified herself: “I am the Virgin of the Apocalypse… Revelation is the Word of God, and this Revelation speaks of me…”

Two years later, on December 9, 1949, Bruno Cornacchiola managed to speak with Pope Pius XII. He gave him a Protestant Bible, the same one he had used to attack the Catholic Church. He also gave him a dagger on which he had written "Death to the Pope": he had obtained it years before, hoping to assassinate him someday.

Pius XII was moved to see Bruno's tears as he asked for forgiveness. Then he whispered to the humble man: "My son, the best forgiveness is repentance."

In 1956, the Vicariate of Rome granted permission to build a small church in Tre Fontane, open to all, to commemorate the apparition of the Mother of God in the grotto, which still stands today, adorned with a beautiful image of the Virgin of the Apocalypse.

The message of the apparitions that began in April 1947 remains entirely relevant today and can be summarized in three points (cf. Angelo Maria Tentori, La Bella Signora delle Tre Fontane, Paoline, Milan 2014, 4th edition, pp. 85-86):

• The conversion of sinners.
• The conversion of unbelievers, especially those who are indifferent to God and the supernatural.
• The unity of Christians.

From the small church —whose entrance today passes through an arch dedicated to peace— the Virgin of the Apocalypse continues to lead thousands of men and women to the encounter with her Son Jesus, the fullness of the message of Love that the Father wanted to leave us for the salvation of the world.

Our mission

Personal and constant conversion.

Return to the sacraments.

A life of sincere repentance (as in the case of Bruno).

Love and faithfulness to Revelation (the Word of God)

Rosary as a family.