In the south of the state of Minas Gerais (Brazil) is the town of Monte Sião that can be considered a land of grace, more specifically the headquarters of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, since the first church in the world dedicated to this devotion is located there. Mariana, who intervened to end a period of drought.
In 1830, in France, Our Lady appeared to Saint Catherine Labouré and asked her to make a medal according to what she had seen: the Virgin with her arms outstretched, with rays of light coming from them, standing on a globe and stepping on a snake, with the inscription: “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who turn to you.”
The letter “M” is inscribed on the reverse, with a cross rising from the middle. Below are the Heart of Jesus, surrounded with a crown of thorns; and the Heart of Mary, pierced by a sword. 12 stars appear around it.
The Virgin promised the nun that she would give abundant thanks to those who wore the medal. The devotion spread throughout the world and reached Brazil.
In 1849, just 19 years after the apparitions in France, the first church dedicated to the Miraculous Medal was built on Monte Sião.
According to the website of the Archdiocese of Pousso Alegre, in the year of the Marian apparitions to Saint Catherine, the Monte Sião region was inhabited by only about 105 Catholic families, but there was no church or priest and communication was precarious.
However, accounts indicate that in 1838, when the place was “elevated to the town of Jabuticabal, devotion to the Miraculous Medal was already there.”
On 29 March 1849, the construction of the Nossa Senhora da Medalha Milagrosa chapel was authorized. The blessing took place on 13 April 1850.
The first of the graces occurred with the arrival of the image from Portugal in 1860, but in 1937 it was removed from the main altar at the request of the bishop, who considered that the statue had sensual lines because they highlighted the bust and waist.
The image was then taken to a chapel in the rural area and the faithful felt its absence. After that date, the city “was devastated by a great drought” until 1939.
According to various accounts, it rained normally in all the cities of the region except Monte Sião.
The people associated the lack of rain with the absence of the Marian image, so a group asked the priest in charge that the statue be placed again on the main altar. After much discussion, it was allowed to be returned.
This happened on 5 November 1939. It was a sunny afternoon when the procession made up of the parish priest, authorities, band and mainly faithful, carried a banner with the Marian image.
When the procession arrived at the entrance to the city, the first drops began to fall and then a heavy rain, causing the faithful and the image to finally enter the church completely wet.
This episode is known as the “Rain Miracle Day.” Since then, the plantations have prospered and the rain cycle has returned to normal.
This was another of the many graces that the people of Monte Sião received and still receive today through the intercession of the Virgin of the Miraculous Medal.
History and the great flow of pilgrims meant that on 5 November 1999, the mother church was elevated to the Santuario de Nossa Senhora da Medalha Milagrosa, where its festival is lived with special fervor every November 27.