Diocese of Foggia–Bovino celebrates feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on September 21

The Diocese of Foggia–Bovino celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on September 21, centered on the religious traditions of San Marco in Lamis. The devotion to the Virgin Mary has shaped the religious life of the town for centuries, influencing local clergy and inspiring many priestly vocations.

The local devotion began between the late 1500s and early 1600s and spread widely during the early 1700s. Father Costantino Iannacone, a priest known for his Marian devotion, played a central role in the history of the cult. According to records in the Diocesan Archive of Foggia, Iannacone witnessed miraculous movements of the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows and claimed to receive a message from the Virgin inviting him to prepare for death and share in the sufferings of Christ.

Driven by this devotion, Iannacone built a church dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary near the ancient quarantine station of Saints Vito and Rocco. The church was canonically established in 1717 and completed in 1718 with a bell tower and the installation of its first bell. In 1749, various lay groups merged to form the Confraternity of the Seven Sorrows, which was later affiliated with the Order of Servi di Maria.