The people of Arezzo sing this hymn every February 15th during the great festivities for the “One Full of Grace,” venerated by the population with the title of “Our Lady of Comfort,” given to Her by the townspeople, who on various occasions were able to experience for themselves how comforting it can be to turn to Our Lady in times of sadness and pain.

In 1796, during Carnival season, when many people were light-heartedly crowding into the theater despite the hard times, a violent earthquake struck the town. It was followed by other tremors, and the whole city lived in constant fear of a catastrophe. But then a prodigious thing happened: on 15 February, towards evening, three workers entered a wine shop in a dingy cellar, run by a local woman. Hanging on the central wall was a little terracotta plaque of a bust of Our Lady, darkened by smoke. The four people present kneeled in front of the image to ask for the intercession of the Virgin Mary. All at once, to everyone’s great surprise, the image became luminous and beautiful. Outside, the sky that had been dark grew bright, and immediately the news of this miracle spread through the entire city, to the point that a large number of . . .