Sanctuary of Madonna delle Lacrime (Our Lady of Tears)

The Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Lacrime was erected in memory of the miraculous lacrimation of the effigy depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, placed to the bedside of the spouses Lannuso at their humble home in Via degli Orti in Syracuse, in 1953.

The miraculous event was repeated from 29 August to 1 September 1953 in the general emotion of an immense number of the faithful, in the house of spouses Lannuso. The tears were analyzed and they resulted to be real tear fluid. The devotion that followed was of enormous proportions.

The small effigy of the Madonna delle Lacrime, first temporarily admitted in the nearby Piazza Euripides, was then placed inside the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary was designed in 1957 by French architects Michel Andrault and Pierre Parat following an international competition.

The construction began in 1966 but, because of the extreme modernity of the project, from the beginning there were a lot of controversy. Citizens considered it a “monster of reinforced concrete” which was going to weigh further on a ‘urban area already heavily compromised; these diatribes delayed the construction that ended only in 1994. During the excavation of the foundations was found an area of houses of the sixth century BC. and a piece of road.

This road was the main street of the district Akradina. The construction was completed after about 28 years and the sanctuary was opened November 6, 1994 by John Paul II. The sanctuary consists of the crypt and the upper temple, with a conical body made up of reinforced concrete ribs that reach a total height of 74 m, topped by a crown of steel 20 meters high carrying a statue of the Madonna in gilded bronze by Francesco Caldarella, surrounded by a halo with circular and radial elements. In the upper temple is the central altar that houses the miraculous picture. Sideways there are the chapels: (from right) Chapel of the Holy Shroud (copy), Saint Joseph and Saint Lucia. On the left: Most Blessed Sacrament, Altar of Charity and the Chapel of St. Pio of Pietralcina.

On the floor of the crypt are preserved the remains of Roman and late antique age consisting of a pagan hypogeum and a large room with walls decorated with mosaics. In the crypt there are the chapels of San Corrado Confalonieri, of St. Agatha, of St. Francis of Assisi and others. In the chapel of Saint Lucia is the tomb of Calogero Lauricella, Archbishop of Syracuse from 1973 until his death in 1989. Every second Sunday of the month are held Masses in LIS (Italian Sign Language) for deaf people. The next are scheduled for Sunday, July 8 at 19:00, and Sunday, August 12 at 19.00.