Cava dei Tirreni

In May of 1656, a catastrophic plague epidemic swept through southern Italy after Spanish troops from Sardinia brought the disease to Naples. The plague spread with terrifying speed throughout the densely populated city of Naples and quickly reached neighboring towns and villages, including Cava dei Tirreni, located just a few miles inland from the Amalfi Coast. The epidemic was devastating - victims numbered in the thousands in both urban centers and rural communities. Entire families were wiped out, and the bodies of the dead accumulated faster than they could be buried.

About this miracle

In Cava dei Tirreni, the situation became desperate. The plague was claiming lives daily, and fear gripped the surviving population. Medical knowledge of the time was powerless against the disease, and people watched helplessly as their loved ones succumbed to the terrible sickness. Most of the clergy, who had been ministering to the sick and dying, had themselves fallen victim to the plague. The spiritual and physical leadership of the community was decimated.

Father Paolo Franco was one of the few priests who had been miraculously spared from the epidemic despite his constant exposure while ministering to the sick. On May 25, 1656 - which that year fell on Ascension Thursday, a major feast day - Father Franco was divinely inspired with an idea. He proposed to lead the surviving faithful in a procession of reparation, carrying the Blessed Sacrament from the Church of the Castle of the Annunciation up to the summit of Monte Castello, the mountain overlooking the city. The procession would be an act of public penance and faith, asking God's mercy to stop the plague.

Despite their weakness and fear of contagion, the people responded to Father Franco's call. The solemn procession wound its way up the steep path to the higher terrace of Monte Castello. When they reached the summit, Father Franco raised the monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament and gave a blessing over the entire city of Cava dei Tirreni and the surrounding region. At that moment, according to all historical accounts, the plague epidemic miraculously stopped. New cases ceased appearing, and those who were sick began to recover. The city was delivered from the pestilence through the power of the Eucharistic blessing.

The people of Cava dei Tirreni recognized immediately that they had witnessed a miraculous intervention. In thanksgiving for their deliverance, they established an annual commemoration of the event. The 'Feast of the Castello' (Festa del Castello) has been faithfully celebrated every year since 1657, making it one of the longest continuously observed miracle commemorations in Italy. The feast recalls the plague epidemic that visited Cava on May 25, 1656, Ascension Thursday, and the miraculous cessation of the plague following the Corpus Christi procession led by Father Paolo Franco. The celebration includes a reenactment of the procession from the Church of the Annunciation to Monte Castello, with the Blessed Sacrament carried in solemn procession just as Father Franco carried it nearly 370 years ago.