CASTEL DI LEVA

Altitude 37 m (120 feet). 21,000 inhabitants

Large area south of the Raccordo Anulare, the Ring Road around Rome, which once belonged to the Abbey of St. Paul and it was known since the thirteenth century as Castrum Leonis

Santuario della Madonna del Divino Amore

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Divine Love

1745 church erroneously attributed to Filippo Raguzzini

1999 new church by Father Costantino Ruggeri (1925/2007) for as many as 1,500 faithful

It houses an image of the Virgin Mary painted in the fourteenth century which in 1740 miraculously saved a pilgrim who had prayed for the Virgin Mary’s help as he was chased by dogs

This image was the protector of Rome during World War II after Castel di Leva was bombed and it was brought to Rome

The image of the Virgin Mary was worshiped by the people in Rome in the church of Ss. Cecilia and Biagio first, then in S. Lorenzo in Lucina, and finally in St. Ignatius: the location changed three times because more space was needed for the increasing number faithful