The Festival of Forgiveness in Corbetta

It was April 17, 1555, the first Thursday after Easter that year. John Angelo is a 10-year-old boy, deaf-mute from birth, playing with two friends on the square in front of the church, not far from a fresco of the Madonna and Child. At one point, the children playing become four: it is Jesus, who, to everyone's amazement, has joined the little ones. But the surprises are not over yet: it is now Mary's turn to come out of the painting to take back her son. An incredible scene, a miracle, which besides the general amazement, also had another effect: now John Angelo speaks and hears! A few years later, in 1562, with a papal bull Pius IV granted plenary indulgence to those who would go to worship the miraculous painting at the Corbetta Shrine on the first Thursday after Easter. Since then the feast has been repeated year after year with a rich calendar of celebrations and supplications to Our Lady. With time, however, the feast has moved out of the shrine to invade the town center as well with many social events: stalls of local products and handicrafts, musical and children's shows, even a fun fair! A not-to-be-missed event for the community and a mouth-watering opportunity for everyone who wants to come and get to know Corbetta!