Rosary Novena
August 2nd, 1992
Brother John Raymond
In the second half of the ninteenth century the University of
Naples, Italy was known for its rationalism and anticlericalism.
Bartolo Longo, attending the University to complete his Law degree,
became involved in these movements. As a boy his mother had taught
him to love Our Lady and have compassion on the poor. Now his
Catholic upbringing was abandoned in his search for the "ultimate
truth."
Bartolo joined a spiritualist cult which imposed extreme
austerities and fasts which permanently damaged his health. Soon he
became disillusioned with his life and fell into a state of
depression. One of his professors tried to help him by introducing
him to a number of holy persons in Naples.
A Dominican priest, through the writing of St. Thomas Aquinas,
was able to bring Bartolo back to the Faith. But he did not stop
there. On March 25, 1871 Bartolo joined the Third Order of St.
Dominic and took the religious name of Fratel Rosario (Brother
Rosary).
From then on Bartolo valiantly fought the spiritualism of his
day. He attended a seance, held up a medal of Our Lady and said: "I
renounce spiritualism because it is nothing but a maze of error and
falsehood." He went to student parties and cafes, denounced
spiritualism and proclaimed his faith in the Church.
Also, Bartolo devoted himself to a number of charitable
apostolates. He was fortunate to work with many holy people who are
now up for canonization. In 1872 he travelled to Pompeii to help
Countess de Fusco handle some legal claims of land ownership. He was
shocked at what he saw there, a deteriorated parish church and
miserably poor townspeople who mixed superstitious practices with
the little religion they knew. On beholding this scene Bartolo heard
a voice which said, "He who wishes to be saved, let him say the
Rosary." After hearing this Bartolo dedicated his whole heart to
spreading the Rosary in Pompeii.
He organized a Rosary feast, visited homes and even organized a
celebration with music, fireworks, races and even a lottery - all to
promote the Rosary. But he was lacking one thing - he had no image
of the Blessed Mother for veneration. Providentially a Dominican
sister donated a large painting of Our Lady of the Rosary. But the
picture was dilapidated, wrinkled, soiled and torn. An artist worked
on it and the faithful ornamented it with diamonds. In 1876 the
painting was solemnly placed on a marble pillar imported from
Lourdes and exposed for public veneration. Bartolo was not
satisfied. He wanted to erect an altar for the image. The Bishop
encouraged him to build a church instead.
In 1884 he had been given a printing press which he used to
promote devotion to Our Lady of Pompeii. Then in 1885 Bartolo
married the wealthy Countess Marianna de Fusco who was a good friend
and co-worker until her death in 1924. By 1901 what had started as a
little Shrine was elevated to the rank of a pontifical basilica.
This was due in large part to the number of miracles which took
place when the painting was venerated including the cure of
Bartolo's dying mother.
A Basilica was not enough for his zealous heart. Bartolo erected
a group of buildings dedicated to providing free service to the poor
and destitute. It was called the City of Mary with a large printing
press operated by orphan boys, a school of type-setting, a hospital,
gymnasium, music school, vocational schools, post office, railroad
station and housing for a large number of employees. He founded a
congregation of Dominican Sisters, the Daughters of the Rosary, to
provide for the education of orphan girls.
Another project of Bartolo was a crusade of prayer to ask for the
definition of the dogma of the Assumption. He petitioned many
bishops to ask the Pope for this.
All this work was not without suffering however. Around 1900,
after 50 years of total dedication to Our Lady, Bartolo was falsely
accused of mismanagement of the now large complex. Some called him a
thief. In 1904 Pope Pius X set up a separate administration of the
Basilica from the other projects of Bartolo. This made poor Bartolo
look even more guilty of theft. Yet he bore this humiliation for
three months. The Pope, convinced of Bartolo's innocence, revoked
his earlier decree. But in 1906 Bartolo turned over everything, even
his personal property, to the Church. He continued on at the City of
Mary as a simple employee.
He remained at the Shrine until his death at the age of 85. He
died praying the Rosary and blessing the orphans who came to keep
him company. He was buried along side the Countess in the crypt of
the Basilica. On October 26, 1980, Pope John Paul II proclaimed him
Blessed calling him the "Man of Mary."
One of the miracles brought about through the intercession of Our
Lady of Pompeii was the cure of a young girl suffering from an
unknown illness for thirteen months. Our Lady appeared to the girl
holding Her Divine Child and a Rosary. She was accompanied by St.
Dominic and St. Catherine of Siena. The girl asked Our Lady to cure
her. Our Lady responded, "Make three Rosary Novenas and you shall
obtain all."
Once more Our Lady of Pompeii appeared to the girl and said,
"Whoever desires to obtain favors from me should make three Rosary
Novenas of Petition and three Rosary Novenas in Thanksgiving." The
girl was cured of her sickness after the Rosary Novenas.
Rosary Novena
Pray five decades of the Rosary each day for 27 days in petition.
Immediately follow with five decades each day for 27 days in
thanksgiving, whether or not the request has been granted. The
Mysteries should be cycled from Joyful to Sorrowful to Glorious
every three days.
The following chart is useful for making your novena. Keep track
of your rosaries prayed by checking them off.
J = Joyful S = Sorrowful G = Glorious Mysteries
In Petition
Day 1 (J) 2 (S) 3 (G) 4 (J) 5 (S) 6 (G) 7 (J) 8 (S) 9 (G)
10(J) 11(S) 12(G) 13(J) 14(S) 15(G) 16(J) 17(S) 18(G)
19(J) 20(S) 21(G) 22(J) 23(S) 24(G) 25(J) 26(S) 27(G)
In Thanksgiving
Day 1 (J) 2 (S) 3 (G) 4 (J) 5 (S) 6 (G) 7 (J) 8 (S) 9 (G)
10(J) 11(S) 12(G) 13(J) 14(S) 15(G) 16(J) 17(S) 18(G)
19(J) 20(S) 21(G) 22(J) 23(S) 24(G) 25(J) 26(S) 27(G)