Convent
The medieval building of the church can be seen in front of Corso Cardinali Vannutelli. The church appears to be present among the first legal documents in 1277. Observing the wall on the Corso Cardinali Vannutelli you can’t miss the structure of the portal, the mullioned windows and the rose window that indicates the exact position of the ancient church.
From 1356, the year of arrival of the Augustinian friars, the church had continuous upgrading, maintenance and recovery. The generosity of Petruccia brought the work in well underway, though not completed. It was only in April 25, 1467, when the Holy Image arrived, that the work was resumed. The main door was made in the style of 1400’s in Carrara marble and moved to its current location only in 1621.
Given the enormous curiosity aroused by the appearance of the Holy Image, several artists wanted to help in making the place where the Virgin had appeared solemn. Contemporary to Bregno, another great Italian artist of the 1400’s, Mino da Fiesole, made for the church of Genazzano a beautiful marble picturing Madonna, now placed over the baptismal font.
In the following years, the succession of good intentions and beautiful works of art required the stop of chaotic growth of the Church of Santa Maria. In 1621, the Augustinian Order authorized the work of rebuilding and enlargement of the church, which was described as deformed and badly ordered, without any light.
The work started in that period, but ended more than a century later. Various projects were carried out from time to time with care and reason. The chapels were demolished without any real overall design. For the first time in Genazzano (and in the Papal State) the project of an East-directed church was changed to design a North-directed church to better exploit the wider size towards the square in front of it. From the main nave three aisles were created, taking care to not touch the altar of the Madonna and the altar of the Crucifix.
The crypt beneath the present basilica was partially sacrificed to carry out the work of the foundation of the superior pillars. In the 40 years preceding 1667, the new bell tower (the one that currently stands) was built and the first construction of the adjoining convent of three floors began. The convent was destined to remain unfinished until the Prior General of the Augustinian Order, Francesco Saverio Vasquez, gave a real boost to the work. The high-quality solid structures were the creation of the architect Nicola Fagioli; these were expanded in 1900 thanks to the generosity of Pope Leone XIII.
On the ground floor there is the Museum built in 1974. It was built on the second centenary of the birth of Blessed Stefano Bellesini
In the first hall we find a remarkable statue of St. Giovanni Battista made by Andrea Bregno, and paintings of various artists, as well as the frescoes, which were removed from the choirs in the early 1900s to make way to the magnificent organ.
In the central semi-circular gallery there are paintings that were donated to the shrine by Pope Leone XIII and many others. Along the corridor, you can admire the beautiful “chasubles” dated from the 16th and 17th centuries, gifts of the noble families to Our Lady of Good Counsel for important occasions and weddings. In the large paintings, many testimonials of gratitude expressed to the Virgin Mother of Good Counsel “PGR – Per Grazia Receipt” can be seen. Halfway through the same corridor you can visit the souvenirs hall, where there are the most beautiful reproductions of the Holy Image.

Central Gallery Museum
On the right of the central gallery you can find the little bell dating from 1424. On April 25, 1424 that bell announced to everyone that something special was happening. You can also visit the ancient refectory, which collects the furniture work from the 1700’s of the Masters Raffaele Gonnella and Son, as well as the beautiful fresco by Taddeo Conza depicting the multiplication of the loaves and fish.
This last is very important for the proper dating and historiography of the events in the construction of the “Augustinian Upper Room” in Rome. In fact, the hall of the refectory designed by Vanvitelli is inspired by this refectory and copies its framework and fresco.
Turning back towards St. Giovanni del Bregno, heading for the statue of the Virgin, on the right there are the access stairs to the rooms of the Blessed Stefano Bellesini. Seeing the room where the Blessed Stefano died one can not but think at the noble example of this Augustinian priest who lost his life in the service of his brothers to reunite himself with God. The two upper floors are home to the private rooms of the friars, the kitchen, the apartments of the nuns, and the Vasqueziana Library.
In 1900 the addition of a fourth floor served as a space for the orphans. Since 1960, the floor no longer serves its original function and today is available to religious occasions. There is a community project to build a small area for acceptance and prayer for 10/15 people.

Pilgrim Popes in the Sanctuary
Through the centuries, different Popes have shown a particular attention to the Sanctury of Genazzano even though, during their reign they did not go on pilgrimages as did Urbano VIII, Pio IX, Giovanni XXIII, and Giovanni Paolo II. They were attracted by the fame of the sanctuary that drew crowds of pilgrims, and the wonders that were said to have taken place there. Some of the Popes were:
Paolo II – in 1467 sent two bishops to Genazzano to carefully examine the situation and to evaluate the authenticity of the events for which “the whole of Italy was moved and from countries and cities they made their way to Genazzano” (Coriolano 1481)
Sisto IV – in June 15, 1475 confirmed the donation of the church of Santa Maria to the Augustinians following the will of the lord of Genazzano, Pietro Giordano Colonna.
Alessandro VI – having heard that unknown people had looted the monastery of the annex Sanctuary, issued a bill of excommunication on May 15, 1502.
Gregorio XII – had granted indulgence to the souls in purgatory for which it is celebrated a Mass at the altar of the Madonna.
Innocenzo XI – in November 17, 1682 ordered that the Virgin Mary was crowned with a double golden crown. The Pontiff motivated this decision by stating: “having received the report of the wonderful things that God has deigned and deigns to operate through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the church of Santa Maria of Genazzano, the Chapter of St. Pietro in Vatican established to crown the image with solemn rite.”
Clemente XII has granted a plenary indulgence on the feast of the apparition (April 25 to the devotees’ visitors of the Sanctuary).
Benedict XIV with a short ” Iniunctae Nobis ” of July 2, 1753 approved the Pia Unione of Our Lady of Good Counsel . ( In 1790 there were 190,000 members )
Leone XIII – “was no longer in power to visit the Sanctuary. If he would have been there is no doubt we would have seen another pilgrimage of a Vicar of Christ to the altar of the Mother of Good Counsel, to which he felt deeply devoted. The Reverend Monsignore Guglielmo Pifferi, sacristan of His Holiness and Parish of the Vatican said to have seen Leone XIII absorbed in prayer before the copy of the sacred image of Genazzano, which dominates the main altar of the Paolina Chapel, erected in his honour by the affectionate care of Pio IX” (written by Monsignor Georgio Dillon in 1893 in The Virgin Mother of Good Counsel). The inability to go personally to Genazzano has not stopped the Pope enhancing the décor of the sanctuary and promoting worldwide his devotion to the Mother of Good Counsel. The zeal of the Pope leads him to:
– in 1884 to approve the new Officio with the Mass for the Feast of 25 April;
– in 1892 to grant the scapular with the indulgences that he himself received;
– March 17, 1903 to raise the Sanctuary to be a Minor Basilica;
– April 22, 1903 to order that in the Litany of Loreto, after the invocation “Mater admirabilis” were added the words “Mater Boni Consili”.
The first visit by a pontiff to Genazzano is that of Urbano VIII on October 21, 1630. Here is a testimony: “the year 1630, while I was not yet a priest but I was living in the convent, came to visit the glorious Virgin to implore help against the plague, which at that time had begun to furiously depopulate in Italy the Pope Urbano VIII and many Cardinals, and Princes, and Lords; I saw that good Pope, after celebrating mass, while he was kneeling on the altar of Mary, weeping bitterly” (P. Torelli, Lives of the Homini and the Distinguished Women in Holiness, Bologna, 1647, pg 353).
The second is that of Pio IX on August 15, 1864 – an important event as the Holy Father gave the impetus to the completion of the work of beautification of the interior of the church that had been stopped because of an appeal. Here are some extracts from the story: ” […] It was the day August 15, 1864, feast of the Assumption of the Virgin and the Holy Father departed from his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, accompanied by the noble Anticamera, by Monsignor Marinelli Sagrista Pontificio, and other prelates, were the first ones to travel the new road, which from Genazzano leads to the railway station of Valmontone […] the entrance and the halls of the building where the Pope entered had been beautifully decorated […] in one of these the throne had been prepared; there, the Holy Father dressed the pontifical clothes and went out on the balcony overlooking the garden. He gave a solemn pontifical blessing to the many thousands of people […] this visit of the Holy Father to the church and its comments about the work of decoration remained pending […] Cardinal Amat said a few words of censure […] but the Holy Father immediately refuted by saying that the good or bad effect depended on the finished work, which it is not possible to judge at the current state, but which seemed to him that would have made a nice effect when finished […] ”
Another visit is that of Giovanni XXIII on August 25, 1959. Unlike the two previous visits, the Pope had decided that his visit to Our Lady of Good Counsel was to take place without any entourage and without public demonstrations of any kind. Perhaps, he was convinced that his visit would have gone unnoticed. But the Holy Father did not consider that news of this kind would not remain private. Here are some parts of the news that the Osservatore Romano published the following day: […] The Holy Father has left Castel Gandolfo at 15:00 and has returned at 20:00 […] At the entrance of the Shrine, the Auxiliary Cardinal Aloisi Masella, Suburbicario Bishop of Palestrina, SE Monsignor Pietro Severi, Monsignor Morelli – Liberian canonical, all parsons of the town, the Curia of the Augustinian Religious people […] the whole population in the streets and in the square, as well as the lucky ones who were able to enter the temple, were fervently waiting […] When the papal car, with difficulty, managed to enter the square, what an emotion together […] His Holiness addressed the people his fatherly word […] the Pope thanked them for the warm welcome and exhorted them and encouraged them to deep fraternal charity and to keep close to them the Blessed Virgin.
The last visit in order of time is that of Giovanni Paolo II on April 22, 1993. Contrary to previous visits of Giovanni Paolo II this is documented by a video from which we offer you a brief excerpt. More evocative than words, he shows his affection to the people of Genazzano and his deep bond with the Mother of Good Counsel.

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