9th Centenary of the Foundation of the Abbey of Montevergine

For nine centuries Montevergine Abbey has stood on the massif of Mount Partenio in the delightful landscape setting of the Partenio Regional Park of Italy. The religious complex is built around two buildins of worship: the Cathedral Basilica constructed in 1960 with the tomb of Venerated Saint Guglielmo da Vercelli, founder of Montevergine on Patron Saint of Irpinia; and the Baroque-style Basilica Antica, the work of Gian Giacomo di Conforto, built on the ruins of the medieval structure. The history of his shrine does not owe its origin to a Marian apparition but to the ascetic Marian spirit of the founder and his disciples who wanted to build a beacon of devotion to Our Lady in Montevergine. In the 12th century, at the heart of the Christian Middle Ages, Saint William embodied one of the highest images of the man of God. An apostle and pilgrim, William dedicated his life to spreading the Gospel in every place and to every kind of humanity. And when one day he arrived at the foot of Mount Parthenio, he thought it the most suitable place to build a temple to the Virgin to offer to future generations as a testament of faith. The year was 1124. He immediately took care to welcome his new brothers there, so much so that even before the primitive church was consecrated, some cells and a hospice had already been built to shelter pilgrims. In a short time, therefore, William found himself at the head of a congregation of monks eager to live according to his example, choosing a lifestyle marked by humility and renunciation of the flesh in favour of spiritual asceticism. The stamp issued for the occasion features a detail depicting the Abbey of Montevergine, taken from the Affresco Principatus Salerni, dating to around 1585, and preserved in the Gallery of Maps at the Vatican Museums.