George Kastrioti Skanderbeg (1405–1467), also known as Iskander, or by his more colorful title, the Dragon of Albania, was a great warrior and leader of the people of Albania who fought against the expansion of the Ottoman Empire into his kingdom. An invincible opponent of Islam, the reason for his successes was no secret: he “loved the sanctuary of Mary with a devoted, enthusiastic love; and Mary in return, not only made him a model of Christian perfection, but also gave him an invincible power, which preserved not only Albania but also Christendom during his reign.”
There was at this time a miraculous painting located in the town of Scutari, which was the capital of Albania. Our Lady of Scutari, now known as Our Lady of Good Counsel and Our Lady of Genazzano, is an image of Our Lady holding her Divine Son which had been painted on a thin sheet of plaster by an unknown hand. This portrait, reputed to date from the time of the Apostles of Christ, was greatly venerated and beloved by the faithful Albanian people. It was Our Lady of Scutari who had consoled and preserved Iskander through all his trials.
At the end of his life, physically exhausted from his labors, Iskander sensed that his death was near. Shortly after Iskander’s death, the Ottoman army invaded Albania again. Without their invincible champion, it was only a matter of time before the capital was taken. The Blessed Virgin revealed to two pious men that her image would not be desecrated, and told them to prepare themselves for a long journey to follow the fresco when it left Albania. The picture then moved away from the wall, seemingly of its own accord, and floated into the air.
As the pair followed the image of Jesus and Mary, it was hidden in a cloud and went out over the waters of the Adriatic sea. Full of confidence in Our Lady, the men stepped upon the water, which miraculously supported them, and so they continued to follow the image until they made land along the coast of Italy. At that point they lost sight of the cloud.
It was not long before they learned where the image had gone. The cloud was seen again by the people of Genazzano when they looked up into the sky to find the source of the heavenly music that suddenly reached their ears. They watched dumbfounded as the little cloud descended and came to rest where it can still be seen today, floating before a wall of the Church of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano. The image indeed floats before the wall, for it is not attached or supported in any way.
A hundred years later Pope Paul III had the picture studied and authenticated; Innocent IX had it crowned; many other Popes have granted favors to the shrine. As late as 1936 a commission formed to study the picture, reported, if struck a slight blow it reacts as if it were hollow; if set in motion, it oscillates visibly. Pope Leo XIII raised the sanctuary to the dignity of a basilica and had the invocation, “Mother of Good Counsel” added to the Litany of Loreto.
Pope Pius IX had a great devotion to Our Lady under this title; he offered his first Mass before its image; in 1864 he made a pilgrimage to Genazzano to have counsel of her who is “Seat of Wisdom.” He kept her image in his study and fostered a cult to Mary under this title; thus he exemplified the filial confidence of all true sons of Mary.
Compiled from www.roman-catholic-saints.com by Tej Francis
Email: tejfrancis@gmail.com
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