My name is Ferrara Raffaele, known as ‘Lello’.
. I was born in Grumo Nevano (NA) on 07/05/1966 and I come from a very large family, made up of 11 brothers; I am the ninth
I was born at 7 months old; when I was 4 years old I couldn’t speak, or rather I couldn’t pronounce words clearly, I couldn’t compose sentences and I couldn’t walk, thus giving obvious management problems to those who looked after me
My parents worked in Frosinone and came home every 15 days or so, depending on what was possible and what was needed, so my older sister was in charge of looking after and managing the family Her duties also included taking me to school, but since I didn’t really want to go, I always found a way to play truant, thus creating serious clashes with my parents due to my obstinacy of not attending school.
Because of my various and well-deserved school failures, my parents, in desperation, decided to take me to Ururi, in the province of Campobasso, to my uncle, my father’s brother, so that I could change my life, be looked after by new people and attend new circles.
But this too was a failure, because it did not produce the desired results; so I went back to Naples and decided to go to work.
As you can understand, my adolescence was quite turbulenta come si può capire, la mia adolescenza fu abbastanza turbolenta.
I was nearly19 years old and engaged, like many of my peers.
I was a Catholic but not a practising Catholic, unlike my aunt, who was very devout and practising and often organised pilgrimages to “Oliveto Citra”, a small mountain village in the province of Salerno, where there were the remains of an abandoned castle, nearby it apparitions of the Virgin Mary took place.
One day, on my way to see my girlfriend, I met my aunt and stopped to talk to her. Between one word and another, she invited me to one of her pilgrimages to Oliveto Citra.
With great amazement at the invitation, I clearly refused, but she was insistent
Then intrigued by this insistence, I promised her that one day I would go, but on the condition that I would neither enter the Church nor pray, also because I did not know any prayers, not even the “Hail Mary”. So my aunt reassured me by telling me that if I didn’t want to, I didn’t have to go into the Church and that I could stay in front of the gate or just wander around the village.
It was the 8th December 1985.On that day, my aunt had organized the pilgrimage to Oliveto Citra and I had to go, as I had promised. I hoped that my girlfriend would come with me, but she didn’t want to know, so I had to go alone, to make my aunt happy.
During the trip, the believers prayed the Holy Rosary inside the bus: and I felt uncomfortable and I was regretted my decision.
When we arrived at the site, there were many people praying and lined up on a flight of steps to get to an old gate that was the entrance to a castle.
I, too, was seized with curiosity and got in line: I wanted to see what there was in front of or behind this gate.
But once I was there, I saw nothing in particular, so I left.
As I was descending the staircase, which ended in the little square in front of the castle, I looked up at the gate and, staring at it, I felt my heart thudding inside me, beating fast, fast.
Amazed by this event, I asked myself what was happening to me, I thought maybe it was the atmosphere of that place, but, in short, I could not give myself an explanation.
Suddenly, as I was looking at the gate, I saw a large white light with the image of a cross inside.
Then this image opened up and I caught a glimpse of the silhouette of a woman with her hands outstretched, in a sign of embrace, then she joined together and with her face looking to the right and left.
I was amazed; I did not realise what was happening to me
I immediately ran away in tears from the place where I was standing. I wanted to stay far from the crowd. I was crying and didn’t want to talk to anyone, but I felt a great peace within me.
At a certain point, I saw my worried aunt coming and asking me what had happened to me, but I didn’t want to tell her what had happened, because I was afraid she would tell people.
But she calmed me down, told me not to worry and that it would remain a secret between us and I told her everything that had happened to me.
I spent the rest of the evening in silence and then we finally went home.
From that moment on, however, the desire to return to that place was great within me
After a few days, I saw my aunt again and I asked her when she would organise another pilgrimage to Oliveto Citra. She replied that another group would be left the following Monday; so I immediately took advantage of this and joined them.
I left for my second pilgrimage and went to the gate, but this time I didn’t see anything special. Inside me there was always a great peace and when I left Oliveto Citra, I promised myself that I would return.
It was 30 January 1986 when I returned to the castle for the third time. There were so many people, as always I lined up to get to the gate and, as I went up the stairs, I tried to pray “Hail Mary, Holy Mary” because I could not recite it in full.
While I was praying and climbing, suddenly, of everything around me, I saw nothing.
There was only a great light, which grew stronger and stronger and opened up; in this light I saw a beautiful woman. I saw her clearly: she was clothed with a heavenly mantle, a golden belt and she was standing on a cloud, with a child in her arms. She said to me:
“Don’t be afraid, I’m the Mother of Heaven! Love youself, love yourself and don’t be afraid, My son! Begin to go to Mass. Pray, pray!”
Then, She bent over my forehead, kissing it, and I fainted
There, in the small square next to the castle, was the headquarters of the “Queen of the Castle” committee, where I was transported for assistance.
When I came to, I was surrounded by the people who had rescued me, who asked me what had happened to me, but I did nothing but ask where the Lady who had kissed my forehead were.
They did not understand what I was referring to, but they could smell a great perfume coming from my forehead, which invaded the whole room.
Among the rescuers and the people who were there to assist me, there was also Father Mario Baraglini and his secretary Anna Ghibellini, who were there in Oliveto Citra as pilgrims. (more…)

After this episode, when I returned home, my life changed radically and rapidly, without my noticing it. I was enraptured by the beauty that was enveloping me and I was more and more attracted to that spiritual world – unknown to me until then – than to material things; in fact, my friends noticed a great change in me, but I could not explain to them what was happening to me, although I had tried, tempted it several times This change of mine had aroused a lot of curiosity in them; in fact, some of them followed me in this new adventure. Then, one day, while I was praying with my family, Our Lady appeared to me and said: “Don’t be afraid, My son, because today I’m entrusting you to a spiritual Father, by whom you’ll be guided!” and I asked her: “Who’s he?” and she answered: “Father Vincenzo Cuomo”. I replied that I didn’t know him. She reassured me, saying: “Don’t worry, My son! You’ll find him and bring him this message and he’ll understand!”. She gave me a private message for him. So I went to my Parish to ask for information about this Priest. So, thanks for the help of my aunt and some of her parish acquaintances, we managed to track down Father Cuomo, with whom I met at his Parish, which was 20 km far from my house, in the company of my aunt and my mother, who had always been close to me, since the beginning of this adventure of mine. On the way there, I felt a great fear for this meeting, and my aunt, as usual, calmed me down, telling me: “If Our Lady has sent you, you mustn’t be afraid! When we arrived at the place, it was my aunt who first met the priest, telling him that I would have to speak to him; so he wanted to see me in private, leaving my mother and aunt in prayer. Father Cuomo immediately noticed how scared I was and tried to calm me down, inviting me to speak. I said: “Father, I don’t know if you believe me, but I’ve a message for you from Our Lady. He widened his eyes and stared at me in surprise. Then I said: “On the 26th of this month something will happen for which you pray so much.” He put his hand on my shoulder and said: “Take it easy with these things! Remain silent and, from the tree, we’ll recognize its fruits. We’ll then meet again on the 26th.” On the 26th, I returned to him, as he had asked, always accompanied by my mother and aunt. When I entered the church, he joyfully came towards me, took me by the hand and led me to the sacristy, where he said to me: “Today something great has happened: after a long time, there’s been a healing for which I prayed so much. A nun, who hadn’t got out of bed for a long time, came to take the Eucharist with her legs”. Then, he asked me for silence and obedience, to understand where those signs were coming from. Since then, he has been becoming my Spiritual guide. (more…)

Despite the confidentiality that Father Cuomo had asked of me, the news of what I was experiencing had already leaked out. In fact, one evening in June 1986, while I was walking through the streets of the town, I was stopped by four acquaintances from the town (Salvatore Chiatto, Rosario Cristiano, Rosario Conte, Antonio Del Prete) who asked me for information about what was happening to me. While telling them about my experience, I also expressed the desire to form a Prayer Group, and so it was. We used to meet weekly at my aunt’s house to pray the Holy Rosary and, as time went by, the Group grew more and more, but we found ourselves with considerable space constraints. After about two years, in fact, in an Apparition, Our Lady asked us to go and pray in the house of the Lord. Since my Parish Priest, Father Mimmo De Rosa, already knew my story – because my family and I had become parishioners, who were always present at the various celebrations – I asked him if it would be possible for our Prayer Group to meet there, in my Parish. He gladly accepted this proposal and made himself available for the Spiritual guidance of the Prayer Group and, in time, he also became my Spiritual Guide. (more…)

One day in 1988, a friend and I went to Oliveto Citra to live one of our moment of prayer. Here we participated in the Holy Mass presided over by a missionary Priest, whose homily I particularly liked; I decided then that I had to meet him, so, at the end of the Mass, I introduced myself and, as if everything was already prearranged, that same evening we met at his house to share our experiences. After some time, he came to my house to celebrate Mass in the presence of my large family, thus creating a stronger friendship between us and making the desire to understand what God wanted from me grow more and more. One day, on my way back to Oliveto Citra, I attended one of the many Masses in the Chapel of this Missionary’s house. There was a passage from the Gospel that said: “Let the dead bury their own dead” that particularly struck me but was not clear to me, so at the end of the Mass I asked him to explain it to me. It was for me the answer to my request and I decided to stay there with him, only asking him to let my family know that I would not be coming home again. It was not easy for my parents to accept this decision of mine! In this house, I lived with other young people and our day was spent in prayer and service to the Parish. The Priest, who was hosting me, wanted me to discern my spiritual life, keeping to the rules of that small community, living my experience with the Virgin Mary in silence, but sharing with all of them the moment of the last prayer of the day in the company of Our Lady. After a few months, this Missionary told us that we had to move to the “Brothers of the Word” Community in Acilia, Rome because he had to meet Mother Theresa. I did not understand who he was talking about, because I had never heard of Her, so this Priest, amazed at my ignorance, told me a little about this Nun and Her works. Before leaving for Rome, I spoke about it to my family, who reacted with great amazement to the news. Well, then I understood the greatness of that woman. The day of departure arrived; I was curious to meet this notorious Nun of whom I had heard so much.

It was 10 October 1988 and, in one of Mother Theresa’s Communities, this meeting took place. For me, it was a very strong impact, full of humility and extreme simplicity, seeing this woman so tiny but full of enthralling love. She blessed us one by one; we prayed together and She gave us a Miraculous Medal. After this meeting, a new way began for me in this Roman Community, where our days were spent in prayer and respect of the community rules. One day, our Missionary Priest decided, with Sister Elvira, to take our home the boys from the “Cenacle”, boys who had had experiences with drugs. Our leader asked us to put ourselves at the service of these young people, respecting the rules of Sr. Elvira’s community. (more…)

I was continuing my life in the service of this Community in Rome, when our Priest told me to get ready to leave for India. The news did not excite me. I was frightened and, besides, my family and my Spiritual Father did not agree with this decision. The departure was imminent. It was a difficult experience because we had to face the difficulties of being there without a house; in fact, Mother Theresa was so worried about us, because we were too young to live in those realities, She personally arranged for us to find more suitable accommodation. Experiencing the reality of Calcutta, full of misery and poverty, I had a cry in my heart for all that suffering, so, as soon as I had the joy of meeting God’s Mother, I asked Her:”Why don’t You appear here, but appear in Italy?” and She answered with a smile: “My son, if I come to Italy, it’s because you’ve forgotten God and the Word of God. I cannot ask these children to fast, make sacrifices and do penance. It’s you who have lost God and His Word, and I come to renew it for you. In my experience in India, in fact, I could experience that the smile was never missing in those people. After about a year of living in India, I started to feel physically ill: I had shrunk to 39 kg! My situation was getting worse. I had a very high fever and the nuns used to treat me with old-fashioned methods, the only ones available to them. At that moment Mother Theresa, who was very worried about my health, decided to send me back to Italy, accompanying me personally, but recommending not to spread the news of Her arrival in Rome. She gave me a precious gift. She gave me Her Crucifix, making me promise to take care of myself. From Calcutta, Mother Theresa took me to Bombay, informing me that I would stay for a day in a male-house of Her Community. No one there spoke Italian, and I was so afraid that Mother Theresa would forget me there, perhaps because She was busy. My fear was so evident that the people, who were there, realized I was frightened and tried, in vain, to calm me down. On the wall of my room, I noticed the image of Our Lady and spent the whole night kneeling at Her feet, asking Her that Mother Theresa would not forget me the next day. In fact, it was a great joy for me to see Her again the next morning. During the flight, I still had a fever and She had a blanket with which She covered Herself. At one point, She touched my forehead to check my temperature, after which She covered me with Her blanket, which I still jealously guard today. It was a long but unforgettable journey. Despite my state of health, it was a great gift for me to fly with Mother Theresa She was like a mother to me, caring and loving. When we arrived at the airport, Mother Theresa noticed many people waiting and asked me why there were so many people waiting for us. I replied: “Mother, it’s only my mother and some of the family!” Mother Theresa wanted to meet my mother personally, hugged her, and blessed her for the gift of a large family She gave each of us a Miraculous Medal. She blessed us and left

I went home to my mother to recover, but, as soon as I recovered, I returned to the Community in Acilia, much to the disappointment of my family. They hoped that I had returned to them forever. When I returned to the Community, I lived my days as I had done in the beginning, just as if I had never left. The time, needed to finish the work on the structure that was to receive us in Calcutta, passed. Our Missionary Priest, who had stayed there in the meantime, sent me a letter asking me to return to Calcutta with Sister Elvira and her boys, and I did. I took with me a dear friend, Franco De Santis. This departure was more serene and joyful for me than the previous one, because I knew what awaited me. I was not alone: my friend, Sister Elvira with her boys, and Mirka, the sister of the Medjugorje visionary Marija Pavlovic, were with me. The arrival in Calcutta was very eventful because, with Sister Elvira and Mother Theresa, we were always going around looking for a structure to open for Sister Elvira’s community in Calcutta. Now I don’t remember the exact dates, but I remember a moment that marked my life forever. It was December 1990. A group of young men and I, after a period of formation, had to take our vows to the “Brothers of the Word”. However, I had a moment of fear, because I did not understand whether this was really my call or whether I was simply caught up in the joy and the moment. was convinced that I wanted to love God above all else. I was aware that I had to say my “YES” to Him, but I wasn’t completely ready for this step; I didn’t feel worthy and I spoke about it with the priest in charge, who suggested talking about it with Mother Teresa. So I did. Despite many difficulties, since I did not speak English, I managed to get Mother Teresa to understand me, and she, with much love and simplicity, reassured me by telling me: “You don’t have to worry! It can be seen that you have not yet found the branch to lean on. When you find it, you will stop. In any case, you will make a Consecration that will last, as long as you are here with us in Calcutta”. So it was. A few days after my brothers’ Consecration on the way, I also made my promise.

It was 25 December 1990. I had a religious service to myself and another boy What an emotion! An unforgettable moment! As soon as I entered the little Chapel of the Motherhouse, there was a great sign for me: a big star with Our Lady inside, the same as the one in Oliveto Citra. This was a great confirmation for me! Today, I jealously guard with great joy a video documenting this magnificent experience, a video that was authorised to me by Mother Theresa Herself. After my consecration, I continued my life in Calcutta in close contact with Mother Theresa, working in Her houses, bringing help and support to the neediest brothers and sisters. (more…)

After a long period in Calcutta, I had to return to Italy because I fell ill again. After I recovered my health, I returned to the Community in Acilia. After a while, I don’t know why the union that had been created between Sister Elvira’s Community and that of the “Brothers of the Word” dissolved. I returned to Naples and conferred with my Spiritual Father who, as usual, was close to me and helped me to clarify my way. I spent days and days in prayer and the desire to start again arose in my heart since I had so many wonders inside me that the Lord had given me and I could not keep them to myself; so I asked my Spiritual Father to put his house in Grumo Nevano at my disposal. After several insistences, he granted it to me and so I found my peace and my home. Antonio, currently my brother-in-law, and I lived here, and our day consisted of prayer, evangelizing, and listening to the needy. A great friend of ours, Esterina, Giuseppe, and Maria Pia helped us on a daily basis, but Maria Pia lived in Bari, so her presence was sporadic, although very valuable. We spent a lot of time in this house, and our reality had spread. Under our Spiritual Father’s and Our Lady’s guidance, we lived in silence and prayer with the young people in our Group. Our house took the name “Mary’s School”, precisely because, on a daily basis, She instructed us and guided us and supported us in difficult moments, because there were so many of them and so many falls and failures.

As the number of brothers increased more and more and the house was too small for all of them, we decided to open a small workshop for religious articles in order to earn some money and then move to a larger house. The nuns from the Sanctuary of Pompeii came to teach us how to make some small items, such as rosaries and small paintings. In order to raise more money, we thought of asking for financial help from our acquaintances, but, during an apparition, Our Lady told us that we should not ask for anything, but only entrust ourselves to Her Son Jesus, and so we did. We always prayed to the Holy Providence to help us. Then one evening, we were at Esterina’s house and there was an apparition in which Jesus, firmly and decisively, said to me: “My son, the hour has come for what you’ve been seeking. Don’t worry! Very soon, keys will be given to you. Trust in Me and in My Mother!” And so we did, we prayed, waited, and trusted. (more…)

One day, Maria Pia introduced me to Antonietta, from Bitonto, Bari, who was always accompanied by her husband. Her husband, however, never came into the house; he waited for his wife in the car because he said he did not believe. On one of her visits, I came out of the house and finally had the pleasure of meeting her husband I exchanged a few words with him and invited him in for a cup of coffee and showed him around what for us was our home. In reality, it was a shop that we had used as a home. He was surprised at the place where we lived, but, without saying much, he left with his wife. The next day, he himself asked his wife that he wanted to come back to us. The wife told me this in amazement because, knowing her husband well, this attitude was unusual Antoinetta’s husband insisted on coming back to me, because he said that he had to talk to me and that he had been impressed by our meeting. Within a week, they decided to leave. When they arrived, he asked me many questions, but I did not understand why he was asking me so many things. I thought he wanted to go on a faith way, but his answer was categorical: “No, I don’t think about it”, then he stared at me and said: “Since I saw you, I was struck by your eyes and your simplicity and I felt I had to come back to you”; then he asked me if I was willing to move if I had the possibility to move and my answer was that if it was the Lord’s will I would have done that too. So before he went away, he left me astonished and speechless because he offered me the keys of his villa in the country. . We all immediately linked his offer to Jesus’ Message that the keys would soon arrive, and we were full of joy. I spoke to my mother about all this because I was afraid to leave a secure reality with something unknown. My mother said that if it was God’s will everything would go well and also my Spiritual Father, without hesitation, gave us his approval, his support, and his love. I met Maria Pia and her husband Pino in San Giovanni Rotondo (FG) together with my mother, Esterina, Antonio, and my father. They took us to see the villa. -It was huge, beautiful, and immediately habitable. On the return journey, we had a lot of problems: how to manage such a large house on our own, since Esterina had clearly expressed that she would not have followed us from the start and what kind of service to offer in such a remote residence. But we were not discouraged and abandoned ourselves to God’s will. But it was still not clear to us what kind of people we should serve, so I suggested that the first person who came to us for help, that one would be our direction. After a few days, a young drug addict knocked on our door. I had worked in Sister Elvira’s Community in the past. I had already had a lot of experience with these types of people, so I knew that it was going to be a huge and total commitment. I spoke about it to Antonio and Esterina, and it was not easy to make this decision, because just the word “drug addicts” frightened them; in fact, Esterina exclaimed: “Just the word “drug addict” frightens me; eh, who’s going to tell my children?”. But we were so caught up in the desire to “do” that we went ahead despite our fears. Finally, Antonio and I, and this young drug addict, who had asked for our help, moved to Bari, naked of everything, entrusting ourselves to Providence.

Once settled in, we gave ourselves a rule that involved prayer and works in the countryside. The boys, who wanted to join the Community, would have an interview during which they would be told our rules. They asked for no television, cigarettes or anything else, we relied only on Christ-therapy. The fruits were seen day by day, so much so that, when the Parish Priest of Mariotto visited us, he was enthusiastic about the work we were doing. He began to spend most of his day with us, even celebrating Mass in the facility, because some of the boys were not ready to leave this protected reality. The Lord did not let us lack anything, Providence sustained us in everything. We also had the grace of having our own Chapel with the gift of the Eucharist. Between nuns, priests, and laypeople, we welcomed pilgrims into the structure to experience moments of prayer and sharing together, because the Community was open to welcoming everyone. Almost everyone was surprised that I, a small and very young man, was in charge. It was not always easy to reconcile my mystical reality with the difficult reality of the boys, because the boys needed peace and serenity to overcome their problems; on the other hand, many pilgrims came to us to meet me and listen to the Word of God. Managing these totally different realities was not at all easy. In fact, it wasn’t long before I lost control of the situation and my Spiritual Father, who noticed on one of his visits that something wasn’t clear, decided to take charge himself. He held a meeting individually with those responsible for the facility and lastly with me. He wanted clarity and, in tears, I told him what had happened, which I cannot report here out of respect for the privacy of some people; but I still carry within me the pain of that defeat, for which I alone was responsible. Father Mimmo asked everyone to be obedient and told us all to return to our own houses As always, even in difficulties, God shows the greatness of His paternal love. In fact, He had previously arranged for Sister Elvira and me to host this nun’s boys at our facility, and this allowed our guests not to be alone when the other leaders and I had to return home. Even today, I vividly remember the pain of such a drastic separation from that structure and from those boys, whom we wanted and loved so much. Since then, I have not set foot in that community We arrived there “naked”, with nothing, and so we returned. (more…)

Mistakes are paid for and I paid for them bitterly, but I understood and learned that God is in earnest. Returning home, it was not easy to recover after this strong disappointment. I had no strength left. The only words, that echoed loudly within me, were those of Our Lady in which She said: “My son, seeing Me, you must suffer a lot.” This gave me hope for future recovery. Every day I went to Pompeii, always in close contact with my Spiritual Father, but he tried to discourage me, especially when I insisted on asking him to return to the Community. He would tell me to give up everything and start a new life. He kept telling me: “You think that I’m doing you harm, but one day you’ll thank me!“ I resigned myself to it and tried to rebuild my life. I found a job again and a girlfriend, who was also very religious. I tried to go on in the simplicity of my daily life, but inside me there was always that great desire to be everything for God. Although I led a normal life, in fact, I was planning to get married even though I didn’t want to, I found myself living experiences of evangelization and supporting the needy. The Lord continued to act through me. He used me continually. In fact, one day, while I was walking with my girlfriend, I saw a group of acquaintances coming towards us in the distance and, approaching them, they told me that just ahead of us there was a boy in the waste container.

.My girlfriend looked at me with a look of understanding, already knowing what I was going to do; in fact, we ran to the place and, after listening to that young man telling me about his mischievous, I, staring him in the eyes, asked him if I could help him. He was frightened that I would take him to the Community and immediately refused, but I made him understand that I would help him personally. But I needed to understand if he was really convinced that he wanted to change his life. I put him to the test a couple of times. I asked him to come to my house, but for two mornings in a row I was not there. Nevertheless, he returned on the third morning, so I saw in him constancy and determination. I invited him to come upstairs and welcomed him into my house, as my mother had agreed to take in a new son. This was for me the confirmation that the Lord was calling me to the service of my neighbour. In order to begin the process of caring for him, Sandro, which for me was all about love and prayer, we left with my father and went to Val d’Aosta, where we were hosted for a while in the house of some friends of mine. One night, after a week of hard abstinence, Sandro came close to my bed and, to thank me for the help I was giving him, he started kissing my feet. It was a very touching and emotional gesture for me. From that day on, he became part of my family. All my brothers welcomed him and loved him. (more…)

Sandro lived at my mother’s house for a while, going to work in a shoe factory and me in a tailor’s shop. But I felt we could not go on like this. One night I felt Jesus in my heart, saying: “My son, a new life is beginning for you!” These words remained impressed in my mind and made me think a lot, so Sandro and I scraped together what little money that we had for the trip and left for an unknown destination. .It was 1988. At that time there was an earthquake in the Umbria region and, on the street, I could see all those houses destroyed, and that’s how I felt, but I wanted to start a new life made up of silence and hiddenness. Ci fermammo ad Assisi e Sandro mi chiedeva cosa avremmo fatto ed io lo rassicuravo chiedendogli di pregare perché Dio avrebbe provveduto per noi.We stopped in Assisi and Sandro asked me what we should do. I reassured him by asking him to pray because God would provide for us. And so it was.

I received a phone call from a friend whom I called ‘dad Sanzio’ because he had always been close to me, from the beginning of my way, asking me for prayer. Sanzio lived in Polverigi (Ancona) and, while we were talking, he asked me where I was and, hearing that I was in Assisi, became curious about the reason that had brought me there. I told him that I did not want to return home and that I wanted to start a new life, as the Lord wanted. He was immediately available and invited me to his house for a while. A month went by, but I didn’t find anything concrete; so I wanted to leave because I felt I was a burden on Sanzio’s family, even though he continually reassured me that this was not the case and that he wanted to help me just like a father does. He was the one who put me in touch with a Caritas volunteer from Fermo to help me find a job. We went to Fermo to meet Antonietta who took me to several factories to ask for work, but we didn’t find anything. Then, as we were leaving, I saw a factory and I asked Antonietta to go and ask there, even though she thought it was difficult for me to find a job in that factory, but I felt I had to go there. In fact, I finally found work for both Sandro and myself. How can I not recognize God’s Providence? Sanzio went away sorry to leave us there, but I reassured him and we said goodbye. Antonietta couldn’t put us up for the night, rightly so, because she didn’t know us, but she directed us to an abandoned church, advising us to be careful because it was a dangerous structure. We spent about three weeks in this church, where we slept in the rectory. The work was going well, but the discomforts of living in those conditions were many and in any case I had to encourage Sandro who wanted to leave. One evening I told him not to grumble, but to go to church and pray because Providence would help us again, especially if he asked for it. After eating the usual sandwich, Sandro was reluctantly convinced and we went to pray the Holy Rosary. The next day, when we returned from work, we found a lady, Luciana, waiting for us outside the church. We immediately thought it was time to move out of there too, but once again the Lord worked wonders for us. Luciana was worried about us because it was a dangerous place, so she asked us to take our bags and follow her house, where she would put us up in her attic. For us it was a great gift to have all the comforts of a real home again. It didn’t seem real to us! I will always be grateful to Luciana, who welcomed us into her house even though she didn’t know us and already had a great cross to bear: her husband with serious health problems. Rightly so, after a month we wanted to be grateful for her helpfulness because she really treated us like children, even preparing food for us, but Luciana didn’t want anything from us, on the contrary, she thanked us because we cuddled her husband and brought her some joy at her house. But we didn’t want to take advantage of all that hospitality and we needed our own space anyway, so we were looking for a house of our own. Luciana and Antonietta helped us and found us one and were so generous as to make it habitable for us. And from there my new journey began, living my mystical experiences in silence and prayer, in fact, even my colleagues at work knew nothing of these realities of mine. After a long period of time Sandro, for personal reasons, went back to Naples and I continued my life in the Marches, always in silence and daily tranquillity, attending some Prayer Groups.
In the photo, there are Elio and his wife Flora, friends from Polverigi (Ancona), Friends like dad Sanzio, have helped and supported me over the years. They have opened the doors of their home to welcome the Prayer Group that still meets today. (more…)

It was a hot day in June 2008. While I was sunbathing on the beach, there was a man standing next to me. His face was pained and lost. As I stared at him, I asked him the time of day and that was the starting point for a conversation between us. He asked my name and when I replied: “Raffaele”, he intoned an ironic: “Ah! Father Raffaele!” and from there, as if by magic, we confessed our deepest and most intimate pains to each other. From that day on, we started seeing each other, and I was looking more and more into his soul. As we talked, I asked him what religion he was, and he replied that he was Catholic but not a practicing Catholic. As we questioned each other, I told him that once a week I went to a Prayer Group. Enzo – this was his name – was very intrigued by this way of mine and several times he asked me to participate and I assured him that one day I would take him with me. After several months, during which Enzo repeatedly asked me if he wanted to come and pray with me – but this never happened – he began to doubt whether I was really on a way of prayer. But one fine day I told him that the following evening there was a meeting in Fermo and that, if he was still interested, he could come with me. Enzo welcomed this proposal with joy, as did his participation in those moments, so much so that his presence at these meetings, work permitting, became constant. In the meantime, I slowly began to tell him about my mystical experiences and he was so fascinated. With joy, I saw that Enzo, after some time, also began to attend Sunday Mass. Shortly afterward, we left for Assisi for a spiritual retreat. It was 6 January 2009. As soon as we started the journey, we began to pray and it was an opportunity for Enzo to open his heart totally to the Lord. When we arrived in Assisi, we immediately went into the church and I advised him to go to confession. He looked at me threateningly and refused, looking for useless excuses, but, in the end, I managed to persuade him and to convince him. We went to confession. My confession was all about Enzo and when my confessor understood to which Priest my friend was confessing, he was worried because, in his opinion, he was not the most suitable Priest. After the confessions we met and I was worried about the reaction Enzo might have had to the confession he had just made, but I saw him all satisfied, serene and joyful, with tears in his eyes, and he told me: “I am well, I have found a Priest who has clarified my doubts. I feel reborn, I feel like a new man!”. Since this experience, our lives have walked in parallel, always with greater intensity, and today we are still very much united in our way with the Virgin Mary towards Jesus. (more…)

My religious way with the gift of Enzo, whom the Lord has placed at my side just as He sent the Apostles out two by two, has become more challenging and open since 15 April 2010 when, during a moment of prayer, Our Lady appeared to me and said: ‘My dear son, today is a special day for you! Know, My son, that Jesus wants that, every first Saturday of the month, Me to come among you to give a Message for humanity and wherever you are, I’ll come. This is a gift that God wants to give to humanity. Thank you for having responded to My call. I’m blessing you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Every first Saturday of the month, since 15 April 2010 I have been experiencing the grace of receiving the visit of Mary, who comes to bring us the Message for humanity. On these occasions, there are many people who come to experience moments of prayer, sharing and to honour Our Lady, thus forming a large and numerous family, the family of “Mary’s Pilgrims”. I live my life in simplicity, I work in a factory and, in my free time, I open the doors of my house and my heart to all those who need a word of comfort, those who have a desire to know God. My Evangelisation way becomes more and more demanding, and the more time passes the more my brothers in Christ increase. Nowadays, there are several Cenacles of Pilgrims in various Italian towns, all born from a moment of spiritual sharing, which has left within each heart the constant desire of seeking God, of Evangelisation, and of encounter with Jesus and the Virgin Mary. (more…)

I have reported all these experiences, be they joyful or painful because I want to shout to the whole world how great God’s Mercy has been with me. Although I am a sinner, He continues to work and use me for His plans And as Mother Theresa used to tell me: “When you find your branch, you’ll make your nest!”. Today I can confirm that I have found that branch. I thank God who gave me the discernment to understand what His will for me was and I understood that I must let Him act in my life and live one day at a time without expecting anything, trying to be the Messenger of His Word and a simple instrument in His hands. Yes, I am a Mary’s Pilgrim, and if I had to live my whole life over again, I would do everything just as it happened, because Her love for me is so great that She has granted me the joy of living here in Loreto (An), where I have the grace of visiting the Holy House every day, where the miracle par excellence took place: the Annunciation of Our Saviour’s birth! Every day, with humility, I go to this Holy Place to pray for myself and for all the people who entrust themselves to my prayers.
I would now like to relate the testimonies of some of my brothers in Christ, in order to give praise to the Lord and the wonders He continually works in our lives. (more…)