Attempted Assassination?
On April 12th, an interesting anniversary for the Church may have gone unnoticed. On that day, the “Virgin of Revelation” appeared to a violent man who was conspiring to commit a terrible crime. His name was Bruno Cornacchiola, and at the time he was 34 years old. On the 12th of April 1947, Bruno walked through a little town square near Rome with his children, a little ways from the place where Saint Paul was beheaded, the Tre Fontane (Three Fountains). He was irritated because his three children, who were playing in a nearby grotto, refused to answer his call to return home. So he went into the grotto, and there he found his children on their knees, staring, as if captivated by a strange presence. Bruno raised his eyes toward the back of the grotto, and there stood Mary, holding the Bible in her hands! A cross was lying on the ground near her, in pieces. It was the very cross that he himself had destroyed and thrown into the trash bin earlier that week!
For Bruno, this was the shock of his life, and the start of a complete turnaround! He fell in love with the Blessed Mother, even though he was a Protestant, and immediately converted. Then he began an amazing journey with her. He completely renounced the evil plan he hatched for the following day: to assassinate Pope Pius XII with a knife! On a wall of the grotto, on that very day, he wrote: “In this grotto, the Divine Mother appeared to me. With love, she invited me to return to the Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church.” Two years later, he met with Pius XII, and handed him the very dagger that he was planning to use to kill the Pope. It bore the inscription Death to the Pope! Then, with tears in his eyes, he asked for forgiveness. Bruno devoted his life to making Our Lady known, and she continued to convey messages to him.
Among these messages, the one dated April 12th is very powerful: “You are persecuting me, enough! Go back to the holy fold. Let prayers be said and let rosaries be recited daily for the conversion of sinners, of unbelievers, and for the unity of Christians.” Later on, the Blessed Mother entrusted him with prophecies, but they have not all been published yet. They include that the Church will suffer, the Truth will be forgotten, and many priests will leave their ministry. Our Lady promised to grant powerful miracles for the conversion of sinners. She spoke to him also of the three white loves, the foundations of the Church: the Eucharist, the Immaculate One and the Holy Father.
On several occasions, Bruno also met Pope John Paul II, who greatly supported Bruno in his ministry of bringing sinners back into the fold. On behalf of Our Lady, Bruno was able to warn the Pope of a new assassination attempt, which actually took place in Fatima on February 2, 1982, (see PPS). One day the Pope said to Bruno “You have seen the Mother of God, so you have to become a saint!”
Bruno went back to the Father on the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, June 22, 2001. The cause for his beatification has been opened.
For us today, this is a magnificent illustration of Mary’s wishes, of her pain in seeing our transgressions, and her hopes in forming her apostles. She is looking for apostles who agree to become one with her soul, and she is not afraid to recruit them among the worst sinners. The time has come to answer her call!