New Statue Statua Nuova of Madonna della Fontana

Please read to those devoted to the Blessed Mother and those who wish to keep a devotion alive!

Annually the Spilingese Community celebrates the third Sunday in May the Feast of Madonna della Fontana and San Michele. A story passed down from generation to generation recounts that a young woman, Domenica Muia, had a dream. In the dream, la Madonna told her to come and remove her from a small cavern where she was; the Madonna also said that water was to be found there. After days and days of cutting away plants, trees, vines, and other vegetation and to the surprise of many who doubted her, a statue was found.

This statue, made of olivewood and measuring only 160 cm tall, was left by Basilian Monks who inhabited and prayed in those areas. Indeed, the image was long forgotten, only to be found again and venerated as she is in Spilinga, a small town on the west coast of Calabria.

In Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in the Ironbound Section of Newark, there is a statue made by Francesco D'Agostino (CAROCI), a true leader and visionary of the Spilingese Community. When the statue was sculpted so many years ago, and the community was younger and more robust, they could carry it relatively easily. Now that our community has aged and become fewer, a new statue becomes tantamount to first and more practically carry the statue in procession and nextly revitalizing the devotion to Madonna della Fontana for future generations.

After speaking with Frank D'Agostino with much support, he remarked, "I am sure that whatever you are to do with the new statue, it will turn out well." And thus, this statue will be in his honor, as the current statue will remain in the church. In addition, this new statue will be in memory of all the men and women, especially of the Madonna della Fontana Society who in 1982 celebrated the first feast day in her honor.

The statue will be handcrafted in Lindenwood by artisans from Ferdinand Stufflesser in Ortisei, Bolzano, Italy and will arrive before her feast day on May 21, 2023. It will be a scale model, that is, exact to the measurements of the original statue in Spilinga. It will encapture the beauty of the original image and be a testament to our love and devotion to our Blessed Mother.

https://stuflesser.com/en/

Donations can also be mailed to:

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church

259 Oliver Street

Newark, NJ 07105

Attn. Eric Lavin

Funds that exceed the goal will be put toward crowns from Serpone in Naples, Italy