Our Lady of Providence

According to tradition, Philip Benizi (1233 – 1285) prayed to Mary for help in providing food for his friars, and subsequently found several baskets of provisions left at the door of the convent.

[3] Around 1580, the Italian painter Scipione Pulzone created a work titled "Divinae Providentiae, which depicted the Virgin Mary cradling the Infant Jesus.

In 1732, a copy of the painting was placed in a location adjacent to the main altar of the church of San Carlo ai Catinari in Rome, where it drew many faithful visitors.

[5] In 1774, Pope Benedict XIV authorized the Confraternity of Our Lady of Providence, a lay organization created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety.

[5] In 1888, Pope Leo XIII ordered the solemn crowning of the "Miraculous Lady" and approved the Mass and Office of Mary, Mother of Divine Providence.

During a trip to Rome in 1925, Rawlinson gathered historical information on the devotion to Our Lady of Providence and then brought back prints of the painting to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

[5] On May 1, 1925, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Providence was canonically erected at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods with the purpose of encouraging families to make Mary the queen of their homes.