The Miraculous Image of the Madonna of Rimini

Publisher Marketing: The Mother of Mercy was painted in 1796 by Giuseppe Soleri Brancaleoni at the request of his sister, Sr. Clare Soleri, as a replica of the miraculous image venerated in the Oratory of St. Girolamo. This painting was placed as an object of veneration in a rear chapel within the Church of St. Clare in Rimini, Italy. On May 12, 1850, three women, having gone there to pray in front of the holy image, witnessed an extraordinary phenomenon: the pupils in the image "rose and lowered; sometimes having the splendor of shining stars, at other times veiled in tears." This miraculous event repeated itself again and again over a period of several months in the sight of many. Rimini and its surrounding countryside began to experience a spiritual renewal. After a rigorous examination of evidence given by numerous witnesses, the miracle was verifi ed by the Holy Catholic Church. In 1851, the image was adorned with a crown of gold, silver and precious stones; as a gift from Pope Pius IX. The venerated image has had many, various miracles attributed to it over the years, and numerous ex-voto offerings which commemorate them may be seen in the Church of St. Clare. In time, the Mother of Mercy came to be known as the Madonna of Rimini. The beautiful image, traditionally said to have been painted while Soleri was on his knees, is currently located over the High Altar in the Church of St. Clare, and to this day retains that "delicacy and smoothness" which have never failed to move those who prayerfully contemplate it. Contributor Bio:  Kimball, Paul After winning multiple scholarships and awards - including the University Medal in History at both Acadia University and the University of Dundee, and the CLB Award at Dalhousie Law School - Paul Kimball graduated from Acadia in 1989 with an Honors Degree in History and in 1992 from Dalhousie with a law degree. From 1992 until 1997, Paul was a musician, songwriter and producer during the heyday of the Halifax indie music scene. In late 1997 he moved to the film and television industry, working as the Program Administrator at the Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation and a consultant for several provincial governments before he founded the Halifax-based production company Redstar Films in 1999. He has since had work commissioned by a wide variety of networks and distributors, including the CBC, Space, TVNZ, Vision TV, Bravo, Content Films, and B7 Media. His films include the documentaries Stanton T. Friedman Is Real, Best Evidence: Top 10 UFO Sightings, Denise Djokic: Seven Days Seven Nights, Synchronicity, and Fields of Fear, the television series The Classical Now and Ghost Cases, and the feature films Eternal Kiss and Damnation. He has served as the Treasurer and President of the Nova Scotia Film and Television Producers Association, a member of the Nova Scotia Film Advisory Committee, and was a founding member of the Motion Picture Industry Association of Nova Scotia. His paranormal-themed blog, The Other Side of Truth, has been read by over 1,000,000 people since its creation in 2005, and he has appeared on myriad radio and television programs over the past decade to discuss his films, including Coast to Coast, The X-Zone, Binnall of America, Radio Misterioso, Night Fright, The Paranormal Podcast, and Strange Days Indeed. He has written for various magazines, including Phenomena and Alien Worlds, and spoken at a number of conferences in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Paul lives in his hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he continues to enjoy chocolate chip cookies, the zen of the vanilla milkshake, and slow walks to nowhere in particular.