The Well and the Baths
On the square, to the left of the Basilica, we find a well, dug in obedience to God’s explicit will, transmitted by Mother Esperanza, indicating the exact place. We finished the work of excavation at the end of 1960. The well is 122 m. deep, and today its plentiful water feed baths built for the sick. The pilgrims can take water from the fountain situated next to this building.
In the Holy Scriptures, water was used to indicate the action of Grace: it washes, cleanses, flows into eternal life. There is a very deep relationship between the Sanctuary and the baths. At the entrance of the building, we read Mother Esperanza’s invitation: “Use this water with faith and love, and surely it will serve to revivicate your body and for the salvation for your soul.”
On the facade, near a big marble crucifix, is the inscription of one of her prayers: “I thank you, Lord, because you gave me a heart to love and a body to suffer.”
On the column, to the left of the square, there is a statue of Mary Mediatrix, with open arms, as if she were asking for us the grace to understand the value of the suffering.
Inside the building, four mosaics by the painter Cupelloni, show Jesus also working miracles with water.
A sober, linear construction, divided into two separate pavilions (one for men and the other one for women), houses the baths for immersion in the water of the Sanctuary. Since the ecclesiastical approval was obtained, we celebrate the Liturgy of waters several times each week, in conclusion to a liturgy of penance.
