santuario, basilica minore, Madonna delle Grazie e Santa Maria Goretti

On the Lazio coast, near Rome, the Basilica of Madonna delle Grazie and Santa Maria Goretti in Nettuno stands as a sanctuary under the care of the Passionist Fathers. The building dates from the sixteenth century, erected on the site of an earlier church dedicated to the Annunziata, once located by the shore. Its purpose, however, has been profoundly shaped by a modern tragedy. The church now houses the crypt and relics of a young girl killed in an act of femicide; her story took an extraordinary turn when her murderer, after decades in prison, sought forgiveness from her mother and converted. The sanctuary was elevated to a Minor Basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1970. Inside, visitors find a wooden statue of the Madonna delle Grazie, which, according to tradition, washed ashore from a British ship in distress in 1550. The sanctuary also publishes a periodical, La Stella del Mare, founded in 1909.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.