St. Benedict lived here, in seclusion and prayer, for two years in the natural cave, which can still be visited just a few steps from the sanctuary's church. The sanctuary was rebuild thanks to the effort of father Kircher. He dedicated much of his remaining energy also to restor the cult of our Lady of Mentorella, reestablishing the shrine as a site of pilgrimage. When, on Nov 27, 1680, Kircher died he asked that his heart be buried in the church.
Fresco in the church
In 1857 Pope Pius IX gave way "in perpetuum" the shrine to the Congregation of the Polish Resurrection, under the guidance of Father Kajsiewicz. With the fall of the Papal States the Congregation of the Resurrection purchased the shrine and acquired legal title to it. More recently, in May 1977, the sanctuary became directly dependant on the Polish Province of the same Congregation.
The shrine of Our Lady of Mentorella is nowadays a important site of pilgrimage.
When Karol Wojtyla was still a priest, the Mentorella Sanctuary was for him a place of meditation and prayer. Immediately after his election as Pope as John Paul II, was visiting the shrine of Mentorella. Also Pope Benedict XVI chose this Sanctuary for his first excursion.
