Feb 9 Unexploded Bomb in Genoa Cathedral

Today in 1941 a targeting error by a gunnery officer on board a British warship some thirteen miles offshore caused an armour-piercing round to hit Genoa Cathedral; the shell failed to explode and remains on display there. The plaque (left) translated says, This bomb, launched by the British Navy, though breaking through the walls of this great cathedral, fell here unexploded on February 9, 1941. In perpetual gratitude, Genoa, the City of Mary, desired to engrave in stone, the memory of such grace

Todays pod looks at the circumstances of this conflict and the value that communities put on cathedrals, churches even statues or institutions during times of great stress. We also look briefly at Owen Davies' fascinating book - ’ A Supernatural War: Magic, Divination and Faith during the First World War. The event in Genoa was called the Saint Lawrence miracle. Today's pod tells the story .....