A Heavenly Treat
From the REV SHIRLEY MURPHY
Image by José Manuel de Laá from Pixabay
Ferrero Rocher are one of my all-time favourite chocolates. So it was very exciting to learn about the inspiration behind them.
Who doesn’t love this chocolate-and-hazelnut treat? But did you know they were named after the site where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a Catholic girl in France in 1858?
The confection looks so luxurious. Peeling off the shiny gold foil to find layers of sweet delight is almost magical, and apparently their creator, Michele Ferrero, chose the name to reflect the otherworldly rocky grotto called the Rocher Massabielle where St Bernadette first had her vision of Mary
Her visions were experienced 18 times at the grotto, with the Virgin Mary asking Bernadette to dig in the soil; a spring of water which is said to have miraculous healing properties bubbled up from the ground and still continues to produce water today.
As a devout catholic and third-largest chocolate producer in the world, Ferrero is said to have announced: “The success of Ferrero we owe to Our Lady of Lourdes; without her we can do little.”
Naming the confection after the site of these miraculous visions was his act of devotion and gratitude, along with regular pilgrimages and placing an image of the Virgin Mary wherever the confection was produced.
My own love for Ferrero Rocher is so strong that it could even be used as a bribe. My husband, Julian, knows that I love them so much that he often buys them for me, and I know I will always have them on my birthdays and our anniversaries. Whether or not we were giving or receiving the Ferrero Rochers, I have always enjoyed eating them.
So, the next time you buy these chocolates think about the inspiration which led to their invention.
Source: https://aleteia.org/2020/06/24/how-ferrero-rocher-chocolates-were-inspired-by-the-virgin-mary/
The Rev Shirley Murphy is Chaplain to the Bishop of St Davids at The Diocese of St Davids, Church in Wales.
