Saint Gabriel of Sorrows (1838-1862) was the son of an important governor in Central Italy. At the age of 18, he joined the Passionists - a religious order founded by St. Paul of the Cross (1694-1775). After Gabriel had completed his novitiate, he and some other men were transferred to another monastery. There, they would finish their studies in preparation for the priesthood.

One day, Gabriel was helping his fellow students clean out an older storage room at the monastery. In the process, they found a statue of Our Lady. The old statue stood four feet tall, and the colors were worn and ruined, while parts of it were chipped. Almost at once, Gabriel sought out his director and asked for permission to repair it. Father Norbert gladly gave his consent.

Gabriel set to work. He filled the chipped areas with plaster, and mixed paints to achieve life-like tones for the statue. But when the statue's clothes were painted (like they were before), it looked dull. Then Gabriel had an idea. There was some dark green velvet material left over from a set of vestments in the tailor shop. With this material, Gabriel designed, cut and sewed a dress for Our Lady’s statue. It was pleated and had a lace collar. He placed in the statue's left hand a white muff with pearls on it. The long veil over Our Lady’s head hung down to the ankles and had laced edges. A sword pierced the heart of the statue, and Gabriel craftily stained the material around the heart to give the appearance of a bleeding wound.

For days Gabriel worked on the statue. When he was at last finished, Our Lady looked most beautiful. So inspiring, in fact, that Father Valentine, the rector of the monastery, had a special nook made for the statue over the altar in their chapel. Gabriel was delighted that Our Sorrowful Mother would be thus honored - and through the madonna that he had restored by God’s grace and his own efforts!