An ancient title
“Virgo Fidelis” is Latin for “Faithful Virgin”. The title is centuries old: it already appears in Marian liturgical poetry of the 11th or 12th century.
Why the Carabinieri
The choice speaks of faithfulness, the virtue the Arma carries in its motto, “Nei secoli fedele”, faithful through the centuries.
The traditional image, by the sculptor and architect Giuliano Leonardi, shows the Virgin reading a verse from the Book of Revelation: “Be faithful unto death” (Revelation 2:10).
The proclamation, 1949
After the Second World War, the Military Ordinary for Italy, Monsignor Carlo Alberto Ferrero di Cavallerleone, asked for the Virgin to be named patroness of the Carabinieri.
With an apostolic brief dated 11 November 1949, Pope Pius XII declared the Virgin Mary, invoked as Virgo Fidelis, the heavenly patroness of the Carabinieri. Monsignor Ferrero di Cavallerleone also wrote the Preghiera del Carabiniere, the Carabiniere’s prayer to the Virgo Fidelis.
Why 21 November
The date brings together two anniversaries: the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the battle of Culqualber, in East Africa, where on 21 November 1941 the Carabinieri fighting there gave their lives.
A day open to everyone
Italy is a secular republic, and within the Arma the Virgo Fidelis is an institutional tradition as well as a religious feast.
ANC Singapore marks 21 November in that spirit: a day of remembrance and togetherness, open to members and friends of every faith and none.
ANC Singapore is a civilian association. It is not part of the Carabinieri and has no operational role.