The History of the Shrine at Monte Sant' Angelo

From http://www.catholicangelsmagazine.com/V1__Issue_2__Article_13.html

Italy has many interesting and beautiful places to visit. One such place is the sanctuary of Monte Sant' Angelo perhaps more commonly known as Monte Gargano. It is the oldest shrine in Western Europe dedicated to the Archangel Michael.
The town of Monte Sant' Angelo was built 850 meters above sea level and overlooks both Gargano Massif and the sea. Dominated by the ruins of a Norman Castle it has kept its ancestral customs and ancient appearance with tightly packed whitewashed houses on its sloping mountainside.
It is at this lovely spot that the apparitions of St. Michael The Archangel took place and it is from here that St. Michael became known throughout Europe and the new world.
The story of the first apparition, which occurred in 490 blends with legend.
One day Elvio Emanuele, a nobleman of the area, lost the best bull of his herd. After days of searching, he found it, kneeling in an inaccessible cave. Not being able to get near it he shot an arrow but the arrow turned around and struck him. Surprised by this event he went straight to the Bishop who ordered three days of prayer and fasting.
Three days later, the Archangel appeared to the Bishop and said: "I am Michael The Archangel and am always in the presence of God. I chose the cave, which is sacred to me. There will be no more shedding of bull's blood (a reference to the fact that among the mountain the pagan cult was still thriving). Where the rocks open widely the sins of man may be pardoned. What is asked here in prayer will be granted. Therefore, go up to the mountain cave and dedicate it to the Christian cult!" The Bishop, undecided, deferred the execution of the angelic order.
Two years later, in 492, the Christian City of Siponoto at the foot of the mountain was besieged by the pagan hordes of Odoacre. The city was desperate. Bishop Laurence obtained a three day truce from Odoacre and ordered prayer and penance.
The Archangel appeared to him and promised his help to the townspeople if they would attack the enemy. They trustfully dared. Suddenly a storm broke out, sand and hail rained upon the army of Odoacre, which were terrorized. Siponoto was saved! The Bishop announced a thanksgiving procession and went up to the top of the Archangel’s mountain but he did not venture into the grotto.
On the third anniversary of the first apparition, still uncertain if he should follow the Archangel's order, the Bishop asked counsel of the Pontiff who ordered him to go there with other bishops of the region following a three day fast.
For the third time St. Michael appeared and ordered him to enter the grotto: "It is not necessary that you dedicate this church that I have consecrated with my presence. Enter and pray with my assistance and celebrate the Sacrifice. I will show you how I have consecrated this place." The Bishop finally obeyed. Upon entering the grotto he found an altar covered with a red cloth and a crystal cross upon it while at the entrance the imprint of an infantile foot confirmed the presence of the Archangel Michael.
The Bishop had a chapel built at the entrance to the grotto and dedicated it on the 29th of September, now kept as the feast of the Archangel Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. The grotto is the only place which is not consecrated by the hand of man. The title of 'celestial Basilica' was conferred during the centuries.
The last apparition of St. Michael was in answer to prayer as the terrible plague of 1656 had hit the area. The local bishop with his people invoked the Archangel and the plague ceased. It was at this time that the use of stone chips from the cave began to be used by the faithful much as medals or scapulars are used today. This custom is carried on even now by the local people who take small stones and place them around their homes and in the fields.
During the centuries, millions of pilgrims have gone to Monte Sant'Angelo in order to visit the “Celestial Basilica”. Among the pilgrims are many popes (Gelasius I, Leo IX, Urban II, Alexander III, Gregory X, Celestine V, John XXIII as Cardinal, John Paul II), saints (Bridget of Sweden, Bernard of Clairvaux, Thomas Aquinas) emperors, kings and princes (Louis II of Italy, Otto III, Herny II, Matilda of Tuscany, Charles I of Naples, Ferdinand II of Aragon).
Francis of Assisi also went to visit the Sanctuary, but feeling himself unworthy to enter the grotto, he stopped in prayer and meditation at the entrance, kissed and carved on a stone the sign of the cross in the form of “T” (tau)
Since 13 July 1996, the pastoral care of the Saint Michael Archangel Sanctuary has been given to the Congregation of Saint Michael the Archangel. The (CSMA) also known as the Michaelite Fathers, is a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church founded in 1897 by the Blessed Father Bronislaw Markiewicz, a Polish priest from Miejsce Piastowe, Poland. The Congregation of Saint Michael the Archangel is one of the 23 officially recognized groups of the Salesian Family of Don Bosco.