The church has its roots in two miracles observed by local girl Maria di Gesù Landi (21 January 1861 - 26 March 1931). Known for her devotion to Our Lady of Good Counsel (Madonna del Buon Consiglio), she created a painting of the saint in 1884, which apparently stopped an outbreak of cholera in the city in that year. 22 years later, the same painting appeared to clear the ash clouds from the 1906 eruption of Mount Vesuvius.