Many of the votive offerings are for alpinists who have escaped danger while climbing Mont Blanc or crossing many of its passes. There is a silver miniature model of the ship Stella Polare, a former Norwegian whaler which, in 1899, took Umberto Cagni and his crew on an unsuccessful mission to reach the North Pole. The survivors brought the model as a gift on 23 June 1901, as thanks for the sanctuary's prayers during the journey. Pope John-Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, during their summer holidays in Aosta Valley, visited the sanctuary on many occasions.