In 1520 a devoted widow builds the first chapel on the hill of Radna. In 1551 the Turkish rule beings, lasting until 1716. In 1642 Father Andrija Stipančić, Franciscan padre at Radna, manages to receive an „Embre“ (a decree) by the Sultan for the renovation of his chapel after paying a bribe and having walked the long and exhausting distance by foot to Constantinopel and back. In 1668 the chapel of the Franciscan friars receives an icon from the workshop of the typographer Remondini (of Bassano del Grappa, Vicenza province, northern Italy), depicting the Madonna in her scapular. This Image of Mercy is being worshiped to this day. In 1695 Turkish soldiers set fire to the Franciscan chapel. The church burns in a sea of flames – religious believers find the paper printed Image of Mercy undamaged among the charred remains. According to another legend, the hoof of a Turkish soldier´s horse, riding up the hill to the church, got sunk into a stone, whereupon he could not continue his ride. The stone with the hoofmark and the painting on the right hand side wall of the church draw impressive attention thereon. In 1723 a new and larger church is built. In 1756, at Pentecost on July 7, the foundation stone for a new church in Maria Radna was laid since the old house of prayer soon proved to be too small. This church is still standing today. In 1911 the two church towers are being raised by 30 meters under the control of Father Augustinus Prieszter OFM to a total height of 67 meters. He also renews the Stations of the Cross on the path of pilgrimage behind the church. In 1992 Pope John Paul II bestows the title „Basilica Minor“ to the church of pilgrimage of Maria Radna. In 2013 the whole estate, classified as a category A historical building, underwent a complete renovation in the framework of an EU-aided project. With Maria Radna as a flagship, the project aimed at developing cultural tourism and the economic infrastructure in the vicinity and at positioning the church and monastery into the touristic cycle.
