On July 8, 1579, Our Lady of Kazan, a holy icon of the Russian Orthodox Church, was discovered underground in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan. An excerpt from the article:
"In 1579, a fire almost completely destroyed the city of Kazan, including a soldier’s home, forcing him to resettle elsewhere. As he and his family were traveling to their new home, Our Lady appeared to the daughter, nine year old Matriona (or 12 year old Marfa according to the other version). The Mother of God asked Matriona to announce to everyone that the holy icon of the Mother of God of Kazan was buried under the ruins of the family house. No one believed the story of the girl; everyone thought she was just in shock because of the violent fire. So the Virgin appeared a second time in a dream to Matriona, but this time the girl didn’t say a word about it to anyone. A third vision followed, in which Matriona saw the little icon emanating a bright light and heard these words: "If you won’t announce what I tell you, I will appear in another place and a great calamity will befall you." Now she spoke up, but again her message was rejected by both the Governor of that city and by Archbishop Jeremiah. Matriona then begged her mother to accompany her to the place where their house once stood. The woman, unable to stand the incessant crying of her daughter, decided to go with her. On July 8th 1579, mother and daughter dug with great vigor at the place the child had seen in the dream until they uncovered the holy image, wrapped in nothing but an old cloth, but perfectly preserved. Now the clergy was convinced of the supernatural properties of the icon and it was carried in solemn procession to the nearby church of San Nicola.
Soon two blind men, Joseph and Nikita, recovered their sight when they prayed before the Madonna. Since then the icon had the reputation of making the blind see and grateful people who had been healed, began to offer emeralds.
Later it was decided to place the icon in the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Kazan until a convent could be built in the place of its discovery. Matriona became a nun and eventually the mother superior of that convent."