Feeding the Spirit--Marian Apparitions
A Marian Apparition is when one sees the image of Mary, the mother of Jesus. She has been reported to have appeared to people all over the world, usually giving messages of love and peace, but also relying prophesies of events to come. The Catholic church carefully and painstakingly investigates all reported Marian sitings. Many have received full church approval--meaning, they believe that Mary has actually appeared to the seer.
Apparitions are not a "new age" phenomena--Mary has been making appearances at irregular intervals throughout the two thousand years since she gave birth to Jesus. Despite the diversity of the people who have seen her, the characteristics of her apparitions has remained fairly consistent. She usually appears surrounded by a globe of pure white light, dressed in a long dress and head cover which vary in color depending on the content of her messages. Her feet are usually surrounded by a mist or cloud and she occasionally is seen holding her Son in her arms. A number of her appearances are preceded by unusual phenomena such as observations of lightning and thunder from a clear sky, apparitions of angelic beings or clouds of unusual shapes and religious significance such as a cross or a doorway as well as other inexplicable events.
Best Known Sites
Lourdes--by far, the best known Marian site is Lourdes, a French town about 30km southeast of Pau, in the heart of the Pyranees. On February 11, 1858, a poor and sickly 14 year old peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous was out gathering firewood with two companions. At the front of the rock of Masabielle, where the canal of the Mill of Savy joined the Gave river, she saw a vision of a lady dressed in white, standing in the Grotto. All together, Bernadette witnessed 18 visions of Mary, who finally revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception. She asked that a chapel be built on the site of the vision, and told Bernadette to drink from a fountain in the grotto. There wasn't a fountain in the grotto, but the vision pointed to a spot and told Bernadette to dig. When she did, water began to flow, and the spring is reputed to have remarkable healing power, though it contains no curative property that science can identify.
Bernadette was ridiculed and laughed at, but by the time of the inauguration of the statue of the Grotto on April 4, 1864, 20,000 pilgrims had come to visit the holy site. She was eventually canonized in 1933, and today Lourdes bears little resemblance to the sleepy village of 150 years ago. Six million visitors come each year, the majority of them Catholic and many seeking healing for diseases that modern medicine has given up on. The town is packed with shops selling religious paraphernalia, and some feel that Lourdes has become too commercial and crowded. Yet thousands claim to have been healed by fountain in the grotto, and the Catholic Church has acknowledged 65 miraculous cures at Lourdes. Others ignore the commercialism and instead, reflect on the events which occurred in 1858--that they, too, may be walking on earth that Mary felt was blessed enough to visit personally.
Fatima--after Lourdes, this obscure town in Portugal--which isn't obscure anymore--is probably the second most visited Catholic shrine in Europe. Three young children, Lucia dos Santos, age nine, and her two younger cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, were tending a flock of sheep in the fields outside Fatima in 1915, when the first of mystical events occurred. Lucia thought she saw a translucent cloud that seemed to be shaped in the form of a human body. During the next two years, the children witnessed several visits from an apparition who took the form of a beautiful lady surrounded by light. During the last apparition, on October 13, 1917, she revealed herself to be Our Lady of the Rosary. While the apparition was only visible to the children, nevertheless, the 70,000 people who congregated in the cove witnessed an amazing spectacle. Rain had been pouring down, but suddenly it stopped, and then the sun appeared to spin out of its orbit, emitting a rainbow of color as it gyrated; finally, when this display ceased, the sun was seen plunging toward the earth causing the crowd to scream in terror. When the sun eventually resumed its normal behavior about ten minutes later, many of these rain-soaked people found their clothing completely dry. Further,more, a number who came with medical problems found themselves either completely healed or their problems significantly alleviated. In addition, the more than ten thousand people in the surrounding villages who chose not to go to the apparition site also saw the sun dance in the sky.
The apparition gave prophesies of what was to come, if people did not change their ways. Two of the children died a few years later, victims of the influenza epidemic which killed 30 million persons worldwide. But Lucia survived to see that the Lady's prophesies had come to pass. All of the prophesies of Fatima have been made public save for one, which still remains a secret to this day. In the meanwhile, this obscure little village has now become famous, and is crowded with millions of pilgrims every year. Many seek healing, others seek renewal of faith and food for the spirit.
Medjugorje--once in Yugoslavia, now in Bosnia-Herzagovina, this mountain town became famous during the 1980s when six young people reportedly encountered Mary near the top of Mount Podbrdo. During a series of apparitions which continues to this day, Mary gave messages similar to those of Fatima, but in more detail. Due to significant media exposure, the town had become world famous by the late '80's. As a result, more than ten million pilgrims had visited it by the tenth anniversary of the first apparition. Ironically, on the tenth anniversary, conflict broke out among the Bosnian Serbs and Croats, but despite the war, thousands of pilgrims still managed to make the dangerous journey to Medjugorje. This site is still under investigation by the Catholic Church.
Other Lesser Known Sites
Saragossa, Spain--about 40 AD, it is said that one of the Apostles, James (the Greater), traveled as far west as the village of Saragossa in northeast Spain. While there, he became disheartened because of the failure of his mission. Tradition says that while deep in prayer, a vision of Mary came to him, and handing him a small wooden statue of herself and a column of jasper wood, instructed him to build a church in her honor. Eight centuries later, a cathedral in honor of St. James was erected. The site for the cathedral was called Compostella (starry field) and it is a major pilgrimage site to this day.
Walsingham, England--about 1061, Mary appeared to Lady Richeldis de Faverches, a widow who lived in a manor in Walsingham. Mary asked Lady Richeldis de Faverches to build a house that was a replica of her house in Nazareth, and the woman complied. Walsingham became a major pilgrimage site in the Middle Ages, until it was destroyed by Henry Vlll, when he broke ties with Catholic Church. It was rebuilt in the 1920s and today is becoming an active pilgrimage site again.
Czestochowa, Poland-- is the home of the Black Madonna, a painting of the Madonna and Christ Child which legend states was painted by St. Luke the Evangelist. It is believed to have been painted on a table top made by Jesus. For centuries, miraculous events have been attributed to the painting, including the rescue of a city from enemy hands and spontaneous healings to those who make a pilgrimage to the portrait. It is known as the Black Madonna because of the soot residue that discolors the painting. With the decline of communism in Poland, pilgrimages to the Black Madonna have increased dramatically.
Knock, Ireland--in 1879, in County Mayo, Margaret Beirne, and thirteen others saw visions of Mary, Joseph and St. John at a church in broad daylight. Other villagers, who were not involved with the apparition, nonetheless reported seeing a very bright light illuminating the area around where the church was located. There were subsequent reports of inexplicable healings associated with visits to the church at Knock.
Beauraing, Belgium--Fifteen years after the apparitions at Fatima, Mary appeared to children at Banneaux and Beauraing. The two apparitions in Belgium further developed the Fatima message. The apparition appeared to five children at Beauraing: Fernande, Gilberte, Albert, Andrew, and Gilbert in thirty-two apparitions from November 19, 1932, until January 3, 1993.
Garabandal, Spain--In 1961, in the village of San Sebastian de Garabandal in northwestern Spain, four young girls - Mari-Loli Mazon, Jacinta Gonzalez, Maria Cruz Gonzalez and Conchita Gonzalez - reportedly had a series of visions of St. Michael the Archangel and Mary. In all, there were reported to be over 2,000 apparitions spread over a five year period. During these apparitions, the visionaries claimed that they were asked by the Blessed Virgin to plead with humanity to return to God through prayer, fasting, frequent confession and reception of the Eucharist and acts of mercy. Much of what they said was similar to the Fatima prophesy, but in greater detail. Since these apparitions occurred over a period of years, the visionaries were extensively studied by medical professionals, scientists and others while they were in ecstatic states. The Garabandal apparitions are still under investigation by the Church, and a final evaluation has not yet been issued.
Next article, we will search for the Goddess in Europe......
A Few Good Links
For more information on Lourdes, visit the town of Lourdes website.
Offical site of the sanctuaries of Lourdes
Find extensive information about Marian Apparitions
Another good source of Marian Apparition information.
For the complete story of the Miracle at Fatima and information about the Fatima Prophesies.
Articles in this Topic
