Student Essays of Our Lady’s Approved Apparitions
In Honor of the Centennial Celebration
of the Legion of Mary
OUR LADY OF BEAURAING is very important to us. On the evening of November 29, 1932, five children, fun-loving, mischievous playmates, ranging from 15-19 were walking toward the railway viaduct in the Vallon part of Belgium in the simple and quiet village of Beauraing. Suddenly one of them exclaimed that there was a bright light moving at the viaduct. First they thought of the lights of a moving car. Very soon, however, they discovered the figure of a lady and they instantly recognized that this could be nothing less than the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady of Beauraing. Nobody wished to believe what the children related. But the next evening they came home with the same story. The village laughed at them and their parents were angry. The next time the children related with more details that they had seen a Lady who was more beautiful than her statues, dressed in pure white, with a crown of golden rays on her head. On December 2nd the children asked the Lady some questions; she, smiling, confirmed that she was the Immaculate Virgin and demanded they “always be good.” As the vision continued, more people came to Beauraing, including police officials, doctors and psychologists. – Christopher Baukus.
OUR LADY OF AKITA apparition was approved on April 22, 1984 and was located in Japan. Our Lady of Akita was sculpted out of wood because of one dear sister. That sister was named Sister Agnes Sasagawa. She had this statue sculpted out of gratitude for the healing that she believed she received by Our Lady of Akita. This statue came to life in 1973, giving three messages. Those messages were not only to Japan or the convent, but to the whole world. She gave out a series of tears or lacrimations in 1974. These lacrimations happened 101 times over the next few years. Those tears got tested and they were real human tears. Later, the messages of the 101 tears were figured out. The “1” signified Eve, the “0” signified God’s eternity, and the second “1” signified Mary as the new Eve. The Bishop later said that the messages of Akita were a continuation of Amsterdam or the Lady of All Nations. – Kyra Cho
OUR LADY OF KNOCK was an apparition of Mother Mary seen at the parish church of Knock, County Mayo, Ireland on August 21, 1879. The priest’s housekeeper was walking home on a rainy day when she thought she saw three life-sized stone figures that were previously destroyed in a storm standing on the gable of the church. She ran to her friend’s house and convinced her to walk back with her. When they reached the church they saw what appeared to be Mother Mary in the company of St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist. Mother Mary was described as beautiful and standing two feet above the ground. She wore a white cloak and was deep in prayer gazing at the heavens. St. Joseph stood to the right of Mother Mary and St. John the Evangelist stood on the left. Also seen was a lamb before a cross on a plain altar surrounded by angels. They were there for two hours, then faded. Knock soon became a major Irish pilgrimage site of prayer and worship because the people believed that the place where Mother Mary stood had healing power. – Zach Thomas
OUR LADY OF MIRACULOUS MEDAL the design of that was originated by St. Catherine Laboure following her apparitions Mary in Rue de Bac, Paris, France. It had been created by goldsmith Adrien Vachette. Per the Christian church’s teaching, the utilization of sacramentals like this medal prepares individuals to receive grace and disposes them to cooperate with it. Catherine Laboure declared that on July 18, 1830, the eve of the feast of St. Vincent de Paul, she awoke when hearing the voice of a baby and detected the Blessed Virgin Mary advise her, “God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but don’t fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and within the world.” On November 27, 1830 Catherine reported that the Blessed Mother came back throughout the evening meditations. She displayed rays of light over the globe. Around the margin of the frame appeared the words, “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” As Catherine watched, the frame appeared to rotate, showing a circle of 12 stars, a large letter M surmounted by a Cross and the stylized Sacred Heart of Jesus crowned with thorns and the Immaculate Heart of Mary punctured with a sword. Asked why a number of the gems did not shed light, Mary reportedly replied, “Those are the graces for which people forget to ask.” St. Catherine then heard Mary ask her to take these pictures to her father confessor, telling him that they should be placed on medallions, and saying, “All who wear them will receive great graces.” St. Catherine did so, and once after years of investigation and observation of Catherine’s normal daily behavior, the priest took the knowledge to his Archbishop while not revealing Catherine’s identity. The request was approved and medallions were designed and created. The Chapel during which St. Catherine experienced her visions is found in the motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity in Rue du Bac, Paris. The incorrupt bodies of St. Catherine Laboure and St. Louise de Marillac, a co-founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, are interred within the Chapel, which continues to receive daily visits from Catholic pilgrims today. Pope John Paul II used a small variation of the reverse image as his coat of arms, the Mother Cross, Marian Cross with an M beneath the right-hand bar (which signified the Mary at the foot of the Cross when Jesus was being crucified.) – Timothy Dyson
OUR LADY OF PONTMAIN also known as Our Lady of Hope is very important, for she gave a whole village hope in the midst of war. We need hope right now, in our crazy world as we are in the midst of a pandemic. Our Lady of Pontmain is important in our lives today because she is hope and she restores our hope. Our Lady of Pontmain first appeared to two boys named Eugene and Joseph Barbedette, then to several children. But the sisters, priest, and parents could not see her. They all prayed the rosary to her even though not all could see her. She appeared to them in Pontmain, France on January 17, 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War. When she appeared to them she was wearing a dark blue robe sprinkled with stars, a dark blue veil, a crown and she held a red cross. Here is a beautiful prayer to Our Lady of Pontmain, “Let us Pray: Almighty and eternal God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, glorious Mother of your Son, helps and defends all those who call upon her. By her intercession may we be strong in faith, steady in hope and persevere in your love. Amen.” – Elizabeth Frechette
And in the category of not yet approved
OUR LADY OF MEDJUGORJE first appeared in Medjugorjie, Bosina and Herzegovina on June 24, 1981 when six children began experiencing a phenomena which they claimed to be an apparition. Mirjana Dragicevic Soldo, who claims to be a visionary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, says that the apparitions would appear to her every month on the 2nd ever since 1981, but stopped March 18, 2020. According to the six “seers,” the apparitions conveyed a message of peace for the world. This apparition has not been accepted or denied by the Church, it is still being investigated. I believe that the apparitions are important in today’s history because they convey a message of peace. I believe that the apparitions are telling us to get our act together and try helping each other instead of destroying each other. I also believe that the apparitions are telling us to help everything around us, the earth you walk on or even your neighbor. – Ayla Cho