1608 – Our Lady of Siluva

Fun Facts

1457: The painting was transported from Rome to the church in Siluva where masses were given for generations forward, and a special parish Annual Feast Day of the Birth of Mary on September 8.

1532: Lithuania was the last country to convert to Catholicism. Before the destruction of the Catholic church by the Calvanist Governor, the parish priest of the Siluva church wrapped the treasured painting, liturgical vestments, and documents which proved that Vytautas the Great had given the land to the Catholic Church and placed them in the box. Then he sealed the box and buried it deep in the ground near a large rock.  

Who did Mary visit?

Child shepherds – and, later, a Calvanist Pastor 

What was her message?

Mary appeared in 1606 to shepherd children at the site of the former church to request that the Church that honored her son be rebuilt.

On MondayswithMary.org stated, “as the Calvinist pastor paused to catch his breath, a heart-rending sound of sobbing was heard…All eyes turned to the rock (where the church treasure had been buried, and there, standing in their midst, was the weeping lady with the baby in her arms, just as the children had described her.” So many tears fell from her eyes that they fell on the rock as light surrounded her. Speechless, the kids just stared. The witnesses to the children said that they were crying tears of joy. The Calvinist pastor became angry. He said that this is the work of Satan – and that the evil one wants to lead you away through Our Lady. He says, why are you weeping?”

Our lady had said…my son used to be worshipped in this spot ”but now all that the people do is seed and cultivate and land.” 

How did the witnesses describe her appearance?

She wore a blue and white robe holding Baby Jesus and weeping bitterly on a rock surrounded by a light

Miracles

Hearing rumors of apparitions, a man around 100 years old who had helped the priest, Father Holubka, buried the painting in a box, went with the villagers to dig it up. At the site, he regained his vision and found the spot near the large rock.  They found a large painting of Madonna and Child, church vestments,gold chalices, and church deeds.  The church was then rebuilt. The next year on that date, 11,000 people showed up to see where Our Lady and Jesus visited.

When was the apparition approved? By whom?

August 17, 1775, Pope Pius VI

• 1991: Lithuania was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
• 1993: Pope JPII names her “Queen of Peace.”
• 2002: Formally named  “Basilica of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary”
•  2008: 400th Anniversary of the apparitions of Mary in Lithuania

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