The night before the Feast Day of St. Vincent de Paul, “A small boy surrounded by light called Catherine into the chapel who said that Mary would be waiting for her there. Our Lady appeared to her and said,”My child, the good God wishes to charge you with a mission…you will be contradicted, but do not fear. You will have grace.,” and after warning of the trials ahead for France and the world, she ended with, “I will grant you many graces.”
November 27, 1830
“Mary again appeared to St. Catherine at the Rue de Bac Chapel. This time, our Blessed Mother was standing on a globe, with dazzling rays of light streaming from her outstretched hands. Framing the apparition was an inscription: ‘O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.’ “
What was her message?
As St. Catherine heard the sound of swishing silk when Mary entered, our Blessed Mother said, “Have a medal struck upon this model. Those who wear it will receive great graces, especially if they wear it around the neck. Those who repeat this prayer with devotion will be, in a special manner, under the protection of the Mother of God. Graces will be abundantly bestowed upon those who have confidence.”
With approval of the Catholic Church, the first medals were made in 1832 and distributed in Paris. Only ten of the original medals are known to exist, and one of them is housed at the Miraculous Medal Shrine.
Almost immediately, 2000 were made, and the miracles and answered prayers that Mary promised showered down on those who wore these medals, which sparked great demand, giving the medal the name: The Miraculous Medal.
By the time St. Catherine died in 1876, more than a billion medals had been made!
Miracles associated with the apparition?
Many healings have occurred. St. Catherine Laboure’s body is incorrupt and on display at the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal in Paris, France.
Saints from the apparition?
Saint Catherine Laboure
Who approved?
1836 Archbishop Hyacinthe-Louis de Quelen of the Archdiocese of Paris
“My daughter, I show myself in this state so that you can participate in my Passion.”
Fun Facts
Before Mary appeared, in 1666 the 20-hut village in the FrenchAlps had built a chapel dedicated to the Annunciation called: Notre-Dame de bon Rencontre
Standing with baby Jesus in her arms, our Blessed Mother had her repeat, word by word, the Litany of Loreto, then enjoined her to teach it to the girls of the school, and go to church with them every evening to sing it there.
Mary continued to visit her over 2500 times for 54 YEARS!
This apparition is often compared in length to the daily duration of those messages received in Kibeho, Rwanda in the 1980’s.
She appeared first as a beautiful woman holding the hand of a small child in 1664 to a humble uneducated 17-year old shepherdess who was dedicated to the daily rosary, Benoite Rencurel.
She stood holding the baby Jesus in her arms. She left a trail of sweet smelling perfume.
Miracles associated with the apparition?
Many miraculous healings have been attributed to the holy oil of the sanctuary lamps at the chapel – to those who have faith in Mary’s intercessory power.
There is a frequent smell of fragrant flowers, a reminder of the sweetness of God’s mercy to those who seek it.
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
The image cannot be explained by science. It shows no sign of deterioration after 450 years! The tilma or cloak of Juan Diego on which the image of Our Lady has been imprinted, is a coarse fabric made from the threads of the maguey cactus. This fiber disintegrates within 20-60 years.
Microscopic examination by NASA revealed that there were no brush strokes.
According to Kodak of Mexico, the image is smooth and feels like a modern day photograph. (Produced 300 years before the invention of photography.)
Several images can be seen reflected in the eyes of the Virgin. In 1956, Rafael Torrija Lavoignet studied the lenses of Mary’s eyes through an opthalmoscope, Bishop Juan de Zummaraga, Juan Gonzales-the interpreter and others.
The distortion and place of the images are identical to what is produced in the normal eye, which is impossible to obtain on a flat surface.
Miracles Associated with the Apparition
1. COMPOSITION OF THE TILMA: Biodegradable cactus fiber (with a durability period of three months) is the Tilma. Saint Juan Diego’s work Tilma was God’s blank canvas almost 500 years ago; when he painted the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Just so it sinks in, the Tilma is comprised of a substance that decomposes within three months of being used as thread – and is literally bomb proof for the last 500 years.
3. MARY’S RACE/SKIN COLOR: Mary’s face appears to be a different shade depending on the angle the observer is looking from. God’s paint has opalescence – like a beetle’s shell. Also, God painted one tan hand and one white hand to symbolize his desire for the Aztecs and Spanish to unite in Christ.
4. HER LIVING EYES: The eyes are “living.” They reflect three overlapping images as our eyes see – and, as God saw us in this event that changed the North American continent. With the microscopic images, you can make out the images of everyone in the room the exact moment that Saint Juan Diego opened his Tilma and the roses rolled out. Eduardo Chavez is the scientist who spent 40 years on studying the images on the lenses of the eyes.
5. STAR CONFIGURATION: When looking down on the Tilma, as if you were in Heaven, the position of the stars dates December 12, 1531. 2. When the sequence of stars is placed on a written musical scale, it makes a beautiful song on the piano.
6. GLOWING WOMB: A number of sources is that the womb under her maternity belt glowed when abortion was made legal without consequence in Mexico.
7. INDESTRUCTIBLE: On two different occasions, attempts were made at destroying the Tilma. In the first, a Freemason set a bomb under the flower bouquet placed under the Tilma in the shrine, and the Tilma didn’t change at all. The cross in front of the Tilma had bent backwards, and everything else was destroyed. 2. Someone threw acid on the Tilma, and it repaired itself.
Testimonials
Immaculee’s experience at the Basilica of Or Lady of Guadalupe
The Tilma is in a locked vault only accessible by the Popes and other dignitaries. This is a miracle that began 500 years ago…many graces abound here.
The vault behind the Tilma.
The Tilma is in the gold frame high above the altar of the Catholic mass.
Our Lady’s presence felt like a big hug!
“I have spent years of research on the iconography and the codex on the Tilma.”
“I want people to feel the embrace of Our Lady of Guadalupe”
Meditation on Our Lady of Guadalupe’s messages helped Immaculee through labor pain
The eyes of Our Lady are “living”. The images reflected in the lens of the eye overlap as they do in our living eyes. The pupils change in the light; and they reflect the images of the people in the room when Juan Diego presented the Tilma to Bishop Zimmaraga on December 12, 1531.
What was her message?
She introduced herself as our mother who consoles us (like Juan Diego), who heals us (like the miracle of his uncle’s healing). She requested that we build a church, “Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Tepeyac Hill, Mexico City, Mexico at the site of the apparition where she and her Son can listen to prayers and answer them. Mary tells us of her intercessory power in Heaven.
Who did Mary visit?
Saint Juan Diego, and his dying uncle – (and all of God’s Christian children!)
How did the witness describe Mary’s appearance?
Our Lady’s appearance was a symbol of the last book in the Bible, Revelations 12:1: “Clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” Guadalupe means “the one who crushed the serpent!”
The tilma is “living”: the human traits of the 500-old image are miraculous: the ability to heal itself from acts of desecration: bombing on November 14, 1921, “the eyes are living” – with live images reflecting from the lenses in the eyes. The images in the eyes reflect the exact moment when Saint Juan Diego revealed the image of Our Lady on the tilma.
The image of our lady is a photograph of the moment of revelation. The image appeared to come from roses given by Mary when they were scooped up by his Tilma to carry to Bishop Zumárraga. The paint material does not exist on Earth.
Who approved?
1531 by Bishop Zimarraga when he personally witnessed the miracle of the live painting of the image from the Book of Revelations on Juan Diego’s biodegradable tilma.
