BVM (Blessed Virgin Mary): Sightings & Apparitions

[Mighty_Emperor]

Wednesday, February 04, 2004

Priest notes changes in Marian image

By Jay Dooma Balnig

CHANGES have been noted in the image of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria.

This was disclosed by Msgr. Amadeo Escañan of Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral as thousands of Ilonggo devotees marked Tuesday the Salog fiesta or the Feast of Our Lady of Candles. Salog is the old name of Jaro.

Escañan said the image located at the outside-center of the Jaro Cathedral has become bigger, now estimated at five feet and seven inches, or more than three feet taller than its original size of two feet.

The image spoke of a legend known to many Ilonggos.

It says that a long, long time ago, the Candelaria was discovered by a fisherman on the banks of the Iloilo river.

Although it was only a foot high, the statue was very heavy. Many attempted to lift it but failed.

Only when the people finally agreed to bring the image to Jaro did one person succeed in lifting the said image.

Strange happenings surround the image and many believe that the Señora has miraculous power.

People say that in the olden days, the lady had a habit of disappearing very early in mornings.

A mist would shroud her niche in the pediment of the Cathedral.

At around those time, a beautiful lady with long, flowing hair could be seen bathing her child at the artesian well in the middle of Jaro plaza.

The concept of the Candelaria as a kind of mother who conscientiously guides her children and grants them their supplications is well-ingrained in the minds and hearts of devotees.

Human interest stories attest to this feeling nature of the inage. Back in 1870s, as the Jaro Cathedral was about to be finished, a serious problem arose. The statue of the virgin repeatedly refused to budge from her niche in the old church.

So the people suspected that the idea of transferring it to another shrine did not appeal to the Candelaria.

In the old church, she was positioned relatively closer to her parishioners. In the new, she will have to stay at the niche in the pediment.

The late Archbishop Alberto Piamonte narrates a mysterious event parallel to the one just mentioned. This event also occurred in connection with the transfer of the Virgin.

This time, from her niche at the pediment to the balcony especially constructed for the Pope's visit.

A group headed by engineer Tantoy Locsin, a native of Jaro and a dedicated lay parishioner, was tasked to transfer the statue.

As the workers tried to bring down the Virgin, the chains broke several times. An insight suddenly dawned on Locsin, when he reported the incident to Piamonte.

According to to him, the chains broke because they were dealing with a Queen. As a queen, she must be attended to.

Piamonte, without much ado, dressed up in his Archbishop's full regalia and personally directed the operation.

The chains did not break this time, the Candelaria reached the balcony safely.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ilo/2004/02/04/news/priest.notes.changes.in.marian.image.html

 

[Anonymous]

IIRC the Holy Spirit is usually depicted as a flame ...

As did Peni, I grew up in the UMC, and we always used the flame as our symbol of the Holy Ghost. The Cross and Flame http://wotan.liu.edu/~cer0810/cross.jpg is the symbology I'm used to.

I think the Dove tends to be more the Catholic symbol for the Holy Spirit.

 

[Bannik]

BVM(?) dream

When I was very young, I had a very short dream, (it was almost of more of an image than an experience) where I was lying on a table surrounded by three (although I sensed the presence of more) beings that looked very much like a certain statue of the BVM my grandmother had in her bedroom. They had on the same blue and white garments and had white – glowing white – skin. They had long, spindly arms, and either no or disproportionately small mouths. Their eyes had a sort of apple seed shape which gave them a kind of stern look. The face on this BVM figure reminds me of them, except I think their eyes were black.

They were performing some kind of surgery on me around my stomach area and as they did they were moving in this flowing, swaying motion like they were rehearsing for ballet. Even though I could hear myself crying in the background (I didn’t feel any fear or pain, though) I sensed that they were protective and caring – as if they were nurses. Next thing I remember is I’m being handed gently over to my mother who’s lying down on a bed and I feel like it’s the first time we had ever seen each other. I’m then overcome by an incredible sense of peace and security, and I fall asleep. And that’s it.

When I reflected back on it, I felt that this was no ordinary dream but an actual memory of something that had taken place earlier in my life – or even before my life – that I had forgotten about until then.

 

[Philo_T]

Clearwater BVM image vandalized

[Mods: I searched, but couldn't find a thread about the Clearwater image. Please merge as appropriate.]

http://www.baynews9.com/site/content/34832.html

It appears someone has defaced an internationally known religious landmark.

The top three panels of the nine-panel window were broken at the Clearwater building with the Virgin Mary image. It's believed it happened sometime between 9 p.m. Sunday and 7 a.m. Monday.

The damage was discovered by a woman who came to pray. Clearwater police say they think a vandal threw something at the top of the image, shattering three of the large panes of glass.

The building at the intersection of Drew Street and U.S. 19 is commonly referred to as the Virgin Mary Building.

The building, now owned by the Shepherds of Christ Ministry, gained worldwide attention after someone noticed the image in 1996. Since then, thousands of people have come to get a glimpse.

Vandals have targeted the windows before. Six months after the image was discovered, someone threw liquid on it. However, after two days of heavy thunderstorms, the blemishes disappeared.

Someone online noted that once, a local radio shock-jock and his cronies sprayed the image with water and acid from super-soaker squirtguns in an attempt to deface the image.

Interesting timing of this, with Mel Gibson's movie in the news and all.

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Windows With Virgin Mary Image Broken

Mon Mar 1,12:13 PM ET


CLEARWATER, Fla. - Office building windows that thousands of visitors believe bear the image of the Virgin Mary — but experts said is just corrosion — were discovered broken Monday, police said.


The three top panes that showed what appeared to be the Virgin Mary's veiled head were destroyed, with just shards of glass remaining in the window frames. The damage was discovered when a worker arrived Monday morning and it is believed the damage was done overnight, police spokesman Wayne Shelor said.

Investigators were trying to determine who was responsible.

The image first appeared a week before Christmas in 1996 in what was then a home finance office, drawing almost 500,000 visitors within weeks. The office building later became the home of Ohio-based Shepherds of Christ Ministries.

Stretching almost 60 feet high and more than 20 feet across on nine bronze-colored glass panels, the image evokes a stained glass portrait of Mary. Shades of purple, blue, yellow and green wash across the mirrored surface, appearing to outline a robe-draped figure with downcast head.

Glass experts believe the image was created by a chemical reaction and corrosion of the metallic elements in the glass coating, but they could not explain why it took the shape it did.

So many pilgrims came to the site that extra police patrols were in place for a time.

Six months after the apparition first drew worldwide attention, someone threw an undetermined liquid on the shape, marring it. But after two days of heavy thunderstorms, the blemishes were no longer visible.

The property was also the scene of a 1997 scuffle between Clearwater police and a Polish immigrant that ended with the man's death. Wieslaw Skowronek, 44, struggled with police after he was seen acting strangely outside the building and died when an officer kneed him in the abdomen, rupturing his pancreas.

The man's widow accepted a 5,000 settlement from the city.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040301/ap_on_re_us/clearwater_virgin_1

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Some follow ups:

Mar. 3, 2004. 01:00 AM


Mary in pieces but faith intact after vandals' shattering act


ROSIE DIMANNO

CLEARWATER, Fla.—Well, somebody's going straight to hell.

Surely that's the appropriate penance for beheading the Virgin Mary.

A vandal or vandals unknown early Monday morning shattered the world-famous Clearwater Madonna, a rainbow-hued silhouette of Mary that suddenly appeared on the dark-tinted window panes of an office building on the side of the highway back in 1996. Since then, some 1.5 million believers — or mere curiosity seekers — have visited the quasi-shrine where, nightly, sisters from the Shepherds of Christ Ministers have recited novenas upon request from supplicants. The image is also broadcast live 24/7 on a Web site and it was one of these viewers who first alerted police to the desecration. At about the same time, a local community volunteer who straightens up the premises daily contacted Sister Rosie Reed, one of the site overseers for Shepherds of Christ. "She just says, `Mary's image is broken ... her head.' I was hoping it was just one pane, but it's all three panes.

"We have to pray for the grace to forgive the person who did it."

The Clearwater Madonna — also known, more sacrilegiously, as Our Lady of the Perpetual Honda, because of its proximity to a Honda dealership — is believed, by those who do believe, to have been channelling the message of godliness more famously delivered at the Fátima Shrine in 1917, when Mary showed herself to three Portuguese children tending their sheep. The Clearwater appearance was allegedly foretold to a Cincinnati housewife, one Rita Ring, who'd been having conversations with Mary since 1991. During one tête-à-tête, the Madonna told Mrs. Ring that mankind should turn away from its increasing worship of money.

"I appear to you, my children, on a (former) bank in Florida. You have made money your God! Do you know how cold are your hearts? You turn away from my Son, Jesus, for your money. Your money is your God."

Fortuitously, Cincinnati was also the headquarters of the lay community Shepherds of Christ, which became the custodian of the Clearwater shrine, eventually buying the entire building. They're still on the hook for

Mar. 3, 2004. 01:00 AM


Mary in pieces but faith intact after vandals' shattering act


ROSIE DIMANNO

CLEARWATER, Fla.—Well, somebody's going straight to hell.

Surely that's the appropriate penance for beheading the Virgin Mary.

A vandal or vandals unknown early Monday morning shattered the world-famous Clearwater Madonna, a rainbow-hued silhouette of Mary that suddenly appeared on the dark-tinted window panes of an office building on the side of the highway back in 1996. Since then, some 1.5 million believers — or mere curiosity seekers — have visited the quasi-shrine where, nightly, sisters from the Shepherds of Christ Ministers have recited novenas upon request from supplicants. The image is also broadcast live 24/7 on a Web site and it was one of these viewers who first alerted police to the desecration. At about the same time, a local community volunteer who straightens up the premises daily contacted Sister Rosie Reed, one of the site overseers for Shepherds of Christ. "She just says, `Mary's image is broken ... her head.' I was hoping it was just one pane, but it's all three panes.

"We have to pray for the grace to forgive the person who did it."

The Clearwater Madonna — also known, more sacrilegiously, as Our Lady of the Perpetual Honda, because of its proximity to a Honda dealership — is believed, by those who do believe, to have been channelling the message of godliness more famously delivered at the Fátima Shrine in 1917, when Mary showed herself to three Portuguese children tending their sheep. The Clearwater appearance was allegedly foretold to a Cincinnati housewife, one Rita Ring, who'd been having conversations with Mary since 1991. During one tête-à-tête, the Madonna told Mrs. Ring that mankind should turn away from its increasing worship of money.

"I appear to you, my children, on a (former) bank in Florida. You have made money your God! Do you know how cold are your hearts? You turn away from my Son, Jesus, for your money. Your money is your God."

Fortuitously, Cincinnati was also the headquarters of the lay community Shepherds of Christ, which became the custodian of the Clearwater shrine, eventually buying the entire building. They're still on the hook for $1.3 million of the mortgage, and now there's no more Madonna. Or at least, all that remains in the six panels still intact is what appears to be Mary's mantilla, falling about her shoulders, with her hands folded in prayer. And, for some, there's also a smaller image of the face of Jesus Christ in a lower panel that's visible only at night — but not to these eyes.

The Catholic diocese of St. Petersburg disavows any connection to Shepherds and takes the view that the image is a "naturally explained phenomenon." Except that it can't be scientifically explained, not definitively. The prevailing opinion of glass experts is that it was caused by a chemical reaction between glass, water deposits and ordinary weathering. But even these consultants could not explain what caused this image of a cloaked woman — quite startling in its clarity — to emerge, shimmering in the sunshine. That's where faith took over.

This religious faith was reinforced in 1997, when somebody threw acid on the icon, also attacking by night. The image was extensively defaced. But two days of heavy thunderstorms ensued and when skies cleared, the blemishes were no longer evident and the image miraculously reappeared, albeit with a few drip marks.

Now, some of the more keenly devout hope another miracle will occur — that once the glass panels are replaced, the silhouette of the Madonna will resurrect itself, a new head attaching itself to the torso.

"When someone threw acid on it before, the rains cleaned it up and the Madonna came back," said John Ramirez Sr., who has for years been stopping by the shrine every morning on his way to work and every evening on his way home. On weekends, his family even comes here for picnics. "We will prevail. Maybe God will give her back to us."

Ramirez, unlike many others who converged on the site Monday night, was taking a Christian view of the culprit. "The person that did this can be forgiven."

For most of the 100 or so who came to watch and bemoan, there was mostly incomprehension. Why would anyone do such a thing? "My heart broke, I just cried," said Emma Tarabocchia.

Yesterday, police were examining videotapes from the Web cam and tapes from security cameras, hoping to find evidence identifying the assailant. The working theory is that the image was attacked by stainless steel ball bearings, perhaps delivered by a slingshot. Three ball bearings were found at the scene, amidst the shards of glass. There was no evidence that a firearm was used.

Back in '97, shortly after the 20-metre-high Madonna was first spotted, half a million people — more than four times Clearwater's population — descended on the site to pray and gawk. In more recent years, the shrine's popularity waned and the hundreds of plastic chairs arranged at the Madonna's feet were rarely filled. But there are still dozens of votive candles placed throughout the area and this Virgin Mary was particularly significant to Florida's Hispanic community because it evoked the Virgin of Guadalupe, Latin America's patron saint and, according to locals, the protector of some 20,000 Mexicans living in Clearwater.

To some, this was a hate crime. A few even speculated that the vandalism was somehow motivated by disgruntlement over Mel Gibson's controversial film, The Passion of the Christ.

"Hate comes in the sentencing, after we've determined who's responsible for this," said police spokesperson Wayne Shelton. "Right now we don't know who did it or why they did it."

Finding that person, or persons, shouldn't take a miracle.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...715&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154

and this with lots of photos:

Faithful gather at night to hail shattered Mary

Hundreds, many of them Hispanic, come to witness what remains of the Virgin's image in the broken windows of an office building. By nearly midnight Monday, 50 remain, and as late as 1 a.m., 20.

By ADRIENNE P. SAMUELS, Times Staff Writer
Published March 3, 2004


CLEARWATER - Rosie Reed stood in the parking lot, handing out plastic rosaries to the faithful.

The blessed beads ran out first.

The unblessed ones were gone by midnight.

Street lights buzzed. People whispered their prayers in half a dozen languages. A girl with wavy hair and blue eyes sat on a yellow curb, watching her own tears fall to the ground.

Dark clouds diffused an eerie moonlight shining on the lower half of Mary's image - the part that hadn't been broken out a day earlier by a street Goliath wielding ball bearings and, perhaps, something akin to David's slingshot.

Hundreds of believers, most of them Hispanic, came to see the Virgin's remains. They arrived after dusk and before dawn, with their children. They wanted to know who did it and how. But neither the Virgin's live video camera nor the police are omniscient, and neither offered answers.

By 11:30 Monday night, the faithful had trickled to 50, each holding their beads. By 1 a.m. Tuesday, 20. Then 15. Eight. Twelve.

Visitors ebbed and flowed. Many had not yet heard about the tragedy of the Virgin of Clearwater, a rainbow-hued apparition in the glass of an office building wedged between a do-it-yourself carwash and a car dealership on U.S. 19.

Cesar Avila, 24, of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, was stunned.

Stricken, he sank down in his chair.

"I did not know about this news." He held back tears. "This is too much of a surprise. There is no respect in this world."

Avila, like thousands of other Mexicans living in Tampa Bay and throughout Florida, felt a kinship with Clearwater's Virgin. She reminded him of home and of the "Brown Virgin," Our Lady of Guadalupe, who in 1531 appeared to an Aztec man just outside of Mexico City.

Both virgins offer Avila comfort after he gets off work at the Bamboo Club restaurant in International Plaza.

The building at 21649 U.S. 19 became famous after Dec. 17, 1996, when someone saw the likeness of the Virgin Mary in the dark glass. Half a million people flocked there to see it. Though experts say the image was caused by a chemical reaction, the Shepherds of Christ Ministries in Ohio bought the structure, calling the image a miracle.

Wearing heavy gloves, those same shepherds on Tuesday swept shards of the glass into blue, plastic buckets and slowly worked a blue tarp over the now-empty frames. The windows will be replaced, said site leader Reed, who passed out palm-sized photos of the image along with the rosaries.

She talked to every onlooker, offering comfort.

"This is holy ground," she said. "You can feel the presence of God here, and Mary."

Being broken doesn't negate the blessing, she said. The shards will be preserved in some way. And no, she's not sure if Mary will come back.

"It's in God's hands. . . We don't know God's mind, how it works."

Eddie Hernandez, 48, of New York, but originally from Cuba, heard about the incident from his mom. She saw it on TV in New York and called him.

Hernandez and his children are believers.

"You know what would be nice? Put the glass back and have her come right back," he said. "That'd be the best thing to happen."

Hernandez talked alternately in English and Spanish with Alvaro Godho, 25, of Ixmiquilpan, Mexico. Godho barely responded at first. He was still in shock.

"I believe the people who did this are of another religion," Godho said, shivering into his sweater. "I passed by here at 1 a.m. last night and it was okay."

Godho passed by again after the glass was broken. The sun beamed down on the shards, he said. White birds flew over the building. It was another miracle.

Jessica Reise hid her hands in a Ralph Lauren jacket. She talked between sniffles. It was almost 2 a.m. She had arrived at 11.

"I have a lot going on in my life right now, and I come here so I can clear my mind, and it keeps me from doing other things," she said.

Joanne Blake of Cleveland drove up and parked. Blake and friend Doug Holmes had flown down to see the Virgin. They took a picture with the apparition.

They understood why someone broke the windows.

"It's not surprising because this is the kind of world we live in," she said. "Look what happened with Jesus. Beautiful things become targets because they are good."

The spirit isn't dead, said Reed, with the rosaries. Nightly prayers still begin at 6:20, the ground is still holy and the gift shop is still open.

Though Mary might be gone, her son remains a presence on the glass, she said.

"We still have Jesus on the window," Reed said, defiantly. "He's on the bottom middle and bottom left panels. His eyes are at the top. You can see them at night."

- Adrienne Samuels can be reached at 445-4157 or [email protected]
TO HELP

Clearwater police ask anyone with information about the destruction of glass that many believe bore the image of the Virgin Mary to call them at 562-4422. Ralph Napolitano, a seasonal Largo resident and a retired New York City police officer, said he would pay a $1,000 reward to anyone who provided police information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible for the vandalism.

.3 million of the mortgage, and now there's no more Madonna. Or at least, all that remains in the six panels still intact is what appears to be Mary's mantilla, falling about her shoulders, with her hands folded in prayer. And, for some, there's also a smaller image of the face of Jesus Christ in a lower panel that's visible only at night — but not to these eyes.

The Catholic diocese of St. Petersburg disavows any connection to Shepherds and takes the view that the image is a "naturally explained phenomenon." Except that it can't be scientifically explained, not definitively. The prevailing opinion of glass experts is that it was caused by a chemical reaction between glass, water deposits and ordinary weathering. But even these consultants could not explain what caused this image of a cloaked woman — quite startling in its clarity — to emerge, shimmering in the sunshine. That's where faith took over.

This religious faith was reinforced in 1997, when somebody threw acid on the icon, also attacking by night. The image was extensively defaced. But two days of heavy thunderstorms ensued and when skies cleared, the blemishes were no longer evident and the image miraculously reappeared, albeit with a few drip marks.

Now, some of the more keenly devout hope another miracle will occur — that once the glass panels are replaced, the silhouette of the Madonna will resurrect itself, a new head attaching itself to the torso.

"When someone threw acid on it before, the rains cleaned it up and the Madonna came back," said John Ramirez Sr., who has for years been stopping by the shrine every morning on his way to work and every evening on his way home. On weekends, his family even comes here for picnics. "We will prevail. Maybe God will give her back to us."

Ramirez, unlike many others who converged on the site Monday night, was taking a Christian view of the culprit. "The person that did this can be forgiven."

For most of the 100 or so who came to watch and bemoan, there was mostly incomprehension. Why would anyone do such a thing? "My heart broke, I just cried," said Emma Tarabocchia.

Yesterday, police were examining videotapes from the Web cam and tapes from security cameras, hoping to find evidence identifying the assailant. The working theory is that the image was attacked by stainless steel ball bearings, perhaps delivered by a slingshot. Three ball bearings were found at the scene, amidst the shards of glass. There was no evidence that a firearm was used.

Back in '97, shortly after the 20-metre-high Madonna was first spotted, half a million people — more than four times Clearwater's population — descended on the site to pray and gawk. In more recent years, the shrine's popularity waned and the hundreds of plastic chairs arranged at the Madonna's feet were rarely filled. But there are still dozens of votive candles placed throughout the area and this Virgin Mary was particularly significant to Florida's Hispanic community because it evoked the Virgin of Guadalupe, Latin America's patron saint and, according to locals, the protector of some 20,000 Mexicans living in Clearwater.

To some, this was a hate crime. A few even speculated that the vandalism was somehow motivated by disgruntlement over Mel Gibson's controversial film, The Passion of the Christ.

"Hate comes in the sentencing, after we've determined who's responsible for this," said police spokesperson Wayne Shelton. "Right now we don't know who did it or why they did it."

Finding that person, or persons, shouldn't take a miracle.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...715&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154

and this with lots of photos:

Faithful gather at night to hail shattered Mary

Hundreds, many of them Hispanic, come to witness what remains of the Virgin's image in the broken windows of an office building. By nearly midnight Monday, 50 remain, and as late as 1 a.m., 20.

By ADRIENNE P. SAMUELS, Times Staff Writer
Published March 3, 2004


CLEARWATER - Rosie Reed stood in the parking lot, handing out plastic rosaries to the faithful.

The blessed beads ran out first.

The unblessed ones were gone by midnight.

Street lights buzzed. People whispered their prayers in half a dozen languages. A girl with wavy hair and blue eyes sat on a yellow curb, watching her own tears fall to the ground.

Dark clouds diffused an eerie moonlight shining on the lower half of Mary's image - the part that hadn't been broken out a day earlier by a street Goliath wielding ball bearings and, perhaps, something akin to David's slingshot.

Hundreds of believers, most of them Hispanic, came to see the Virgin's remains. They arrived after dusk and before dawn, with their children. They wanted to know who did it and how. But neither the Virgin's live video camera nor the police are omniscient, and neither offered answers.

By 11:30 Monday night, the faithful had trickled to 50, each holding their beads. By 1 a.m. Tuesday, 20. Then 15. Eight. Twelve.

Visitors ebbed and flowed. Many had not yet heard about the tragedy of the Virgin of Clearwater, a rainbow-hued apparition in the glass of an office building wedged between a do-it-yourself carwash and a car dealership on U.S. 19.

Cesar Avila, 24, of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, was stunned.

Stricken, he sank down in his chair.

"I did not know about this news." He held back tears. "This is too much of a surprise. There is no respect in this world."

Avila, like thousands of other Mexicans living in Tampa Bay and throughout Florida, felt a kinship with Clearwater's Virgin. She reminded him of home and of the "Brown Virgin," Our Lady of Guadalupe, who in 1531 appeared to an Aztec man just outside of Mexico City.

Both virgins offer Avila comfort after he gets off work at the Bamboo Club restaurant in International Plaza.

The building at 21649 U.S. 19 became famous after Dec. 17, 1996, when someone saw the likeness of the Virgin Mary in the dark glass. Half a million people flocked there to see it. Though experts say the image was caused by a chemical reaction, the Shepherds of Christ Ministries in Ohio bought the structure, calling the image a miracle.

Wearing heavy gloves, those same shepherds on Tuesday swept shards of the glass into blue, plastic buckets and slowly worked a blue tarp over the now-empty frames. The windows will be replaced, said site leader Reed, who passed out palm-sized photos of the image along with the rosaries.

She talked to every onlooker, offering comfort.

"This is holy ground," she said. "You can feel the presence of God here, and Mary."

Being broken doesn't negate the blessing, she said. The shards will be preserved in some way. And no, she's not sure if Mary will come back.

"It's in God's hands. . . We don't know God's mind, how it works."

Eddie Hernandez, 48, of New York, but originally from Cuba, heard about the incident from his mom. She saw it on TV in New York and called him.

Hernandez and his children are believers.

"You know what would be nice? Put the glass back and have her come right back," he said. "That'd be the best thing to happen."

Hernandez talked alternately in English and Spanish with Alvaro Godho, 25, of Ixmiquilpan, Mexico. Godho barely responded at first. He was still in shock.

"I believe the people who did this are of another religion," Godho said, shivering into his sweater. "I passed by here at 1 a.m. last night and it was okay."

Godho passed by again after the glass was broken. The sun beamed down on the shards, he said. White birds flew over the building. It was another miracle.

Jessica Reise hid her hands in a Ralph Lauren jacket. She talked between sniffles. It was almost 2 a.m. She had arrived at 11.

"I have a lot going on in my life right now, and I come here so I can clear my mind, and it keeps me from doing other things," she said.

Joanne Blake of Cleveland drove up and parked. Blake and friend Doug Holmes had flown down to see the Virgin. They took a picture with the apparition.

They understood why someone broke the windows.

"It's not surprising because this is the kind of world we live in," she said. "Look what happened with Jesus. Beautiful things become targets because they are good."

The spirit isn't dead, said Reed, with the rosaries. Nightly prayers still begin at 6:20, the ground is still holy and the gift shop is still open.

Though Mary might be gone, her son remains a presence on the glass, she said.

"We still have Jesus on the window," Reed said, defiantly. "He's on the bottom middle and bottom left panels. His eyes are at the top. You can see them at night."

- Adrienne Samuels can be reached at 445-4157 or [email protected]
TO HELP

Clearwater police ask anyone with information about the destruction of glass that many believe bore the image of the Virgin Mary to call them at 562-4422. Ralph Napolitano, a seasonal Largo resident and a retired New York City police officer, said he would pay a

Mar. 3, 2004. 01:00 AM


Mary in pieces but faith intact after vandals' shattering act


ROSIE DIMANNO

CLEARWATER, Fla.—Well, somebody's going straight to hell.

Surely that's the appropriate penance for beheading the Virgin Mary.

A vandal or vandals unknown early Monday morning shattered the world-famous Clearwater Madonna, a rainbow-hued silhouette of Mary that suddenly appeared on the dark-tinted window panes of an office building on the side of the highway back in 1996. Since then, some 1.5 million believers — or mere curiosity seekers — have visited the quasi-shrine where, nightly, sisters from the Shepherds of Christ Ministers have recited novenas upon request from supplicants. The image is also broadcast live 24/7 on a Web site and it was one of these viewers who first alerted police to the desecration. At about the same time, a local community volunteer who straightens up the premises daily contacted Sister Rosie Reed, one of the site overseers for Shepherds of Christ. "She just says, `Mary's image is broken ... her head.' I was hoping it was just one pane, but it's all three panes.

"We have to pray for the grace to forgive the person who did it."

The Clearwater Madonna — also known, more sacrilegiously, as Our Lady of the Perpetual Honda, because of its proximity to a Honda dealership — is believed, by those who do believe, to have been channelling the message of godliness more famously delivered at the Fátima Shrine in 1917, when Mary showed herself to three Portuguese children tending their sheep. The Clearwater appearance was allegedly foretold to a Cincinnati housewife, one Rita Ring, who'd been having conversations with Mary since 1991. During one tête-à-tête, the Madonna told Mrs. Ring that mankind should turn away from its increasing worship of money.

"I appear to you, my children, on a (former) bank in Florida. You have made money your God! Do you know how cold are your hearts? You turn away from my Son, Jesus, for your money. Your money is your God."

Fortuitously, Cincinnati was also the headquarters of the lay community Shepherds of Christ, which became the custodian of the Clearwater shrine, eventually buying the entire building. They're still on the hook for $1.3 million of the mortgage, and now there's no more Madonna. Or at least, all that remains in the six panels still intact is what appears to be Mary's mantilla, falling about her shoulders, with her hands folded in prayer. And, for some, there's also a smaller image of the face of Jesus Christ in a lower panel that's visible only at night — but not to these eyes.

The Catholic diocese of St. Petersburg disavows any connection to Shepherds and takes the view that the image is a "naturally explained phenomenon." Except that it can't be scientifically explained, not definitively. The prevailing opinion of glass experts is that it was caused by a chemical reaction between glass, water deposits and ordinary weathering. But even these consultants could not explain what caused this image of a cloaked woman — quite startling in its clarity — to emerge, shimmering in the sunshine. That's where faith took over.

This religious faith was reinforced in 1997, when somebody threw acid on the icon, also attacking by night. The image was extensively defaced. But two days of heavy thunderstorms ensued and when skies cleared, the blemishes were no longer evident and the image miraculously reappeared, albeit with a few drip marks.

Now, some of the more keenly devout hope another miracle will occur — that once the glass panels are replaced, the silhouette of the Madonna will resurrect itself, a new head attaching itself to the torso.

"When someone threw acid on it before, the rains cleaned it up and the Madonna came back," said John Ramirez Sr., who has for years been stopping by the shrine every morning on his way to work and every evening on his way home. On weekends, his family even comes here for picnics. "We will prevail. Maybe God will give her back to us."

Ramirez, unlike many others who converged on the site Monday night, was taking a Christian view of the culprit. "The person that did this can be forgiven."

For most of the 100 or so who came to watch and bemoan, there was mostly incomprehension. Why would anyone do such a thing? "My heart broke, I just cried," said Emma Tarabocchia.

Yesterday, police were examining videotapes from the Web cam and tapes from security cameras, hoping to find evidence identifying the assailant. The working theory is that the image was attacked by stainless steel ball bearings, perhaps delivered by a slingshot. Three ball bearings were found at the scene, amidst the shards of glass. There was no evidence that a firearm was used.

Back in '97, shortly after the 20-metre-high Madonna was first spotted, half a million people — more than four times Clearwater's population — descended on the site to pray and gawk. In more recent years, the shrine's popularity waned and the hundreds of plastic chairs arranged at the Madonna's feet were rarely filled. But there are still dozens of votive candles placed throughout the area and this Virgin Mary was particularly significant to Florida's Hispanic community because it evoked the Virgin of Guadalupe, Latin America's patron saint and, according to locals, the protector of some 20,000 Mexicans living in Clearwater.

To some, this was a hate crime. A few even speculated that the vandalism was somehow motivated by disgruntlement over Mel Gibson's controversial film, The Passion of the Christ.

"Hate comes in the sentencing, after we've determined who's responsible for this," said police spokesperson Wayne Shelton. "Right now we don't know who did it or why they did it."

Finding that person, or persons, shouldn't take a miracle.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...715&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154

and this with lots of photos:

Faithful gather at night to hail shattered Mary

Hundreds, many of them Hispanic, come to witness what remains of the Virgin's image in the broken windows of an office building. By nearly midnight Monday, 50 remain, and as late as 1 a.m., 20.

By ADRIENNE P. SAMUELS, Times Staff Writer
Published March 3, 2004


CLEARWATER - Rosie Reed stood in the parking lot, handing out plastic rosaries to the faithful.

The blessed beads ran out first.

The unblessed ones were gone by midnight.

Street lights buzzed. People whispered their prayers in half a dozen languages. A girl with wavy hair and blue eyes sat on a yellow curb, watching her own tears fall to the ground.

Dark clouds diffused an eerie moonlight shining on the lower half of Mary's image - the part that hadn't been broken out a day earlier by a street Goliath wielding ball bearings and, perhaps, something akin to David's slingshot.

Hundreds of believers, most of them Hispanic, came to see the Virgin's remains. They arrived after dusk and before dawn, with their children. They wanted to know who did it and how. But neither the Virgin's live video camera nor the police are omniscient, and neither offered answers.

By 11:30 Monday night, the faithful had trickled to 50, each holding their beads. By 1 a.m. Tuesday, 20. Then 15. Eight. Twelve.

Visitors ebbed and flowed. Many had not yet heard about the tragedy of the Virgin of Clearwater, a rainbow-hued apparition in the glass of an office building wedged between a do-it-yourself carwash and a car dealership on U.S. 19.

Cesar Avila, 24, of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, was stunned.

Stricken, he sank down in his chair.

"I did not know about this news." He held back tears. "This is too much of a surprise. There is no respect in this world."

Avila, like thousands of other Mexicans living in Tampa Bay and throughout Florida, felt a kinship with Clearwater's Virgin. She reminded him of home and of the "Brown Virgin," Our Lady of Guadalupe, who in 1531 appeared to an Aztec man just outside of Mexico City.

Both virgins offer Avila comfort after he gets off work at the Bamboo Club restaurant in International Plaza.

The building at 21649 U.S. 19 became famous after Dec. 17, 1996, when someone saw the likeness of the Virgin Mary in the dark glass. Half a million people flocked there to see it. Though experts say the image was caused by a chemical reaction, the Shepherds of Christ Ministries in Ohio bought the structure, calling the image a miracle.

Wearing heavy gloves, those same shepherds on Tuesday swept shards of the glass into blue, plastic buckets and slowly worked a blue tarp over the now-empty frames. The windows will be replaced, said site leader Reed, who passed out palm-sized photos of the image along with the rosaries.

She talked to every onlooker, offering comfort.

"This is holy ground," she said. "You can feel the presence of God here, and Mary."

Being broken doesn't negate the blessing, she said. The shards will be preserved in some way. And no, she's not sure if Mary will come back.

"It's in God's hands. . . We don't know God's mind, how it works."

Eddie Hernandez, 48, of New York, but originally from Cuba, heard about the incident from his mom. She saw it on TV in New York and called him.

Hernandez and his children are believers.

"You know what would be nice? Put the glass back and have her come right back," he said. "That'd be the best thing to happen."

Hernandez talked alternately in English and Spanish with Alvaro Godho, 25, of Ixmiquilpan, Mexico. Godho barely responded at first. He was still in shock.

"I believe the people who did this are of another religion," Godho said, shivering into his sweater. "I passed by here at 1 a.m. last night and it was okay."

Godho passed by again after the glass was broken. The sun beamed down on the shards, he said. White birds flew over the building. It was another miracle.

Jessica Reise hid her hands in a Ralph Lauren jacket. She talked between sniffles. It was almost 2 a.m. She had arrived at 11.

"I have a lot going on in my life right now, and I come here so I can clear my mind, and it keeps me from doing other things," she said.

Joanne Blake of Cleveland drove up and parked. Blake and friend Doug Holmes had flown down to see the Virgin. They took a picture with the apparition.

They understood why someone broke the windows.

"It's not surprising because this is the kind of world we live in," she said. "Look what happened with Jesus. Beautiful things become targets because they are good."

The spirit isn't dead, said Reed, with the rosaries. Nightly prayers still begin at 6:20, the ground is still holy and the gift shop is still open.

Though Mary might be gone, her son remains a presence on the glass, she said.

"We still have Jesus on the window," Reed said, defiantly. "He's on the bottom middle and bottom left panels. His eyes are at the top. You can see them at night."

- Adrienne Samuels can be reached at 445-4157 or [email protected]
TO HELP

Clearwater police ask anyone with information about the destruction of glass that many believe bore the image of the Virgin Mary to call them at 562-4422. Ralph Napolitano, a seasonal Largo resident and a retired New York City police officer, said he would pay a $1,000 reward to anyone who provided police information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible for the vandalism.

,000 reward to anyone who provided police information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible for the vandalism.

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/03/03/Northpinellas/Faithful_gather_at_ni.shtml

Emps

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Posted on Sat, Apr. 24, 2004


Apparition draws faithful to N.J.

Some see image of Virgin Mother in tree

By Thomas E. Franklin

THE RECORD



There is a leap of faith at the corner of Madison Street and Hope Avenue in the city of Passaic, N.J., in the shape of a splintered tree. Locals call it "La Aparicion de la Virgen" -- the Apparition of the Virgin -- where some think the vision of the Virgin Mother can be seen in the stump of a sawed-off tree.

If an apparition is a sudden or unusual sight, then this certainly meets the criteria. What's less certain is whether you can actually see the image of the Virgin Mother. It takes a hard look and a lot of faith, but most visitors seem to see something.

"I see it! I believe it," says Juan Burtaron, during his first trip.

Others may need a little help. That's where Enelisa Irizarry comes in. She is the keeper of the shrine, and chief believer in La Aparicion. When visitors can't see it, she points it out -- often using a broom handle as her pointer.

The splintered tree trunk is about a foot wide and 4 feet high. It sticks out of the side of a N.J. 21 highway overpass in a fenced-in, littered, triangular plot of land. A mangerlike structure has been built over the stump, with a heavy-duty blue tarp extended out to provide a shelter for visitors. Inside, the shrine comes alive. Immaculate and serene, the shrine is a religious oasis in the center of a gritty city. Irizarry sees to it. The Dominican woman is dedicated to the task of making it as churchlike as possible. She lights the candles, places the flowers and sweeps the rugs. Flowers, incense candles and prayers fill the air.

"I feel that the Virgin is there," Irizarry says in Spanish.

If this is a sign from God, it's in an unlikely place. Or perhaps not. La Aparicion and its legend have been growing for months. Irizarry says it draws about 500 visitors a day, mostly Latinos. Some drive by slowly in cars trying to get a glimpse, while others get out and pray. Some stay for hours. On Easter Sunday, hundreds showed up every hour; the number was probably much greater. Rosary prayers and song could be heard late in the afternoon.

Irizarry and her husband, Luis, have big plans for the sanctuary. They hope to build a small church over the shrine and have started a collection. They will need about ,000 to build it, Luis says.

And they may need to get special permission from state officials because the property belongs to the state Department of Transportation.

Recently, the couple started a petition. Luis is hopeful. "People used to do drugs here. He and others believe a chapel would be better than a dirty lot. "I believe. I am from the Dominican Republic. I feel something in my heart," he says. "I feel peace inside. Now I believe 1,000 percent, (this is) something special."

"It's all about faith," adds Franklin Mercedes. "I believe it."

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/living/religion/8499311.htm

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

BVM + Astrology = ?

I spotted this new book:

Visions of the Virgin Mary: An Astrological Analysis of Divine Intercession
by Courtney Roberts

Editorial Reviews

About the Author
Courtney Roberts has been involved in astrology and tarot-- studying, consulting, teaching and writing -- for over twenty years. Formerly the president of the Astrological Reseach Guild, she has lectured and published worldwide on the topic of Virgin Mary apparitions and other astrological subjects. Courtney's real-time astrology methods are used to predict and analyze sporting events around the world.

Synopsis
The Virgin Mary has inspired love and loyalty from Christians worldwide. Visions of the Luminous Lady in white abound, many of them bearing historical and spiritual significance within Catholic and Orthodox churches. Courtney Roberts adds a new and fascinating layer to these miraculous sightings by examining them through the lens of astrology.

Book Description
Lourdes, Fatima, Medjugorje-millions of people of all faiths and nations flock to Marian shrines around the world, a testament to the enduring human desire for transcendence and meaning. Visions of the "Luminous Lady in White" abound; at Zeitun, Egypt, she was witnessed by hundreds of thousands of Jews, Muslims, and both Protestant and Orthodox Christians. Courtney Roberts adds a new and fascinating dimension to these miraculous sightings by exploring them through the perspective of astrology.

Going beyond personal, cultural, and religious differences, Roberts places visionaries and their sightings into a cosmic framework. Using documented dates and times, along with easy-to-follow astrological illustrations and terms, she demonstrates how cosmic forces may have influenced these remarkable events and the people involved. In chart after chart, she reveals prominent aspects among the signs of Virgo, Cancer, the Moon, and the Nodes of the Moon. Her findings do not diminish the divine nature of the visions, but expand upon their relevance, reaching across the divide that separates Catholics from other Christians, and Christians from those of other faiths, all the while reconnecting Christianity to its true roots.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0738705039/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0738705039/

If nothing else it clearly shows the intersting interconnectedness of the Fortean universe where nothing is a discrete entity.

Emps

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Thousands Expected At Caritas Mission

Believers Hope To See Visions Of Virgin Mary

POSTED: 3:26 pm CDT May 1, 2004
UPDATED: 4:34 pm CDT May 1, 2004

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- People from all 50 states flocked to the Caritas mission in Shelby County Saturday.

The mission expects 20,000-plus cars to travel County Road 43 to experience visions of the Virgin Mary over the next three days, NBC13 reported.

Thousands walked step after step to the Caritas mission.

Believers will travel from as far as Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois and even Ontario, Canada to Alabama, coming thousands of miles to see Yugoslavian-born Marija Lunetti speak to apparitions of the Virgin Mary, NBC13 reported.

Lunetti reportedly first saw a vision of Mary at Caritas in 1988, and periodically returns to speak with the virgin's apparition before thousands of believers.

Travelers come to pray, helping answer the prayers of Alabama businesses.

http://www.nbc13.com/news/3258685/detail.html

Caritas followers come from afar

Many pilgrims visit from outside Alabama
Sunday, May 02, 2004
BILL PLOTT
News staff writer

Teri Allan journeyed Friday from San Francisco to the Caritas of Birmingham community in Shelby County.

This is her fifth pilgrimage to the site in Sterrett where Marija Pavlovic Lunetti has reportedly had visits from the Virgin Mary.

"This is a very special place, a very holy place," Allan said. "I just feel so sorry for the people of Birmingham who have not been here, whether they are Baptist, Jewish, Protestant, whatever. This is not just for Catholics. I wish they would come, even if it's only for curiosity."

Tags of automobiles parked along Shelby County 43 Saturday seemed to bear out Allan's view that Alabama residents do not appreciate the Caritas experience as much as visitors. Out-of-state tags, from as many as 30 states and the Canadian province of Ontario, far outnumbered Alabama tags.

Lunetti first began having visions of Mary in 1981 in Medjugorje, Yugoslavia. In 1988, while in Birmingham to donate a kidney to her brother, she continued to have visions, including one on Thanksgiving Day in a bedroom at the home of Terry Colafrancesco in Sterrett. The open field near the house was turned into a shrine.

About a thousand people gathered in the field Saturday morning to hear the details of her latest Shelby County visit from the mother of Jesus.

"Our Blessed Mother came and prayed for everything that is in your hearts," Lunetti said through a translator. "She prayed for all the religious items you brought and for something that is heavy on her heart, world peace."

Medjugorje followers:

Caritas officials said Lunetti experienced the visit from Mary in the bedroom at 11:40 a.m. At the moment the visitation was reported, most in the field dropped to their knees, and there was almost complete silence for about five minutes. About 20 minutes later, Lunetti and a number of people took a trail through woods near the house to the field, where pilgrims had been praying the rosary all morning.

"Praying together strengthens our prayer," she said through the interpreter. "During the next few days, we will be able to be together in the field and pray for all your intentions."

Allan, the woman who flew in from San Francisco, said she experienced a conversion in Medjugorje in 1988. Although she had occasionally attended Mass previously, she did not feel her faith until her trip to Medjugorje.

"I came back with a terrible thirst to know all about God and our Blessed Mother," she said.

John and Sandi Vlcan drove to Sterrett from Freemont, Neb. It was their first trip to this area, although they also had been to Medjugorje some years ago.

Why come to Sterrett? "To be with our Blessed Mother," he said.

Linda Brown, who uses a wheelchair, came from Fort Lauderdale after seeing a flier at her church. She said the trip was one she was meant to make.

"The devil tests you," she said. "Our muffler fell off. AAA said they could take care of the van but not my wheelchair. I said if we say some prayers, maybe God will send us an angel. A few minutes later a man stopped with all kinds of tools and took the rest of the muffler off. We drove to Atlanta and found a state trooper who led us right to the muffler shop."

Traffic kept moving:

Off-duty Shelby County deputies said traffic flowed smoothly. The only hitch was the closing of a bus-turnaround site because of Friday's heavy rains. The buses had to back off the road to unload their passengers from local motels.

The Caritas community asked deputies to keep traffic moving at the entrance to the pasture. Not even the handicapped could be dropped off there.

Cars were parked on both sides of the road for several hundred yards on each side of the entrance. One deputy said two cars were parked beside the road when he reported for work at 3:45 a.m.

Lunetti's visit will continue through Wednesday. According to Caritas officials, the time and place of Mary's visit are revealed to Lunetti each morning. The schedule is then made available to visitors. Today's vision is expected to take place in the field rather than in the bedroom.

Caritas spokeswoman Ruth McDonald announced that the Bedroom of the Apparitions will be open to the public today.

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1083489444226870.xml

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Visionary receives apparition in Sterrett

Monday, May 03, 2004
NANCY WILSTACH
News staff writer

Hardy pilgrims, more than 1,000 strong, bearing coolers, blankets, backpacks, raincoats and umbrellas, some pushing baby strollers or wheelchairs, tramped Sunday afternoon down a path worn in the grass of what once was a pasture and now is a shrine near Sterrett.

They had come from Texas and Missouri, from Louisiana and New York, braving intermittent showers and a chilly breeze to be as near as possible when a visionary received one of her regularly scheduled apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Marija Pavlovic Lunetti and the Mother of God did not disappoint their followers. Only a few minutes after Mary's preannounced 6:40 p.m. appearance, Lunetti abruptly stopped praying aloud and remained in silent devotion for four minutes and 30 seconds.

Later, through a translator, Lunetti reported that Mary had told her to tell the crowd: "My dear children, don't forget that I am your mother and that I bless you and that I love you."

Lunetti also conveyed that Mary "blessed everything you brought with you," referring to religious items.

Lunetti first reported having visions of Mary in 1981 in Medjugorje, Yugoslavia. In 1988, while in Birmingham to donate a kidney to her brother, she continued to have visions, including one on Thanksgiving Day in a bedroom at the Terry Colafrancesca home in Sterrett. The open field near the house was turned into a shrine.

Seeks donations:

It was in that field that Lunetti experienced her Sunday apparition. Lunetti is in Sterrett through Wednesday with apparitions scheduled each day. Since that initial 1988 vision, the Community of Caritas has grown up, including the impressive stone Tabernacle of Our Lady's Messages and a bevy of mobile homes to house community members.

As pilgrims settled onto their tarps and blankets Sunday in the damp grass, umbrellas and rosaries at hand, Caritas members circulated among them, passing around brochures titled "Alabama The Beautiful Queen of Peace Land Endowment." The brochure stated that each donation would buy a 10-foot-square parcel of land to help forgo "a looming dark cloud of commercialism. Threatened with development, this holy place, where the Virgin Mary has appeared in a series of what she has said are her last apparitions on earth, will lose all the qualities of an oasis of peace."

In exchange for a check (or MasterCard or Visa or Discover) donation, the donor receives a gift of "Blessed Salt" for each , along with tax deduction information and a certificate.

The serenity of the valley struck Evelyn Gentry, a widow from Rock Hill, S.C., visiting the shrine for the second time. "I have thought about coming here. I would like to live here," she said.

The influx of pilgrims does not, however, bring peace and serenity to the neighborhood where cars line the Shelby County 43 right of way for several hundred yards in every direction from the field, except in front of the tabernacle and beside the field across the street. Caritas hired off-duty deputies to direct traffic and to instruct pilgrims, even those using wheelchairs, not to park on the public right of way in those two spots.

"But it is OK to tear up the right of way in front of our places," said Colafrancesca's neighbor, Gwen Baldwin. Baldwin said her family and the Colafrancescas have been neighbors for 26 years and were close until he became involved with the visionary.

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1083579483243250.xml

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Re: BVM

There didn't seem to be a general thread on the Blessed Virigin Mary and Marian apparitions so here it is.

Most Americans equate visions of the Blessed Virgin with sightings of the UFO variety, or with fairy tales rooted in myths from long ago and far away: the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico seen by a 16th century Aztec peasant, or the healing grotto in Lourdes, France where Mary is said to have appeared 18 times to a young girl, Bernadette Soubirous, in 1858. But Marian visions are at a historic high

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/138/story_13845_2.html

Lamp in Ensenada casts image some say is of saint

By Enrique García Sánchez
UNION-TRIBUNE

May 7, 2004



DAVID MAUNG


ENSENADA – It's 7:35 p.m. and the sun's last rays illuminate Social Security Clinic No. 32. A cool shadow already covers the building's main entrance as darkness activates the electric light over a small plaza.

Voices unite in a chorus of joy and surprise, there is some weeping, and in less than a minute 400 to 500 people begin an ovation. Some are standing, others kneeling with their hands raised to heaven.

The size of this reception varies, at times numbering 1,000, but it has been daily since April 19 in this city about 65 miles south of the border. That was the evening people first saw an image created by light cast on the outside clinic wall. The faithful say it is an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

On that Monday, a 6-year-old boy was playing outside the clinic while his mother waited for an appointment. He returned to tell her that the virgin they prayed to at church was outside. His insistence was such that she decided to see for herself.

She came back running, told the nurses about it, and they did the same. In those initial moments, patients and staff contemplated the phenomenon with conflicting emotions.

"I got goose bumps, the director of archives couldn't stop crying and one woman's blood pressure shot up so high she had to be immediately admitted," recalled Irene Mendoza Medina, who has been an urgent care nurse at the family clinic since it opened 13 years ago.

The administrator in charge of the federal facility, Tosie Ide Rioto, said she doesn't know what to think about the image, and prefers to say little. She's cautious because government buildings are prohibited from displaying religious symbols. Nonetheless, she has allowed people to congregate nightly.

"They are not hurting anyone, nor causing problems," she said.

Municipal police officers close the street where the clinic is located, Avenida Blancarte, to vehicle traffic nightly for safety reasons.

Priests and nuns have come to see the image, but the Catholic Church for now is saying nothing.

People begin to gather between 5 and 6 p.m. On a recent evening, an air of celebration soon took hold. Street vendors arrived, peddling roasted corn, tamales, cotton candy, fruit-filled empanaditas, hot dogs and even flowers, 20 pesos for one (nearly ), 50 pesos for a bouquet.

"Go on, lady, so the virgin will grant you a miracle," one of the vendors pleaded.

Before long, someone began to recite the rosary. Between one bead and the next, between one mystery and the other, songs to Mexico's patron saint filled the air.

"La guadalupana-a-a-a, la guadalupana-a-a-a, la guadalupana-a-a-a bajó al Tepeyac," they sang.

"This is such a beautiful gift," said Rosa María Cota Arias excitedly. She had taken charge of certain activities after visiting the site for three days. She distributes copies of prayers and hymns, replenishes the water in the vases left by the faithful, lights the candles that have blown out and discards the wilted flowers.

The mercury-vapor lamp above the wall creates a 3-foot-high image on the second-story wall. It has an oval shape and its outline seems to be in the form of a medallion. The figure in its interior, though diffused, resembles the traditional image of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Where to see image

The federal clinic where the image is seen is called the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. It is on Avenida Blancarte, between Second and Third streets, in downtown Ensenada. [q/uote]

No other nearby light produces the same effect. When the image appeared on a recent evening, several people yelled, "There it is!" and pointed. A commotion erupted and about two dozen people turned on their video cameras, jostling for a closer look.

A similar number pointed binoculars toward the wall while camera flashes punctuated the darkness.

"Bring the video camera!" shouted one woman into a public phone.

It all made sense to Tomás Castelazo, who teaches sociology and photography.

"The cultural training we receive is what makes people see this as the virgin," he said, surveying the throng around him.

Local resident Eufrosina García, 65, didn't need a scientific explanation; her faith told her that she was before the mother of Jesus Christ. In a wheelchair because of a spinal injury, she clasped her hands, her face illuminated with hope.

"She will get me out of this chair!" García said.

As word of the image has spread, people from Mexicali, Tecate, Tijuana and San Diego have arrived to see what many are calling the "Virgin of Ensenada."

In the evenings, the faithful, the curious and the skeptics all crowd into the same space, straining to glimpse the image. The last person does not leave until 4 or 5 in the morning, when the sun rises and the lamp shuts off.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20040507-9999-7m7virgin.html

OK not strictly the BVM but the image and the phenomena are so similar........

Emps

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Virgin on Mexican wall "no miracle"

Tue 11 May, 2004 10:37




By Tim Gaynor

ENSENADA, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexico's Catholic Church has ruled out any divine origin for an image on a hospital wall that thousands of pilgrims are flocking to venerate in the belief that it shows the country's patron saint.

The shadowy figure, which the faithful say depicts the Virgin of Guadalupe, appears every night when a light is switched on in the patio of a clinic in the Pacific resort of Ensenada.

But Flor Guzman, a spokeswoman for the Tijuana Diocese in which Ensenada falls, said the church did not believe the image was miraculous although it was pleased at the devotion of the pilgrims.

"The church is quite clear that it is not a miracle, but a natural phenomenon that serves to strengthen the faith of the believers," she told Reuters on Monday.

The image, which appears to be a shadow, was first reported to hospital authorities on April 19.

"The Catholic Church is not going to report the phenomenon to the Vatican for a thorough analysis because it does not have a supernatural explanation," Guzman said.

The Virgin of Guadalupe has been venerated by successive generations of devout Mexicans since she is said to have first appeared to a shepherd in 1531. She is generally depicted in a gown fringed by rays of light.

Among those flocking to Ensenada are pilgrims with chronic illnesses, some of whom claim to have received miraculous cures.

"I was being treated at the clinic for an asthma attack, but when I came outside to see the Virgin, I stopped wheezing," grandmother Maria Esther Valderrama, 66, said on Sunday night.

"It was definitely a miracle," she added.

Staff at the cottage hospital -- known simply as social security clinic No. 32 -- say up to 1,000 pilgrims keep a vigil at weekends.

They transform the clinic's courtyard into a shrine of devotional candles, flower garlands and printed prayer slips.

Mother of three Maria Hernandez murmured a prayer and crossed herself as the electric light blinked to life, casting a shadowy green outline on the hospital wall.

"I believe in the Virgin with all my heart, and seeing her fills me with indescribable joy," she stammered as she gazed up at the three-foot-high (one meter) image.

Set two blocks back from a port popular with towering cruise ships, the hospital has drawn pilgrims from the nearby cities of Tijuana and Mexicali, and from as far away as San Diego across the border in southern California.

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=5101551&section=news

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Man arrested on charges he broke windows bearing image of Mary


VICKIE CHACHERE, Associated Press Writer

Monday, May 10, 2004


(05-10) 15:54 PDT CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) --

A high school senior was arrested Monday on charges he used a slingshot to shatter office windows that thousands believed bore the image of the Virgin Mary.

Kyle Maskell, an 18-year-old who was raised in foster homes and described by police as angry at the world, was charged Monday with criminal mischief and jailed on ,000 bail.

The image he is accused of destroying was first noticed at the building days before Christmas in 1996. It drew almost a half-million visitors within weeks.

Glass experts believe the image, standing almost 60 feet high and extending across nine glass panels, was created by corrosion of metallic elements in the glass coating.

Police said Maskell already had one run-in with the law and has lived in at least two foster homes, but declined to elaborate on his previous charge.

"He's not a bad kid," said Wayne Shelor, a spokesman for Clearwater police. "He had a bad moment and hurt a lot of people."

In March, the three top panes depicting what appeared to be the Virgin Mary's veiled head were destroyed, apparently by ball bearings fired by a slingshot.

Maskell's alleged involvement likely would have gone undiscovered had he not left behind the slingshot and a newspaper clipping of the attack when he recently moved to a new foster home, police said.

Maskell could get one to five years in prison. It was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer.

Police said the vandalism is not considered a hate crime because Maskell was not making a direct attack on the Christian faith.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/05/10/national1627EDT0670.DTL

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Date: 2004-05-20

The Why of Marian Apparitions

Interview With Father Jesús Castellano Cervera

ROME, MAY 20, 2004 (Zenit.org).- At key moments, an apparition of the Blessed Virgin can be a means to reinforce the faith, says a specialist in Marian studies.

In this interview with ZENIT, Discalced Carmelite Father Jesús Castellano Cervera, a consultor for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and professor at the Pontifical Theological Faculty Teresianum, reflects on the reasons for Marian apparitions and the mechanisms of the Church to confirm their veracity.

Q: Of what significance are apparitions in the Christian faith's plan of salvation?

Father Castellano Cervera: On one hand, authentic apparitions have as their theological significance the living presence of Christ in the Church. In Mary's case, there is also her particular presence next to Christ as Virgin assumed into heaven.

Mary's apparitions can be a means of the Church to confirm in the faith, to assure of her presence and maternal protection, particularly at certain times of history in which there is need to reinforce faith and hope.

Often, some of Mary's apparitions or the invention of a miraculous image of her have an ecclesiological meaning inasmuch as they give backing with a supernatural event to the certainty of Mary's presence in a particular Church, to foster reconciliation among people, as in the case of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Q: How does the Church verify the authenticity of apparitions?

Father Castellano Cervera: Above all, the Church is convinced that God can manifest himself to his people in any circumstance, as he did in the theophanies of the Old Testament and in the apparitions of the risen Jesus.

The Virgin can also do this. But the Church seeks to obtain the certainty of this presence given all the possible subjective mystifications, deceits and credulities that can direct many visionaries or so-called visionaries.

Given the cases that present themselves, and always with the desire to direct the faithful in the truth, the Church seeks to investigate above all the veracity of the events, excluding every possible mystification or error. It works to verify that there are no contradictions in the events and persons which might be opposed to faith, morality or Christian life.

It also seeks to verify the truth of the messages proposed and the fruits that are obtained.

The Church does so slowly and seriously. That is why sometimes years and years go by without an official pronouncement of the Church, inviting all in the meantime to follow the norms of faith and the principles of a healthy Marian theology and spirituality.

Q: Have there been apparitions recently? Where? Are they worthy of consideration?

Father Castellano Cervera: The list of supposed revelations and apparitions of the Virgin Mary is so large that it is not possible to give an account of them here.

Bishops have the duty to inform the Holy See when a phenomenon goes beyond the boundaries of the diocese.

Then, through the competent dicastery, which is the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Holy See offers the appropriate instruments and suggests the way to proceed in such cases, always keeping present the good of the faithful and the essence of the faith and of the life of the Church, its liturgical practice, and the value of popular piety, based on the truths of the Bible, Tradition and the magisterium of the Church on Mary, so rich in texts as those of the Second Vatican Council; of Paul VI; the "Marialis Cultus," the 30th anniversary of whose publication is this year; and John Paul II's wonderful encyclical "Redemptoris Mater."

Q: It is now 150 years since the apparition in Lourdes. What has it represented for the history of the faith, and what teachings can we distill?

Father Castellano Cervera: The message of Lourdes seems obvious to me. With her apparition, Mary confirms the truth of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, as she herself presents herself to St. Bernadette.

From this moment on, the "mariofania" of Lourdes, recognized by the Church as a genuine apparition, becomes a point of reference of Marian devotion.

Lourdes is a charismatic place where the Virgin Mary, through the Church's ordinary pastoral care acts mysteriously also as source of grace and light for the physical, psychic and spiritual health of those who approach it with faith, hope and love.

http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=53992

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Re: BVM + Astrology = ?

I spotted this new book:

Visions of the Virgin Mary: An Astrological Analysis of Divine Intercession
by Courtney Roberts



http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0738705039/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0738705039/

If nothing else it clearly shows the intersting interconnectedness of the Fortean universe where nothing is a discrete entity.

Emps

And a longer piece:

Visions of the Virgin: Astrology and the Divine Feminine in Christianity

Date: 2004-05-24 By: Courtney Roberts


The Divine Feminine in Christianity is an inspiring and provocative theme, challenging the dominance of male deities within the contemporary Christian “pantheon.” The irony is that historically, Goddess worship has always been a big part of Christianity. The Church fathers didn’t like to call it that, but in the development of the cults of the Virgin Mary, Christians openly incorporated the rites and attributes of the great Goddesses of the ancient world. The Divine Feminine was too much a part of the religious lives of the people and couldn’t be ignored.

The Christian church has been particularly adept in channeling the people’s instinctive devotion to a lunar mother goddess into the worship of the Virgin Mary. The love and loyalty she inspires are unparalleled worldwide. According to Marina Warner, “the moon has been the most constant attribute of female divinities in the western world, and was taken over by the Virgin Mary because of ancient beliefs about its function and role that Christianity inherited.”

Many areas of the world had some traditional cult to a mother goddess that was readily assimilated into Marian Christianity, and even continues to this day in the form of unique local customs, devotions, or apparitions. Similarly, other female deities and spirits were often incorporated into the local saint cults. Recognizable attributes of the great goddesses of the pre-Christian world – such as Isis and the Magna Mater – were regularly cut-and-pasted onto the burgeoning image of the Christian Mother of God, drawing their followers and spiritual heirs into her train. After all, a rose, by any other name, still smells as sweet.

Meanwhile, the stories of the Virgin Mary’s appearances to humble seers in remote places like Lourdes, Fatima, and Medjugorje, continue to fascinate both believers and doubters alike. But this is hardly a modern phenomenon, or even especially uncommon. These visions were already prevalent at the very dawn of the Christian era. Although Marian Christianity has traditionally claimed them all for its own – packaging the particulars in the language and symbolism of the institutional church – there is something much older and infinite going on here.

Where the Virgin appears, she exposes the cracks; the juxtapositions and the continuities between the imposed and imported Christianity and the underlying ancestral beliefs of Christendom. These visions are an open window into our shrouded past and our spiritual heritage. There, the great goddesses of the ancient world beckon to us, only partially concealed within the Virgin’s image.

Closer examination of modern apparition sites often reveals a long history of similar appearances. These sites may also have unique local practices that incorporate popular pre-Christian elements such as holy hills, healing springs, and sacred trees, with a mother goddess who just won’t go away. Her worship doesn’t just endure, it thrives. In the parishes, in the prayer life of the church, and in the hearts of the common people, she commands a passionate love and devotion that the masculine concept of God simply doesn’t inspire. The worship of the mother goddess is alive and well in any parish on the planet. The culture and creed may have changed dramatically, but the emotions and archetypes remain the same.

The earliest, and one of the most influential apparitions of Mary occurred while she was still alive, at least according to legend. She appeared in 40A.D. in Saragossa, a town in the north east of what is now Spain, to St. James the Greater. This was James, the son of Zebedee from the gospels, the brother of John, and the disciple of Christ. Now what was a fisherman from Galilee doing so far from home? Legend says he was evangelising among the unbelievers, when he beheld a vision of the virgin poised atop a pagan standing stone, or pillar. She requested that a church be built on the site, as she so often does in these encounters.

This was the reputed origin of the great Catedral de Nuestra Senora del Pilar, or, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Standing Stone, the patroness of all Spain. The Virgin of the Pillar was a huge success, fast becoming the most popular shrine in the region, where the Queen of Heaven herself was said to continue to appear regularly during services to those who had an eye to see. In this masterstroke of religious syncretism, co-opting and re-consecrating a site already sacred in the public mind, and enshrining a venerable local goddess within the novelty of the new Christian context, the church at Saragossa thrived by striking a balance between old and new, past and future, inspiring a powerful cult of popular devotion among both Christians and pagans alike.

Many cures, miracles, and mysterious visions were attributed to the Lady’s continued presence and intercession. In keeping with long-established, pre-Christian traditions, tokens of gratitude and other healing mementos were hung about the shrine. Cunningly crafted legs, arms, hearts, or other body parts, whether in wax or precious metals, were left as silent testimony to prayers answered; symbols of faith sustained, and offered, just as they had been for countless generations at the holy wells, sacred trees, and healing springs of these same people.

That good, old-fashioned, Bible-thumping, protestant fundamentalism we so take for granted today is a very recent innovation in the development of Christianity. For a solid 1500 years before the protestant Reformation, (and then some) the European Christianity of our forefathers was – by virtue of its existence among Europeans – so thoroughly saturated with the pre-Christian practices of those societies that it is really hard to draw the line between what it Christian and what precedes it. And I’m not sure that we should. No religion occurs in a vacuum. Contemporary Christianity is equally accommodating of, and a natural outgrowth from, the post-modern, consumer society in which it is practiced.

Another famous early apparition occurred in France at Le Puy (about 325 miles south of Paris) on the site of Mount Anis, a volcanic peak on the Velay plain. Mount Anis had long been a site of pre-Christian worship, and was the home of the Pierre des Fievres, or Fever Rock, a huge, prehistoric standing stone. Legend says that soon after the arrival of Christianity in the area, in the year 46 or 47 A.D., a devout Christian widow named Villa was suffering with fever when the Virgin appeared to her. Villa was instructed to ascend Mount Anis and lie upon the Fever Rock. When she did, and fell asleep, and awoke in perfect health.

The Virgin requested that a chapel be built on the site, and so the local bishop, St. George of Velay, came out to investigate on July 11. As he neared the rock, he was surprised to see that the ground had been miraculously covered with snow. A stag sprang out of the thicket, and circled the rock, tracing with its footprints in the snow the floor plan of the future shrine. More visions and healings were reported over the years and the shrine became such a popular pilgrimage destination that a hospice had to be built as well. Charlemagne was said to have visited Le Puy twice.

Another glorious vision is reported by Lucius Apuleius in his 2nd Century A.D. novel, The Golden Ass. He tries to describes her divine appearance, rising from the sea:

… if the poverty of my human speech will allow me, or her divine power give me eloquence to do so. First she had a great abundance of hair, dispersed and scattered about her neck, on the crown of her head she wore many garlands interlaced with flowers, just above her brow was a disk in the form of a mirror, or resembling the light of the Moon, in one of her hands she bore serpents, in the other, blades of corn, her robe was of fine silk shimmering in divers colors, sometime yellow, sometime rose, sometime flamy, … whereas here and there the stars peaked out, and in the middle of them was placed the Moon, which shone like a flame of fire, round about the robe was a coronet or garland made with flowers and fruits.

Of course, Lucius was no Christian, but a devotee of the goddess Isis! It is this Egyptian goddess, from whom the Christian Virgin borrowed so much of her imagery, that Lucius is describing here. While there is plenty of excellent material available on the subject of modern Marian apparitions, to my knowledge, no one has ever undertaken a serious astrological analysis. These compelling stories, and their intriguing characters, surely beg the astrological question. What do the underlying planetary alignments reveal about these events, and just what sort of people are these visionaries?

These kinds of questions inspired me to write Visions of The Virgin Mary: An Astrological Analysis of Divine Intercession. In pursuing the answers, I’ve come to believe that astrology provides some distinct advantages when examining the complex and confusing subject of mystical experiences. Astrology lifts us above cultural and religious boundaries, elevating the mind to contemplate human behavior within a more cosmic framework. Astrology alone charts those fundamental forces within our being that have animated human consciousness from the beginning, revealing the dominant themes – both natural and supernatural – in any given moment.

Consequently, the charts for the visions and visionaries not only reveal recurring planetary patterns, but the archetypal imagery associated with the astrological components, like the Moon, Venus, and the sign Virgo, neatly correspond with the mythological dramas playing out in the details of the apparition stories.

At a time when we are so tragically divided by the clash of religions and cultures, perhaps some common ground can be gained in the patient study of the cosmos, and in the recognition of our own timeless and universal archetypes in action -– a very catholic goal, indeed.

Ironically, the very word “catholic,” which means universal, broad, and all-inclusive, originated as an astrological term. According to Franz Cumont, it was introduced to distinguish between local, tribal gods, and celestial, planetary gods. A catholic planetary deity was not limited in influence to any particular place or people, but ruled over activities or experiences that affected the entire earth and the whole human race. Used in that sense, the introduction of this term represented a philosophical step forward from the pettiness of warring tribal gods to a more all-encompassing concept of divinity and order.

Even more ironic is the realization that this term, “catholic,” has through the ages – in the pursuit of orthodoxy and the persecution of heresy – come to signify its own opposite. I would like to use this potent word, but in that older, expanded sense. In examining the astrological forces underlying these Marian apparitions, we encounter truly catholic influences – not limited by place or local beliefs, but reflecting a larger, universal order which links us all together in time within the vast beauty of the cosmos.

I know astrology can get very complicated very quickly, but I’ve tried to write about it in a way that any reader can easily understand. Even if you know absolutely nothing about astrology, by the time you finish this book, you will have learned quite a bit. It’s all done in context, within riveting stories that demand to be told – introducing visionary characters you will never forget, and under the guidance of a tender mother goddess. She is a most persistent manifestation of the Divine Feminine in Christianity, who won’t go away, but keeps showing up, reaching out to anyone who has an eye to see, or an ear to hear.


-------------------------------

Courtney Roberts
Courtney Roberts has been involved in astrology and tarot-- studying, consulting, teaching and writing -- for over twenty years. Formerly the president of the Astrological Reseach Guild, she has lectured and published worldwide on the topic of Virgin Mary apparitions and other astrological subjects. Courtney's real-time astrology methods are used to predict and analyze sporting events around the world.

http://www.llewellynjournal.com/article/600

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

27 May, 2004
CHINA

China’s Marian shrines


Hong Kong (AsiaNews/Sunday Examiner) - The month of May is Our Lady’s month and Christians suddenly become pilgrims rather than tourists as they flock in their tens of thousands to Marian shrines throughout the whole of the Christian world. An extremely large number travel to Lourdes, France; others go to Fatima, Portugal or to Ireland to honour Our Lady of Knock, to Poland to venerate the famous Black Madonna of Czestochowa; Italians are partial to Loreto and in the Americas thousands go to Mexico to pray at the beloved shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

What is a Marian shrine?

A Marian shrine is usually a place where the faithful and the Church believe Our Lady has appeared or where some miracle or other supernatural event has taken place through the intercession of the Holy Mother, whom the Chinese like to call Our Lady.

May is also Our Lady’s special month in China. May is the time when Chinese Catholics take to the waterways in their sampans or make their way up mountaintops by the tens of thousands to pray at shrines dedicated to Our Lady.

Marian shrines in China

China has a number of Marian shrines. There is the shrine of Our Lady of Bliss situated in the hills north of Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province in southwestern China. This shrine is reputed to be at least 200-years-old. It was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and since it was reopened in 1980, has attracted numerous devotees of Our Lady annually.

There is the new shrine in Fuzhou, opened on 30 April 1993 on top of the hill in Longtian village near Fuzhou city, Fujian province. This shrine is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary and called Rosary Villa. The title given to the shrine is reminiscent of the fact that the Dominicans, who were in Fujian province before Liberation, had dedicated the area to Mary of the Rosary. A statue of Our Lady, a gift from Italy, stands in the middle of the Chinese style pavilion on the shrine grounds. The shrine is used as a place for priests’ retreats and for group pilgrimages. It was set up by Fuzhou’s elderly bishop to promote unity and community in the Catholic Church.

On 1 May 1994, the famous Marian shrine adjacent to the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Qingyang township in Nanjing diocese, Jiangsu province, reopened after having been closed for some 55 years. Tens of thousands of pilgrims were drawn to the site.

In 1901, according to Old Catholics, Our Lady of Lourdes appeared in Qingyang and healed many of the sick. The Church bought a piece of land and built a church where Our Lady is said to have appeared and it immediately became a popular pilgrimage site. The building was bombed by the Japanese in 1939 and was later turned into a factory. It still functions as a factory today. However, in 1993, some 200 metres from the original site, construction began on a new church. Some 40,000 of the faithful attended the blessing of the new church on 1 May 1994. Regular pilgrimages resumed in 1995 with people coming from Wuxi, Shanghai and all the nearby dioceses. There are, however, two shrines that stand out in a very special way: the Marian shrine in Donglu and the Marian shrine at Sheshan.

Our Lady appears in China


In 1900, China reported three apparitions: one in Beijing in which Our Lady was accompanied by St. Michael the archangel who, in turn, was surrounded by multitudes of angels. A second apparition involved a weeping statue of Our Lady in the village of Santai during the Boxer Rebellion. The third apparition occurred in Donglu. Donglu is about 40 kilometres from Baoding in Hebei province, and it is one of the strongholds of the unofficial Catholic Church in China. Witnesses recount that a beautiful lady, recognised as Mary, appeared in the skies. The Catholics implored Our Lady to save them from their enemies and their city from destruction. In thanksgiving for Our Lady’s protection over the city of Donglu during the Boxer Rebellion, a beautiful church was built in her honour. It was meant to serve as a constant reminder to the people of Mary’s loving and motherly protection. The pastor, at the time, secured a painting of the Dowager Empress Ci Xi dressed in imperial robes. He commissioned an artist to use it as the background for the image of Our Lady holding the Christ Child. The picture was hung in the Church of Donglu, which eventually became a famous place of pilgrimage.

The shrine at Donglu

People began coming to the shrine in Donglu in 1924, but the first official pilgrimage took place in 1929. By 1932, the location had become such a popular pilgrimage site that Pope Pius XI approved it as an official Marian shrine. Since 1929 tens of thousands of pilgrims have made their way up the hill to the shrine, especially in the month of May.

The miracle of the sun

On 23 May 1995, pilgrims witnessed another phenomenon. Over 30,000 Catholics from the unofficial Church had gathered for Mass at the Donglu shrine. It was the vigil of the Feast of Our Lady, Mary Help of Christians, a favourite of Chinese Catholics. There were four bishops of the unofficial Church concelebrating the Mass and nearly 100 unofficial priests standing in the open field, all eager to honour Our Lady in a special way during her special month. Suddenly, during the opening prayer and again during the consecration, the people observed the sun spinning from right to left. Light rays of various shades emanated from the sky. The people, mesmerised by the phenomenon, could look directly at it without blinking. Suddenly from the centre of the sun people saw what they later described as an apparition. Some beheld the Cross; others said they had seen the Holy Family. Still others had seen Our Lady holding the Infant Jesus while others claimed they had seen the Sacred Host. People, overwhelmed by the vision, suddenly became conscious of their sinfulness and began to cry out, “Holy Mother, forgive me my sins,” or “Holy Virgin Mary, have pity on us your children.” The phenomenon of the sun changing colours, approaching and then retreating while radiating various hues, lasted for about 20 minutes.

The government’s response

Needless to say, the government has not been terribly enthusiastic about having thousands upon thousands of people gather anywhere. This is all the more threatening when the gathering involves religion and people of the unofficial Church. The Public Security Bureau, the agency in charge of keeping watch over the unofficial Catholic community, periodically flexes its muscles to prevent anyone from going on pilgrimage to Donglu. In 1995, when tens of thousands of pilgrims flocked to Donglu for the Feast of Mary Help of Christians on May 24, the Public Security barred all pilgrims from joining anyone on the hill. The police forced people back into buses and trains without offering any explanation. Still, thousands successfully reached the area by finding alternative ways to get there. As many as 100,000 participated in the celebration.

Again in 1996, an official announcement forbade anyone from going to the Donglu shrine. This time two reasons were given for the prohibition: it was an illegal gathering and it was bad for social stability.

Teams of Public Security agents as large as 500 strong were dispatched to all the villages surrounding the Donglu area and to towns all over Hebei Province. As they travelled around, they tried to force the members of the unofficial community to join the Patriotic Association and to do away with unrecognised religious premises such as Donglu. Priests in the towns and villages were ordered not to leave their residences and were forbidden to preach from May 13 until further notice. Lay people were also forbidden to leave their villages. Parents were not allowed to take their children to church or to wear any religious objects.

Against all odds


It seems no amount of pressure can dull the enthusiam of Catholics intent on honouring Our Lady at the Donglu shrine. Every May, regardless of prohibitions, tens of thousands of pilgrims make their way up the steep hill, either in silence or reciting the rosary or singing hymns to praise one who is truly their mother and protector.

The shrine at Sheshan

In June 1989, Pope John Paul II prayed that the Virgin of Sheshan Help of Christians, would look kindly on “the beloved Chinese people.” This remark by Our Holy Father indicates the importance of this shrine as a symbol of Christian renewal in China. Sheshan, with its “nine peaks above the clouds” is situated about 35 kilometres from Shanghai city. Its forest of bamboo, its scenic winding paths and running brooks are a fitting location for communing with God and Our Lady. The mountain, according to legend, gets its name from a hermit named She who centuries ago, lived atop the mountain.

In 1866, the Church in Shanghai built a hexagonal pavilion and placed within it an altar and a statue of Our Lady. Five years later, the Jesuits built a church at the summit of the mountain and dedicated it to Our Lady Help of Christians, opening it in 1873.

In 1924, the bishops of China consecrated the nation to Our Lady and following the consecration they made a pilgrimage to Sheshan. Work on a basilica began in 1925 and was completed 10 years later. This church was the first basilica in all of the Far East and it became China’s favourite pilgrimage site.

During the Cultural Revolution the beautiful bronze statue of Our Lady at the pinnacle of the basilica disappeared and other religious symbols, including the altar and the stained glass window were all virtually destroyed. A replica of the bronze statue of Mary holding up the Christ Child was finally re-installed on top of the tower in the year 2000. Some 10,000 believers paid for it. Pilgrimages to the shrine resumed in 1979.

Every year since then, pilgrims by the thousands have flocked to Sheshan. In 1990, the first pilgrimage of the decade saw 30,000 Catholics coming to Sheshan for Our Lady’s feast. The elderly and the young made the long steep climb from the foothills of the mountain to the summit as a testimony of their love and devotion to Our Lady. One large group of pilgrims are the fisherfolk of Jiangnan who, from earliest times, sailed up the Yangtze, carefully steering their craft through the canals surrounding the foothills of the mountain.

Every year, they come, moor their boats and spend three days and nights at Sheshan to implore Our Lady’s help for the future and to thank her for favours received. But they are only a small group compared to the thousands from all over China who come to pay tribute to their heavenly mother in whom they place so much of their trust.

http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=871

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

A year later, Madonna image still attracting many believers; Faithful go daily to visit window at Milton Hospital


By JESSICA VAN SACK
The Patriot Ledger

MILTON - It has been a year of supernatural sightings for Roberta Trabish.

Trabish, 37, of Weymouth, saw images of little churches in walls. In photographs she took, cherub angels popped up. Last week, the sky lit up in red, the celestial work of Our Lady of Fatima, an apparition of the Virgin Mary that appeared in Portugal in 1917.

It began, Trabish said, when the mother of Jesus touched down upon Milton.

Believed to be a miraculous appearance of the Virgin Mary, a blotchy Milton Hospital window began drawing crowds one year ago.

‘‘There's no question it's the Blessed Mother,'' Trabish said Friday in the hospital parking lot.

It became known as the Milton Madonna, a sign that the mother of Jesus had come to reassure the church, the nation and the world. And by this time last year, an international crowed of 50,000 descended upon Milton, a mass pilgrimage to the small community hospital.

Yet to skeptics, including the Boston Catholic Archdiocese, the window had a more earthly origin: condensation due to a faulty window seal.

‘‘Look at all those colors. Condensation doesn't last for a year,'' Trabish said.

Crowds have dwindled, and the hospital has abandoned plans to move the window to another location, which caused an uproar last summer.

But a local contingent of daily worshippers has formed a family of sorts.

‘‘As a rule, I can't go home unless I visit the Blessed Mother,'' Pauline Duffy, 86, of Braintree, said.

Some go on pilgrimages together to other sites where the Virgin Mary has also reportedly surfaced.

‘‘She's on a world tour,'' Trabish said.

Trabish, along with Cris Richards, 64, of Dorchester, traveled to Clearwater to see another iridescent window that some believe also bears the holy mother's likeness.

On Friday, they passed around albums of purported apparition sightings they have photographed during the past year.

‘‘You can see it faintly in this; the image of Jesus is coming through,'' Trabish said, pointing to a picture.

‘‘And you can see up there the little churches in that window,'' Richards said.

Luckily, they said, the Virgin Mary's latest destination is local: a wood-paneled wall in Juanita Cortez's Dorchester home.

‘‘I believe it with all my heart and soul,'' Cortez said.

Miracles abound, the women said. Duffy said the Blessed Mother healed her glaucoma and cured a stomach ailment in Richards' grandson.

The window's faithful say they fear the hospital will move the window and they remain frustrated that the Boston Archdiocese has chosen not to deem the window a miracle. A spokesman for the archdiocese did not return calls.

The hospital spent ,000 on extra police and security from June to October 2003, spokeswoman Susan Schepici said. She said there are no plans to move the window.

A donation box set under the window has accumulated ,000, which is sitting in a hospital account until the board of trustees decides how to use it.

‘‘Over the past year, all different types of people have met here,'' Trabish said. ‘‘White, black, Chinese, Spanish, anything. All different ages, we all got along because that's what the Blessed Mother wants. That's the miracle.''

http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2004/06/19/news/news04.txt

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Virgin Mary vandal receives light sentence, prayers

A teen pleads guilty to shattering a Clearwater building's glass windows with an image of Mary that believers found inspiring.

By CHRIS TISCH, Times Staff Writer
Published July 13, 2004



CLEARWATER - The small, white-haired woman emerged from the courtroom gallery Monday morning with a cross dangling from her neck and a message to deliver to the judge.

On the other side of the aisle stood an equally undaunting figure: a wiry young man with blue eyes and a tight haircut that made his ears look big.

The woman was Rosie Reed, the site leader for Shepherds of Christ Ministries, which owns the mirrored building on U.S. 19 that many think holds the rainbow-hued image of the Virgin Mary.

The youngster was Kyle Maskell, the teen who slung steel balls into the top windows of the image, shattering the image and beheading one of Clearwater's most beloved figures.

Despite the damage, Reed told the judge: "Shepherds of Christ Ministries does not wish to press charges."

But the State Attorney's Office did. After the teen pleaded guilty to a criminal mischief charge Monday, prosecutors asked Judge Brandt Downey to sentence him to jail.

Downey jailed Maskell for 10 days and ordered him to pay the ministry

Virgin Mary vandal receives light sentence, prayers

A teen pleads guilty to shattering a Clearwater building's glass windows with an image of Mary that believers found inspiring.

By CHRIS TISCH, Times Staff Writer
Published July 13, 2004



CLEARWATER - The small, white-haired woman emerged from the courtroom gallery Monday morning with a cross dangling from her neck and a message to deliver to the judge.

On the other side of the aisle stood an equally undaunting figure: a wiry young man with blue eyes and a tight haircut that made his ears look big.

The woman was Rosie Reed, the site leader for Shepherds of Christ Ministries, which owns the mirrored building on U.S. 19 that many think holds the rainbow-hued image of the Virgin Mary.

The youngster was Kyle Maskell, the teen who slung steel balls into the top windows of the image, shattering the image and beheading one of Clearwater's most beloved figures.

Despite the damage, Reed told the judge: "Shepherds of Christ Ministries does not wish to press charges."

But the State Attorney's Office did. After the teen pleaded guilty to a criminal mischief charge Monday, prosecutors asked Judge Brandt Downey to sentence him to jail.

Downey jailed Maskell for 10 days and ordered him to pay the ministry $1,200 for the damage.

"He took something that is irreplaceable to the community," prosecutor Doug Ellis told Downey. "That's like slashing the Mona Lisa."

Because Maskell had already served some of those days in jail after his May 10 arrest, the 18-year-old could be free by the weekend. The jail stay will be followed by two years of probation.

Maskell's attorney, Roger Futerman, had initially hoped his client could receive pretrial intervention, in which the charge would have been dropped if Maskell fulfilled court-ordered requirements.

But Futerman said State Attorney Bernie McCabe, who could not be reached for comment Monday, told him prosecutors would seek jail time because the crime angered a lot of people in the community, including some who wanted to see the case tried as a hate crime.

"We understand the state's position," Futerman said.

Authorities said the vandalism was not a hate crime because Maskell was not spurred by religious motives when he broke the windows.

Instead, Futerman said, Maskell was motivated by the anguish that has marked his young life.

Futerman said Maskell, who is estranged from his parents, claims his father twice tried to kill him. He spent most of his childhood in foster homes. At 18, he is a sophomore at Clearwater High School.

"He has certainly gone through some horrific circumstances," Futerman said. "We're not excusing his act; we're just trying to explain it."

On March 1, Futerman said, Maskell was having nightmares about his childhood and couldn't sleep. He grabbed his slingshot and headed outside, looking for something to break. He came upon the iridescent Virgin Mary image, then fired at least three steel balls into the top panes of the figure.

"He was just mad at the world," Futerman said.

Two months later, a friend with whom Maskell had once stayed was cleaning out a bedroom when he came upon a slingshot, steel balls and newspaper clippings about the vandalism. The friend turned the items over to Clearwater High School officials, who told police.

During a teary interview, Maskell admitted the crime to officers, who arrested him on a charge of felony criminal mischief, which can carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

An anonymous benefactor hired Futerman to represent Maskell and bailed him out. Maskell has since been living in a foster home in Clearwater and working day labor jobs, Futerman said.

"I've seen him remorseful from day one until now," Futerman said.

Not long after the windows were shattered, a messenger with the ministry received word from God that the vandal should be spared, said John Weickert, president of the Cincinnati ministry.

"That came from above me," Weickert said.

The image has drawn millions of people to Clearwater since its presence became widely known in 1996. The ministry, which began leasing the building in 1998 and later bought it, had set up a shrine at its foot and erected a crucifix next to the windows.

While believers saw the image as a miracle, cynics said it may have been caused by the building's sprinklers and foliage.

Ministry officials have said the number of people visiting the building has decreased since the vandalism. The broken windows have been replaced with panes of clear glass.

However, ministry officials said another image that they think is Jesus' face can be seen in the glass; they claim that figure has become more apparent since Mary's decapitation.

Weickert sent Reed to court Monday to tell the judge the ministry didn't want to pursue charges or seek restitution. Prosecutors can, however, pursue criminal charges without a victim's consent.

After speaking with Maskell, Futerman told Downey his client would accept the punishment. Maskell pleaded guilty to the charge, though Downey withheld judgment against him. That was important, Futerman said, because Maskell feared a conviction would dash his hopes of one day joining the Marines.

In addition to the $1,200 in restitution, which covers the cost of the windows, Maskell must pay almost $1,100 in court and investigative costs. He also must receive a psychological evaluation and have no contact with the ministry.

Downey said if the ministry refuses the restitution, the money will go into a victim's fund.

After he was sentenced, Maskell - wearing Dockers khakis, a white shirt and a blue tie - signed some papers and had his fingers rolled for prints. Then bailiffs led him to jail.

Next week, Maskell will head to two summer camps, one a Juvenile Welfare Board camp in Sarasota that addresses anger issues in foster kids, the second a Salvation Army Bible camp in Gainesville.

Ministry officials have said they will pray for him.

"Jesus would forgive," Reed said after the hearing. "And we forgive."

,200 for the damage.

"He took something that is irreplaceable to the community," prosecutor Doug Ellis told Downey. "That's like slashing the Mona Lisa."

Because Maskell had already served some of those days in jail after his May 10 arrest, the 18-year-old could be free by the weekend. The jail stay will be followed by two years of probation.

Maskell's attorney, Roger Futerman, had initially hoped his client could receive pretrial intervention, in which the charge would have been dropped if Maskell fulfilled court-ordered requirements.

But Futerman said State Attorney Bernie McCabe, who could not be reached for comment Monday, told him prosecutors would seek jail time because the crime angered a lot of people in the community, including some who wanted to see the case tried as a hate crime.

"We understand the state's position," Futerman said.

Authorities said the vandalism was not a hate crime because Maskell was not spurred by religious motives when he broke the windows.

Instead, Futerman said, Maskell was motivated by the anguish that has marked his young life.

Futerman said Maskell, who is estranged from his parents, claims his father twice tried to kill him. He spent most of his childhood in foster homes. At 18, he is a sophomore at Clearwater High School.

"He has certainly gone through some horrific circumstances," Futerman said. "We're not excusing his act; we're just trying to explain it."

On March 1, Futerman said, Maskell was having nightmares about his childhood and couldn't sleep. He grabbed his slingshot and headed outside, looking for something to break. He came upon the iridescent Virgin Mary image, then fired at least three steel balls into the top panes of the figure.

"He was just mad at the world," Futerman said.

Two months later, a friend with whom Maskell had once stayed was cleaning out a bedroom when he came upon a slingshot, steel balls and newspaper clippings about the vandalism. The friend turned the items over to Clearwater High School officials, who told police.

During a teary interview, Maskell admitted the crime to officers, who arrested him on a charge of felony criminal mischief, which can carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

An anonymous benefactor hired Futerman to represent Maskell and bailed him out. Maskell has since been living in a foster home in Clearwater and working day labor jobs, Futerman said.

"I've seen him remorseful from day one until now," Futerman said.

Not long after the windows were shattered, a messenger with the ministry received word from God that the vandal should be spared, said John Weickert, president of the Cincinnati ministry.

"That came from above me," Weickert said.

The image has drawn millions of people to Clearwater since its presence became widely known in 1996. The ministry, which began leasing the building in 1998 and later bought it, had set up a shrine at its foot and erected a crucifix next to the windows.

While believers saw the image as a miracle, cynics said it may have been caused by the building's sprinklers and foliage.

Ministry officials have said the number of people visiting the building has decreased since the vandalism. The broken windows have been replaced with panes of clear glass.

However, ministry officials said another image that they think is Jesus' face can be seen in the glass; they claim that figure has become more apparent since Mary's decapitation.

Weickert sent Reed to court Monday to tell the judge the ministry didn't want to pursue charges or seek restitution. Prosecutors can, however, pursue criminal charges without a victim's consent.

After speaking with Maskell, Futerman told Downey his client would accept the punishment. Maskell pleaded guilty to the charge, though Downey withheld judgment against him. That was important, Futerman said, because Maskell feared a conviction would dash his hopes of one day joining the Marines.

In addition to the

Virgin Mary vandal receives light sentence, prayers

A teen pleads guilty to shattering a Clearwater building's glass windows with an image of Mary that believers found inspiring.

By CHRIS TISCH, Times Staff Writer
Published July 13, 2004



CLEARWATER - The small, white-haired woman emerged from the courtroom gallery Monday morning with a cross dangling from her neck and a message to deliver to the judge.

On the other side of the aisle stood an equally undaunting figure: a wiry young man with blue eyes and a tight haircut that made his ears look big.

The woman was Rosie Reed, the site leader for Shepherds of Christ Ministries, which owns the mirrored building on U.S. 19 that many think holds the rainbow-hued image of the Virgin Mary.

The youngster was Kyle Maskell, the teen who slung steel balls into the top windows of the image, shattering the image and beheading one of Clearwater's most beloved figures.

Despite the damage, Reed told the judge: "Shepherds of Christ Ministries does not wish to press charges."

But the State Attorney's Office did. After the teen pleaded guilty to a criminal mischief charge Monday, prosecutors asked Judge Brandt Downey to sentence him to jail.

Downey jailed Maskell for 10 days and ordered him to pay the ministry $1,200 for the damage.

"He took something that is irreplaceable to the community," prosecutor Doug Ellis told Downey. "That's like slashing the Mona Lisa."

Because Maskell had already served some of those days in jail after his May 10 arrest, the 18-year-old could be free by the weekend. The jail stay will be followed by two years of probation.

Maskell's attorney, Roger Futerman, had initially hoped his client could receive pretrial intervention, in which the charge would have been dropped if Maskell fulfilled court-ordered requirements.

But Futerman said State Attorney Bernie McCabe, who could not be reached for comment Monday, told him prosecutors would seek jail time because the crime angered a lot of people in the community, including some who wanted to see the case tried as a hate crime.

"We understand the state's position," Futerman said.

Authorities said the vandalism was not a hate crime because Maskell was not spurred by religious motives when he broke the windows.

Instead, Futerman said, Maskell was motivated by the anguish that has marked his young life.

Futerman said Maskell, who is estranged from his parents, claims his father twice tried to kill him. He spent most of his childhood in foster homes. At 18, he is a sophomore at Clearwater High School.

"He has certainly gone through some horrific circumstances," Futerman said. "We're not excusing his act; we're just trying to explain it."

On March 1, Futerman said, Maskell was having nightmares about his childhood and couldn't sleep. He grabbed his slingshot and headed outside, looking for something to break. He came upon the iridescent Virgin Mary image, then fired at least three steel balls into the top panes of the figure.

"He was just mad at the world," Futerman said.

Two months later, a friend with whom Maskell had once stayed was cleaning out a bedroom when he came upon a slingshot, steel balls and newspaper clippings about the vandalism. The friend turned the items over to Clearwater High School officials, who told police.

During a teary interview, Maskell admitted the crime to officers, who arrested him on a charge of felony criminal mischief, which can carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

An anonymous benefactor hired Futerman to represent Maskell and bailed him out. Maskell has since been living in a foster home in Clearwater and working day labor jobs, Futerman said.

"I've seen him remorseful from day one until now," Futerman said.

Not long after the windows were shattered, a messenger with the ministry received word from God that the vandal should be spared, said John Weickert, president of the Cincinnati ministry.

"That came from above me," Weickert said.

The image has drawn millions of people to Clearwater since its presence became widely known in 1996. The ministry, which began leasing the building in 1998 and later bought it, had set up a shrine at its foot and erected a crucifix next to the windows.

While believers saw the image as a miracle, cynics said it may have been caused by the building's sprinklers and foliage.

Ministry officials have said the number of people visiting the building has decreased since the vandalism. The broken windows have been replaced with panes of clear glass.

However, ministry officials said another image that they think is Jesus' face can be seen in the glass; they claim that figure has become more apparent since Mary's decapitation.

Weickert sent Reed to court Monday to tell the judge the ministry didn't want to pursue charges or seek restitution. Prosecutors can, however, pursue criminal charges without a victim's consent.

After speaking with Maskell, Futerman told Downey his client would accept the punishment. Maskell pleaded guilty to the charge, though Downey withheld judgment against him. That was important, Futerman said, because Maskell feared a conviction would dash his hopes of one day joining the Marines.

In addition to the $1,200 in restitution, which covers the cost of the windows, Maskell must pay almost $1,100 in court and investigative costs. He also must receive a psychological evaluation and have no contact with the ministry.

Downey said if the ministry refuses the restitution, the money will go into a victim's fund.

After he was sentenced, Maskell - wearing Dockers khakis, a white shirt and a blue tie - signed some papers and had his fingers rolled for prints. Then bailiffs led him to jail.

Next week, Maskell will head to two summer camps, one a Juvenile Welfare Board camp in Sarasota that addresses anger issues in foster kids, the second a Salvation Army Bible camp in Gainesville.

Ministry officials have said they will pray for him.

"Jesus would forgive," Reed said after the hearing. "And we forgive."

,200 in restitution, which covers the cost of the windows, Maskell must pay almost

Virgin Mary vandal receives light sentence, prayers

A teen pleads guilty to shattering a Clearwater building's glass windows with an image of Mary that believers found inspiring.

By CHRIS TISCH, Times Staff Writer
Published July 13, 2004



CLEARWATER - The small, white-haired woman emerged from the courtroom gallery Monday morning with a cross dangling from her neck and a message to deliver to the judge.

On the other side of the aisle stood an equally undaunting figure: a wiry young man with blue eyes and a tight haircut that made his ears look big.

The woman was Rosie Reed, the site leader for Shepherds of Christ Ministries, which owns the mirrored building on U.S. 19 that many think holds the rainbow-hued image of the Virgin Mary.

The youngster was Kyle Maskell, the teen who slung steel balls into the top windows of the image, shattering the image and beheading one of Clearwater's most beloved figures.

Despite the damage, Reed told the judge: "Shepherds of Christ Ministries does not wish to press charges."

But the State Attorney's Office did. After the teen pleaded guilty to a criminal mischief charge Monday, prosecutors asked Judge Brandt Downey to sentence him to jail.

Downey jailed Maskell for 10 days and ordered him to pay the ministry $1,200 for the damage.

"He took something that is irreplaceable to the community," prosecutor Doug Ellis told Downey. "That's like slashing the Mona Lisa."

Because Maskell had already served some of those days in jail after his May 10 arrest, the 18-year-old could be free by the weekend. The jail stay will be followed by two years of probation.

Maskell's attorney, Roger Futerman, had initially hoped his client could receive pretrial intervention, in which the charge would have been dropped if Maskell fulfilled court-ordered requirements.

But Futerman said State Attorney Bernie McCabe, who could not be reached for comment Monday, told him prosecutors would seek jail time because the crime angered a lot of people in the community, including some who wanted to see the case tried as a hate crime.

"We understand the state's position," Futerman said.

Authorities said the vandalism was not a hate crime because Maskell was not spurred by religious motives when he broke the windows.

Instead, Futerman said, Maskell was motivated by the anguish that has marked his young life.

Futerman said Maskell, who is estranged from his parents, claims his father twice tried to kill him. He spent most of his childhood in foster homes. At 18, he is a sophomore at Clearwater High School.

"He has certainly gone through some horrific circumstances," Futerman said. "We're not excusing his act; we're just trying to explain it."

On March 1, Futerman said, Maskell was having nightmares about his childhood and couldn't sleep. He grabbed his slingshot and headed outside, looking for something to break. He came upon the iridescent Virgin Mary image, then fired at least three steel balls into the top panes of the figure.

"He was just mad at the world," Futerman said.

Two months later, a friend with whom Maskell had once stayed was cleaning out a bedroom when he came upon a slingshot, steel balls and newspaper clippings about the vandalism. The friend turned the items over to Clearwater High School officials, who told police.

During a teary interview, Maskell admitted the crime to officers, who arrested him on a charge of felony criminal mischief, which can carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

An anonymous benefactor hired Futerman to represent Maskell and bailed him out. Maskell has since been living in a foster home in Clearwater and working day labor jobs, Futerman said.

"I've seen him remorseful from day one until now," Futerman said.

Not long after the windows were shattered, a messenger with the ministry received word from God that the vandal should be spared, said John Weickert, president of the Cincinnati ministry.

"That came from above me," Weickert said.

The image has drawn millions of people to Clearwater since its presence became widely known in 1996. The ministry, which began leasing the building in 1998 and later bought it, had set up a shrine at its foot and erected a crucifix next to the windows.

While believers saw the image as a miracle, cynics said it may have been caused by the building's sprinklers and foliage.

Ministry officials have said the number of people visiting the building has decreased since the vandalism. The broken windows have been replaced with panes of clear glass.

However, ministry officials said another image that they think is Jesus' face can be seen in the glass; they claim that figure has become more apparent since Mary's decapitation.

Weickert sent Reed to court Monday to tell the judge the ministry didn't want to pursue charges or seek restitution. Prosecutors can, however, pursue criminal charges without a victim's consent.

After speaking with Maskell, Futerman told Downey his client would accept the punishment. Maskell pleaded guilty to the charge, though Downey withheld judgment against him. That was important, Futerman said, because Maskell feared a conviction would dash his hopes of one day joining the Marines.

In addition to the $1,200 in restitution, which covers the cost of the windows, Maskell must pay almost $1,100 in court and investigative costs. He also must receive a psychological evaluation and have no contact with the ministry.

Downey said if the ministry refuses the restitution, the money will go into a victim's fund.

After he was sentenced, Maskell - wearing Dockers khakis, a white shirt and a blue tie - signed some papers and had his fingers rolled for prints. Then bailiffs led him to jail.

Next week, Maskell will head to two summer camps, one a Juvenile Welfare Board camp in Sarasota that addresses anger issues in foster kids, the second a Salvation Army Bible camp in Gainesville.

Ministry officials have said they will pray for him.

"Jesus would forgive," Reed said after the hearing. "And we forgive."

,100 in court and investigative costs. He also must receive a psychological evaluation and have no contact with the ministry.

Downey said if the ministry refuses the restitution, the money will go into a victim's fund.

After he was sentenced, Maskell - wearing Dockers khakis, a white shirt and a blue tie - signed some papers and had his fingers rolled for prints. Then bailiffs led him to jail.

Next week, Maskell will head to two summer camps, one a Juvenile Welfare Board camp in Sarasota that addresses anger issues in foster kids, the second a Salvation Army Bible camp in Gainesville.

Ministry officials have said they will pray for him.

"Jesus would forgive," Reed said after the hearing. "And we forgive."

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/07/13/Tampabay/Virgin_Mary_vandal_re.shtml

 

[lopaka]

A local BVM tie-in. That never happens

Book on sightings of Virgin Mary lands KU prof on History Channel

By Terry Rombeck, Journal-World

Friday, July 30, 2004

The Moore Reading Room at Kansas University's Smith Hall was transformed into an impromptu television studio Thursday.

The star was Sandra Zimdars-Swartz, a KU professor of religious studies who was interviewed for two hours for a History Channel show documenting visions of the Virgin Mary.

No matter that it's been 13 years since Zimdars-Swartz published her book on the topic.

"Oh my goodness, she was interested in the details," Zimdars-Swartz said of the show's producer, Nancy Gimbrone. "In all honesty, I finished the book in 1991 and I was tired of the subject. I haven't thought of some of those details in more than 10 years."

The interview was part of "Glimpses of the Virgin," a two-hour documentary on divine apparitions that is scheduled to air in December.

Zimdars-Swartz was chosen as one of 12 to 15 people to be interviewed for the show because of research she completed during the 1980s that culminated in "Encountering Mary," a 1991 book.

In that book, she chronicled six of the most-cited virgin sightings, including in Lourdes, France, where an apparition-inspired basilica draws thousands each year who believe the waters there have healing powers.

This was the third time Zimdars-Swartz has been interviewed for national media on the topic. The other two were with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and the A&E network.


She said her research wasn't focused on proving or disproving the validity of the apparitions -- only documenting the human reactions to the perceived visions.

For instance, apparitions are thought to have led to an 1858 Vatican declaration that the virgin Mary was without original sin, the idea that all people inherit sins because of the actions of Adam and Eve.

"These things tend to come to people's attention more when there's a lot of political, social or economic anxiety," Zimdars-Swartz said. "But there are a whole set of factors. For one, you have to have a credible visionary."

Gimbrone, supervising producer for Weller Grossman Productions in North Hollywood, Calif., said her interview list included scholars and people who had reported seeing visions recently in the Mojave Desert.

Thursday's interview was supported by a three-person crew from Lee's Summit, Mo.

"Sandra Zimdars-Swartz wrote a very good book which is kind of a benchmark for many other scholars," Gimbrone said. "She's a good expert for the History Channel. She has good credentials."

© Copyright 2004 The Lawrence Journal-World.

http://www.ljworld.com/section/kunews/story/177021



Something to look for this Christmas, anyway. Far better than Miracle on 34th St. or It's a Wonderful Life.

I may also try to dig up reports on the recent Mojave sightings mentioned. Unless the producer simply has her facts wrong, that would be different from the Mexican resort apparition posted earlier. (The Mojave is a bit further north and east of that. Closest desert to Ensenada would be the Sonora).

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Image of Virgin Mary appears in photograph


By Mark Wembridge
[email protected]

Saturday July 31, 2004



Top Photo: An image that the Young family from Heartland Crossing believes is of the Virgin Mary appeared on a photo they left at a gravesite earlier this year. Right Photo: The original photo is of Tammy Young, her fiancé Josh Anderson and their son Shawn. The white box indicates roughly the area shown in the photo above. Submitted photos.


The appearance of an apparition of the Virgin Mary in a photograph placed on a grave has stunned and confounded a Heartland Crossing family.

According to Pam Young, water damage to the picture of her daughter Tammy, grandson Shawn, and Tammy’s fiancé Josh Anderson, has not only taken the shape of Mary, but also of several other faces.

The family placed the photo on the grave of Tammy’s grandfather, Harley McNeely, at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Greenwood in June.

When family members visited the grave on July 17 they saw the photograph had been affected by water damage.

“There had been a lot of storms around that time, so water had obviously seeped into the photo, but the frame hadn’t been broken, and this image had appeared,” Pam said.

Showing the photograph to other family members produced a similar result - astonishment.

“We just don’t understand why something like this has happened to our family,” Pam said. “Why did the image appear over Shawn and Tammy, but not Josh?”

Closer inspection of the photograph reveals what looks like an image of a cloaked figure with a halo.

When the colors are inverted (turned into a negative) more intricate details appear.

“If you use a really good video card you can see everything - the eyes, nose, cheekbones,” Cassandra said.

A near perfect face appears in the top right corner of the photo, and what the Young’s claim to resemble a horned cow’s skull appears in the lower part of the cloaked figure’s robes.

Members of the Young family, who belong to St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Danville, believe the image is a sign.

“When I saw it I almost fell out of my chair,” Cassandra said. “It makes you wonder about why these things have been popping up all over the place.”

The apparition is not the first likeness of the Virgin Mary to appear.




Christians around the U.S. have flocked to Clearwater, Fla., to admire a large image of the Virgin Mary that appears in the windows of an old bank.

First gaining national prominence in December 1996, the apparition stretches about 60 feet high and 20 feet across in nine bronze colored glass panels with shades of purple, blue, yellow and green. In March this year a local teenager broke the top three panes with a sling shot. He was fined for his act of vandalism.

Recently an image of the Blessed Virgin was reported to have appeared in a splintered tree trunk in Passaic, N.J.

And in 1996 the Bongo Java coffee house in Nashville Tenn., came into the public spotlight when store manager Ryan Finney found the “Nunbun” - a cinnamon bun said to resemble Mother Theresa’s face.

Father Rick Eldred of St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Mooresville said although he has not personally heard of such occurrences in this area, he has heard several stories of apparitions appearing.

“There have been times when people have said their pancake turned out looking like a saint or the Blessed Mother,” he said. “I have even seen a photograph of a rose that looked like it was the imagery of the Blessed Mother within the petals.

“I guess you classify that as phenomenology. The other thing is how much of it is the mind and one’s own vision.”

Eldred said the Catholic Church reserves statements on the validity of holy apparitions without an in-depth investigation, but also said they can have a positive effect upon believers.

“I think the way they used to put it was: For those who believe there is no explanation that is needed. For those who don’t there is no explanation that can be given,” he said. “If it brings consolation or a deeper sense of faith to them then that’s good. God is all powerful and totally capable of doing all types of things.”

Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis spokesperson Susan Borcherts said although sightings of the Virgin Mary are rare, several priests have been told of apparitions by parishioners over the years. Such events can enhance a Catholic’s faith.

“If someone sees the image of the Virgin Mary then they should treat it as a blessing,” she said.

The Youngs have offered to display the photo at local Catholic churches that may want to view the image. To contact the Young’s call (317) 821-1722 or e-mail them at [email protected].

http://www.md-times.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=4716&format=html

The picture (attached) isn't too great a quality but it is clear that the photo was suffering from being exposed to weather and had perished along the edges - in that case I'm not suprised that there is other damage elsewhere and if they think it looks like the BVM then thats their call.

I'm thinking of claiming it looks like a large stone lingam (possibly the infamous lingamyjig).

 

[Anonymous]

This is really really funny.
Because I live in Vermont and was about to do a hoax/documentary on an image of jesus (I had the location scouted out and was almost ready to "begin", so to speak.

Methinks I'll have to postpone it a bit, to not appear to be an obvious copycat. Or maybe I'll just ride the popularity wave...

(ps- don't tell anyone I said this)

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

This is really really funny.
Because I live in Vermont and was about to do a hoax/documentary on an image of jesus (I had the location scouted out and was almost ready to "begin", so to speak.

Methinks I'll have to postpone it a bit, to not appear to be an obvious copycat. Or maybe I'll just ride the popularity wave...

(ps- don't tell anyone I said this)

OK I won't

The report has gone that you are refering to - can you (or anyone else) remember any details that might help us track it down?

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

This must be the worst yet (see attached image).

WESLACO

Virgin Mary Appears on Balloon at Car Lot



Reported by Ray Pedraza

AUGUST 31, 2004 - In this area of South Texas where the Virgin Mary is taken very, very seriously, any reported apparitions become centers of attraction.

Now a Valley man claims he's seen the Virgin Mary on a balloon! Yes a balloon.

Javier Fuentes, a salesman a Payne Weslaco Motors, says he was out to sell new cars Tuesday morning until his day "blew up" into something else.

"Everybody was blowing some balloons and we noticed that this image came from the balloon," said Fuentes. "And everybody was agreeing that it looked like the Virgin Mary."

On closer inspection, Fuentes says he noted that the image was more than just a possible defect on a balloon.

"That's what I thought in the beginning and I tried to erase it and I couldn't. I even tried to put some saliva on it and it didn't go away."

And some of his co-workers at the dealership say they were moved to tears after seeing the image.

"I got the chills, and I've had the chills on and off," said Margaret Cavazos.

"My eyes kind of watered. And I said right away when he showed it to me, (yes). He said, 'do you know what this is?'. And I said, 'Yes. That's La Virgencita."

Fuentes also called his family to come over to see the apparition for themselves. Javier's mother, Maria, made the sign of the cross when she saw the balloon.

With teary eyes, she embraced her son saying, "I feel proud that this happened to my son."

For those who doubt the sighting, he says everyone's entitled to their own beliefs. Fuentes says he isn't sure why he was selected to see the image but is sure there's a message behind it.

" I don't know, (maybe) to be a better person to see life in a different way. I'm still shaking; I'm so nervous."

Fuentes says he plans to keep the balloon, which he considers a blessing from God.

http://www.team4news.com/Global/story.asp?S=2242527&nav=0w0vQRHe

 

[KeyserXSoze]

Knock

http://www.westernpeople.ie/news/story.asp?j=21376

A century later and crowds are still gathering at Knock
By: Marian Harrison

As Knock celebrates the 125thanniversary of its famous apparition, Marian Harrison investigates what brings one and half million pilgrims to the East Mayo village each year.

“My house shall be a house of prayer to all nations – this is the gate of the Lord, they just shall enter into it,”
reads the inscription on the founding stone of Knock Church built in 1828. This was truly a prophetic inscription, as today over one and a half million pilgrims visit Knock annually making it Ireland's top attraction.

The story of Knock began on August 21, 1879 when Our Lady, St Joseph and St John the Evangelist were said to have appeared at the south gable of Knock Parish Church. The apparition was witnessed by 15 people, young and old.

From this miraculous occurrence, Knock has grown to the status of an internationally recognised Marian Shrine and a centre of prayer.

All through the pilgrimage season a continuous stream of prayer ascends to heaven, every day the chorus of prayer continues from early morning till dark night.

It is estimated that over the nine-day novena period between August 14 and 22, as many as 100,000 people visited the shrine.

I went along to witness the faith for myself. There it was in the faces of the people who has dropped everything to come and pray because they believed in the miracle at Knock.

The Old Chapel, capable of holding near on six hundred people, was packed with figures pouring in to receive the grace associated with the site. The gothic architectural style of the church and the cross-topped gable is breathtaking as the light from outside spills in through the stain glassed windows. Every pew is taken but a solemn hush pervades. Motionless forms can be seen on each side, seated in rows. Others kneel at the magical altar, adorned with flowers and candles, or stand before the pictures of the stations. The lighted candles and dim red light of the sanctuary give a feeling of intense serenity.

Outside people pray in a fervent manner and the rosary is recited aloud by groups. No music could equal their atoned tune. The scene reminded me of the description given by St John Climachus in his “Holy Ladder of Perfection” of the deep abiding fervour of the penitents in the desert as they smite their breasts and cry out for mercy and beg god for the favours of grace and beseech him to take into consideration their manifold imperfections.

The Irish have always been noted for the healthy vigour of family life, so it is of little wonder to witness a grandmother, daughter and granddaughter seated together with heads bowed in prayer.

However, more often than not, one is confronted with a much more lamentable sight of the sick and elderly praying for a miracle. Among one group was an elderly woman and her daughter, who has special needs. The mother dedicated her time in Knock to walking around the church praying for an angel to watch over her daughter in her absence.

As I spoke to Limerick man, Terry O'Riordan, I was unaware of his connections with fame. He thanked god for his daughter's, Dolores O'Riordan, of The Cranberries, success and insisted he would not be alive were it not for Knock.
“I've had a few bad crashes and if it weren't for Knock, I wouldn't be here today.”

Sr Lucy Tierney is an elderly sister with the Daughters of Charity. I met her at the Sister's hostel for pilgrims in Knock. Eighty-year-old Lucy is a small feeble woman, but what she lacks in physical strength, she makes up for in character. Posted to Knock over 30 years ago, she recalls the changes since her arrival. “Back then they had poor galvanised stalls. Today, people have plenty and no appreciation. One wants to be better than the other.” She remembers cycling from her home in Milltown to Knock for a day's prayer. “We did it for penance, people are far too fond of themselves today,” she noted.

But why do people come to Knock instead of sampling the serenity of Lough Derg or the wilderness of Croagh Patrick? Sr Lucy is adamant that Our Lady attracts them. “People are always sending me petitions and they make a lot of friends here. I often see them swapping addresses and meeting up the following year.”

Sr Catherine McSweeney says all those who come to Knock are burdened in some way. A nurse in Sudan and Nigeria, Catherine now spends her days in St John's Rest and Care looking after invalids and sick pilgrims who come to Knock. “Some of them just want to talk and you need to give them time and attention,” noted the Sister.

In 1880 the materialistic element of faith was evident with a brisk sale in rosaries, books of religious devotions, statues and pictures of the apparition being conducted. The same commercial sentiment is visible along the street of Knock today. Perhaps not surprisingly, the area has thrived on the extra income generated by the masses of pilgrims who flock there to pray.

Some vendors work from ramshackle booths, selling everything from holy water bottles and statues to water guns and Christy Moore tapes. More modern shop fronts adorn the street, making their money from souvenir seeking pilgrims.

Unfortunately this money making scenario is not confined to the street of Knock but also permeates the Shrine grounds. As well as the usual money makers like candles, mass cards and church donations, there's the official Knock calendar, postcards and various pamphlets on the Apparition at Knock, earning nearly ten thousand euro each year for the Shrine.

Donegal teenager, Saoirse Hall, remembers her first visit to Knock as the place ìwith all the holy shops where granny bought me rosary beads.î

The Apparition at Knock has been the economic development co-ordinator for the area. In the direction of the Basilica lies the book shop and Knock museum, which documents the story of the Apparition in Knock and the context of life at that time. Permanent displays range from religion to fishing, farming, and transport. The development of Knock Shrine and the life and times of the late Mons Horan are given a special place in the Museum.

Despite the commercial aspect there are cures everywhere in Knock, in the quiet corners of the chapels where prayer heals wounds, in the rounds of the stations where the old story of Christ's passion melts pride and induces sorrow, in the confessionals where shoulders are unburdened and in mass where people go home on its strength.

We rarely take stock of the positive aspects of the Catholic Church. Despite problems with the institutional church at national level in recent years (a succession of scandals, including pedophilia and the fathering of illegitimate has rocked the authority of the church in Ireland), the local church in Ireland is alive and well in 1,300 parishes. Statistics indicate that mass attendance in Ireland, while in decline, is still extraordinary high with over 2.5million people attending mass every week and two hundred thousand people each day. Knock shrine is a powerful indication of the strength of faith on this island in 2004; it offers the pilgrim peace and reflection without cutting them off from the outside world.

 

[KeyserXSoze]

Virgin Mary Statue Draws Crowds After Church Explosion

http://www.nbc30.com/news/3728223/detail.html

Some Call Saving Of Statue A Miracle
POSTED: 7:54 AM EDT September 14, 2004
UPDATED: 1:19 PM EDT September 14, 2004

COLCHESTER, Conn. -- A white marble statue of the Virgin Mary is drawing hundreds of visitors at the site of an explosion that leveled a church last week.

Explosion Destroys Church
Many are calling it a miracle that the statue, which was about 25 feet from St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church, remained standing after Friday's blast, which authorities believe was caused by a leaking propane tank. The Rev. Kiril Manolev, of St. Marys, told NBC 30 Connecticut News after the explosion that he was very relieved when he saw the statue still standing.

"It's a miracle," he told NBC 30.

Patrice Dempsey drove up from Salem, Conn., to pray to the Virgin Mary for a miracle for her 9-year-old niece, who is scheduled to have surgery at the end of the month for the spina bifida she has had since birth.

"I can't believe out of all this rubble, the Blessed Mother is still intact," Dempsey told The Hartford Courant, wiping tears from her eyes. "It's as if she beckons to the people and tells them, 'I'm here and I won't let you down."'

Others wanted just to see the statue and offer their prayers.

"I would call it a message from Mary," said Nancy Libby, who traveled from Haverhill, Mass., with her husband, Donald, to photograph the site. "It is a miracle, really. A miracle no one was in the church and that this (statue) survived."

Is it a miracle?Is the undamaged stature of the Virgin Mary evidence of a miracle?Yes, it's a miracle!No, it was just lucky.I'm not sure.

The interest has swelled so much that police officers were forced to stop people from touching the statue and from taking pieces of the church. One woman even asked if she could spread a relative's ashes there. The 6:45 a.m. blast was so powerful it knocked over chairs in nearby homes and could be heard for 10 miles.

To believers, divine intervention kept anyone from being injured: The pastor, his pregnant wife and their 3-year-old son were sleeping just 50 feet away in the rectory, which received minor damage.

"We believe it's a miracle," Ted Szarzanowicz of Newington, Conn., said after he placed a vase filled with red roses at the statue. "I feel spiritually close to Mary. I feel she is the one thing watching over this world."


Hundreds Flock To View Statue

A spokesman for the Hartford Roman Catholic archdiocese, which is not affiliated with the church, said it was not surprising that some believe Mary intervened in Friday's events because no one was injured.

"They personally might see Mary's intervention in this particular case," the Rev. John Gatzak said. "Whether it is actually or it's coincidence, we'll leave that up to God. If through this, people can be brought closer to him and to each other, I think some good can come out of this."

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

More reports on that:

People flocking to see statue blast left unscathed




By JOSH MROZINSKI , Middletown Press Staff
09/16/2004



COLCHESTER -- Hundreds of people have come to St. Mary’s Ukranian Catholic Church on Linwood Avenue since it was destroyed on Sept. 10, believing that it was miraculous the statue of the Virgin Mary wasn’t damaged by the explosion.

The early morning explosion, which left the church in a pile of ruble, also spared the rectory in which Father Cyril Manolev and his family were sleeping. Manolev left the rectory with his pregnant wife, Suzana, and his three-year-old son, Alexandra, unharmed.

Some of the people who have come to the site, just like other parishes and businesses throughout the state, have given donations to the church, which will help it rebuild.

"It gives me hope a little bit that in the future we will again have a church for our people here," Manolev said.

The destruction of the church, he said, happened just before they were going to get up to make perogies for the Ukrainian Day Festival in Stanford. Fifteen to 20 minutes later at least a dozen volunteers would have been cooking in the basement. Fedir Lazaar, he said, was just coming out of his car when the church, built in 1955 with funds from 140 families, was destroyed.

About ,000 has been raised for the future church so far, he said.

"On the local [level] we’ll try to do our best," Manolev said. "We are grateful St. Andrews is helping us."

There will be a fund-raising dinner at St. Andrews Roman Catholic Church on Sept. 26, he said. The church is searching for a local place to hold a fund-raising concert that will feature the Hartford-based Ukrainian Dance Group.

Manolev, who was born in Macedonia and immigrated to the United States in 1995, hasn’t had a busy week just because of his church’s destruction and the following frenzy of interest. His daughter, Maria Anastasia, was born 3:33 a.m. on Sept. 14 at The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich.

"I’m happy, of course I’m happy," Manolev said.

On Wednesday, Leo Glemboski, a retired judge of the town’s probate court, carried a newspaper report about the birth of Manolev’s daughter into the Colchester Quik Print, which is down the street from the church, to make copies.

One of the copies would be going to his sister in Arkansas, who like other people throughout the country, heard about the church’s destruction on the radio and television. Although the news coverage brought the church to the country’s attention, it also brought the town and its residents to the country’s attention.

Glemboski, who was interviewed for a television newscast for comment about the incident, was told by his brother in Glastonbury people were asking whether he was the town’s mayor. He said his brother called him and said, "Everybody’s been asking me if I have a brother named Leo?"

But Glemboski also struck a serious note in the Main Street print shop owned by Robin Lawson, saying that he has been with the church through the good and bad. And Sept. 10 was one of the bad times.

"And this is one of the sad experiences, I’m sorry to say," Glemboski said.

Lawson, who just finished making the copies for Glemboski, said you have to feel for parish members.

"If you can’t help out at this time, there is no other time to help,’ Lawson said.

Her business charged the church nothing for making the tickets for the Sept. 26 dinner and the service books. Nothing like Friday’s explosion, she said, has ever happened during the 14 years she owned the print store.

She said she saw the incident on the morning news and drove by the church on Tuesday. The people who have come to look at the statue haven’t interfered with her business, she said.

Mackey’s, a garden, pet and food and garden ornament supply center at 132 Linwood Ave., has allowed the people going to see the statue on the church to park in their lot as long as it isn’t too busy.

"A lot of people who have been coming through have been coming into the store," Cori Fortier, a senior sales clerk said as she stood behind the counter. "They’ve been coming down even today."

The people have been nice, she said.

She said they thought Friday’s explosion would have caused damage to the store, but it didn’t.

Larry Charbonnier came from a golf game to his job at Gano’s Power Equipment when he received a phone call that an explosion happened across from the Linwood Avenue Super Stop & Shop, which is across from Gano’s.

But he saw no damage when he arrived at the 120 Linwood Ave. store.

"We thought it was here first," Charbonnier said.

His store donated equipment to the church to help with the clean up.

He said a lot of people have come down, but they haven’t interfered with business. There was a constant flow on Linwood Ave. on Saturday.

"People are still walking around," Charbonnier said.

Trooper Jim Keeney said as he was stationed in front of the church that there hasn’t been any problems with the people who have come to the site to take pictures and pray.

"Most of the people have been very cooperative," Keeney said. "Today there has been 250 people who have stopped by."

And although do slow down to look at the church and there was work on water pipes damaged by the blast, there hasn’t been any traffic issues, he said.

People taking pictures, have also offered help, Bohdan Kachorowsky, the church’s cantor said. He was standing with his wife, Sonia, at the rectory’s parking from 10 a.m. on with only coffee in their stomachs.

"They offer help," Kachorowsky said. "They drop off donation."

They’ve received checks from $500 to $1,000, $100, $25 and $15 dollar bills. A tarp to cover the ruble was given to the church by Surplus Unlimited in Norwich.

But many people, such as Ruth and Nunzi Maio, came because they believe in miracles.

"I just felt, as they said, that it was a miracle," Ruth Nunzi said as she walked with her husband to the church.

source

With news and image slideshow:

Virgin Mary Statue Draws Crowds After Church Explosion

Some Call Saving Of Statue A Miracle

POSTED: 7:54 am EDT September 14, 2004
UPDATED: 1:19 pm EDT September 14, 2004

COLCHESTER, Conn. -- A white marble statue of the Virgin Mary is drawing hundreds of visitors at the site of an explosion that leveled a church last week.

Many are calling it a miracle that the statue, which was about 25 feet from St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church, remained standing after Friday's blast, which authorities believe was caused by a leaking propane tank. The Rev. Kiril Manolev, of St. Marys, told NBC 30 Connecticut News after the explosion that he was very relieved when he saw the statue still standing.

"It's a miracle," he told NBC 30.

Patrice Dempsey drove up from Salem, Conn., to pray to the Virgin Mary for a miracle for her 9-year-old niece, who is scheduled to have surgery at the end of the month for the spina bifida she has had since birth.

"I can't believe out of all this rubble, the Blessed Mother is still intact," Dempsey told The Hartford Courant, wiping tears from her eyes. "It's as if she beckons to the people and tells them, 'I'm here and I won't let you down."'

Others wanted just to see the statue and offer their prayers.

"I would call it a message from Mary," said Nancy Libby, who traveled from Haverhill, Mass., with her husband, Donald, to photograph the site. "It is a miracle, really. A miracle no one was in the church and that this (statue) survived."

The interest has swelled so much that police officers were forced to stop people from touching the statue and from taking pieces of the church. One woman even asked if she could spread a relative's ashes there. The 6:45 a.m. blast was so powerful it knocked over chairs in nearby homes and could be heard for 10 miles.

To believers, divine intervention kept anyone from being injured: The pastor, his pregnant wife and their 3-year-old son were sleeping just 50 feet away in the rectory, which received minor damage.

"We believe it's a miracle," Ted Szarzanowicz of Newington, Conn., said after he placed a vase filled with red roses at the statue. "I feel spiritually close to Mary. I feel she is the one thing watching over this world."

A spokesman for the Hartford Roman Catholic archdiocese, which is not affiliated with the church, said it was not surprising that some believe Mary intervened in Friday's events because no one was injured.

"They personally might see Mary's intervention in this particular case," the Rev. John Gatzak said. "Whether it is actually or it's coincidence, we'll leave that up to God. If through this, people can be brought closer to him and to each other, I think some good can come out of this."

http://www.nbc30.com/news/3728223/detail.html

Friday, September 17, 2004

Virgin Mary statue draws crowds after surviving church explosion


September 14, 2004, 1:39 AM EDT


COLCHESTER, Conn. -- A white marble statue of the Virgin Mary is drawing hundreds of visitors at the site of an explosion that leveled a church last week.

Many are calling it a miracle that the statue, which was about 25 feet from St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church, remained standing after Friday's blast, which authorities believe was caused by a leaking propane tank.

Patrice Dempsey drove up from Salem to pray to the Virgin Mary for a miracle for her 9-year-old niece, who is scheduled to have surgery at the end of the month for the spina bifida she was born with.

"I can't believe out of all this rubble, the Blessed Mother is still intact," Dempsey told The Hartford Courant, wiping tears from her eyes. "It's as if she beckons to the people and tells them, 'I'm here and I won't let you down."'

Others wanted just to see the statue and offer their prayers.

"I would call it a message from Mary," said Nancy Libby, who traveled from Haverhill, Mass., with her husband, Donald, to photograph the site. "It is a miracle, really. A miracle no one was in the church and that this (statue) survived."

The interest has swelled so much that police officers were forced to stop people from touching the statue and from taking pieces of the church. One woman even asked if she could spread a relative's ashes there.

The 6:45 a.m. blast was so powerful it knocked over chairs in nearby homes and could be heard for 10 miles.

To believers, divine intervention kept anyone from being injured: The pastor, his pregnant wife and their 3-year-old son were sleeping just 50 feet away in the rectory, which received minor damage.

"We believe it's a miracle," Ted Szarzanowicz of Newington said after he placed a vase filled with red roses at the statue. "I feel spiritually close to Mary. I feel she is the one thing watching over this world."

A spokesman for the Hartford Roman Catholic archdiocese, which is not affiliated with the church, said it was not surprising that some believe Mary intervened in Friday's events because no one was injured.

"They personally might see Mary's intervention in this particular case," the Rev. John Gatzak said. "Whether it is actually or it's coincidence, we'll leave that up to God. If through this, people can be brought closer to him and to each other, I think some good can come out of this."


-------------------------
Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press

Source

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Posted on Sat, Nov. 27, 2004

3 SIGHTINGS ARE CHURCH-SANCTIONED

Apparitions of the Virgin Mary have been reported for nearly 2,000 years, but the Roman Catholic Church has authenticated only three such sightings. According to church teachings, they are:

• Mexico: The Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, an Aztec Indian in Guadalupe, Mexico, and left an impression of herself on his cloak in 1531. Mary instructed Diego to have the bishop of Mexico construct a sanctuary at Tepeyac that would be a sign of her compassion.

• France: The apparition of Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old peasant girl, in 1858 at a grotto near Lourdes, France. Mary asked her to dig a hole in the ground and drink and bathe from it. The hole turned into a spring, which Mary promised would be used for healing.

• Portugal: The vision of the Virgin Mary appeared to three children in Fatima above an olive tree in 1917. She revealed three secrets: Two were said to predict the end of World War I and the start of World War II. The Vatican ultimately said the third secret referred to the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II.

Source

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Apparently fed up with appearing in Mexican tortias, Mary has apparently headed down under for her next appearance.

From The Daily Telegraph, 31/01/03.

What do they see? ... Large crowds gathered at the southern end of Coogee Beach to catch a glimpse of the 'Virgin Mary apparition'


Now it's St Mary of Coogee
By MICHELLE CAZZULINO
31jan03
ONCE it was simply a leisurely trip to the beach; today it's a religious experience.

Between the wet swimming costumes and sand-filled towels, revellers at North Coogee also are clutching beachbags filled with cameras, rosary beads and Bibles.

During the day, they stand three- and four-deep gazing at what many believe is an apparition of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ

...............


Pictures can be found here:
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,5915053%5E13780,00.html
orhere: http://www.smh.com.au/ffxImage/urlpicture_id_1042911493112_2003/01/23/24spike.jpg

And a folow up:

No rest in the quest for Coogee's holy rail

By Linda Morris
February 5, 2005

Two years after the apparition of the Virgin Mary was first spied through the front door of a laundrette, pilgrims of the Coogee Madonna are lobbying to have a chapel built on the beachside reserve.

Mary may have slipped from popular imaginings but not even the Catholic Church's dispassion has quenched the fervour of her followers, who tend to a makeshift garden shrine by the white fence post from which she is said to appear.

Carmina Sarvino, of Bondi, has lobbied Randwick Council, bent the ear of the Premier, Bob Carr, and written to the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, imploring them all to help build a chapel.

There is no convincing Mr Sarvino, originally from Italy, that the Coogee Madonna is a trick of the light or an optical illusion caused by the twist of white fence post.

"This is holy land," he says, wistful for the days when thousands came to gaze on Mary.

No fewer than three academic papers have delved into the Mary apparition at Coogee, first reported in January 2003 at Dolphins Reserve, at the northern end of Coogee Beach.
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At least two papers have found a link between the outpouring of grief over the Sari Club bombing in October 2002 and growing national insecurities but for those who venerate Mary it is purely a matter of faith.

Jenny Veselcic, from western Sydney, journeys two hours every Tuesday to the shrine, her original visit prompted by a vision in her bedroom.

"I promised God and Mother Mary I would follow her," she says, clutching a well-thumbed prayer book containing holy pictures, and pressed rose petals from which she sees the faces of Mary, Jesus and the angels. She says she has seen a vision of a blue veiled Mary while praying at Coogee.

The so-called Coogee Madonna has manifested into anecdotal stories of personal visitations and healing, helped along by a pilgrims' grapevine. Such as the nine-year-old boy who told Mr Sarvino he had seen the Virgin Mary beneath the arches and then under the rock ledge. "I saw him, he was shaking. I looked into his eyes and knew he was not lying to me. Six people tell me she has appeared in person. She is 30 or 35 years old and she talks but no one understands the language she speaks."

The laundrette has become an informal meeting house for pilgrims and it distributes Mary medals, of which more than 4000 have been given away. The laundrette owner who went public with the apparition, no longer wants to speak about the Madonna, deluged, she says, by anonymous hate mail so vicious and threatening it has been referred to police.

Dr Carole Cusack, senior lecturer in religious studies at the University of Sydney, said it was no coincidence the apparition grew in popularity as the world prepared for the Iraq war.

"Pilgrims to Coogee are joining in an age-old religious practice, older than Christianity, and it functions to alleviate stress experienced by the community."

Source

 

[Anonymous]

re: Catholic Church has approved only 3 apparitions of the Virgin Mary.

This is false. There are many more. And there are even more which are under investigation. For the most part, an apparition cannot be approved by the Church itself until it has concluded. Many apparitions are still ongoing - MANY - like for instance in Bosnia, where the daily apparitions are in their 24th year in Medjugorje (medjugorje.org). There are so many miracles there that more than 22 million people have visited there since the 80's. The apparitions must be finished in order to look at everything that happened there, all the Messages received, and see whether they are in accord with the Bible, with the teachings and traditions of the Church as passed down from the Jesus and His Apostles, to see if the "fruits" of the apparition are good, in compliance with Jesus' teaching on how to test supernatural phenomena, and to look at the visionaries themselves - were they also above reproach in their behavior - not seeking the lime-light, money, leading immoral lives, etc.

There are also MANY apparitions of the Virgin Mary WAITING to have the Vatican BEGIN investigations, which have finished.

And there are also those Marian Apparitions which happen which never reach the ear of the Vatican, happening to individuals who are for one reason or another never brought before the official Church committees.

After investigating Marian appartions for almost twenty years, i would say that it is a very small percentage of Marian apparitions which ever reach the Vatican's committees.

The media works hard at deflecting attention from the reality of these Apparitions, but millions of people have enough proof for themselves to vouch for their authenticity. There is far more happening than mere images on cheese sandwiches....

I suggest "Marian Apparitions" on the search engine, to get an idea of what is going on.

To those who feel the Virgin Mary is "just a woman who gave birth to Jesus" - If you are a person who believes in the Divinity of Jesus, and in the uniqueness of His Body and Blood, to be used in the Redemption of humanity - and that His Birth was prophesized for hundreds of years, and did happen in the way and in the place as it was prophesized - then can you for a moment try to imagine that "Just Maybe" the female who was created to give her flesh and blood to God so that He could incarnate and fulfill this Destiny, to mother God-incarnate, raise Him, teach Him, feed Him, might not just be "just a woman", but a Very Special Woman, Unique Herself - whom the Bible says the Angel of God called "Full of Grace"?

And for those who think that Catholics worship statues - they don't. And about the Bible saying don't worship graven images - that has to do with Idol Worship - which was a practice in ancient times. Remember, that God gave the directions for the building of the Ark of the Covenant, and asked specifically that the images of angels be made to place on the ark. And the Ark of the Covenant was definitely given the highest religious reverance, because of its contents.

Statues of Jesus, Mary, etc., are merely reminders of Whom they represent - every Catholic knows this. It is always so surprising to hear that people still think that Catholics worship graven images! It seems that this is the Final Frontier of the Unknown - religion.

 

[Anome]

Building a chapel on Coogee beach seems a bit much. I don't think it's appropriate. After all, it's just a bent fencepost.

[EDIT]Didn't Christ say something about houses built on sand, anyway?[/EDIT]

Much more important that a museum dedicated to Coogee's most important resident be erected.

That would be me. My family lived there when I was born.