Our Lady of Pellevoisin

Visionary Estelle Faguette

The years after the French revolution were to be decisive and also tumultuous ones for France, as the need for a Monarchy was replaced with the more acceptable Republic. These were difficult years for the people of France as it recovered from the Prussian invasion as different reigns disappeared overnight to be replaced with a Republic and new forms of government. And with these decisions France was to see different leaders came and go, which left the people with feelings of instability, at a time when many people were struggling with poverty and disease.

But it was during the year 1876 that once again France was given a great favour from Heaven, with a visit from our Lady to the visionary Estelle Faguette. This was at a time when many thought Estelle was going to die including herself, as she was suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis an incurable disease, and was suffering much pain.

It was during the night of 10th February that Estelle came perilously close to death as the doctor affirmed. But Estelle survived that night and it was on the night of 14th-15th of February that Estelle first saw a vision of our Lady and upon her appearance a demon that was trying to torment poor Estelle vanished!

Our Lady was to appear several times to this visionary and also our Lady promised Estelle that she would be cured within the week and it was on 19th of February 1876 upon receiving the Eucharist, that Estelle proclaimed herself cured!

Her doctors were astounded as none had any hope at all for Estelle and were simply waiting for this dreaded disease to ravage her body. This not only astounded the doctors but also all those who heard Estelle say that through our Lady she would be cured and she was!

Estelle came from a poor family where her Mother was deeply devout whilst her Father, remained indifferent towards religion as he concentrated on providing for his family, as in all families times were difficult. It was through her Mother that Estelle developed a deep love and reverence for our Holy Mother and prayed to her often.

Our Lady was to repay Estelle's love for her in a miraculous way in that Estelle was to be totally healed of tuberculosis, but though our Lady relieved Estelle of this disease she also confided to her beloved child that her sufferings would now be spiritual. She also warned Estelle that many would think her mad and that some of her friends would abandon her. But Our Lady offered this consolation in her words, "pay no attention to all that. I will help you."

On 16 of February Estelle was tormented again by Satan, but once again his demonic appearance ended once Our Lady came to Estelle’s aid. Her words of loving comfort were, "I am merciful and Mistress of My Son. The few good works and the intense prayers, which you offered me, have touched My Motherly heart...". Our lady was to reiterate this later when she said. "I am merciful and hold sway with my Son"...Have courage, patience and resignation; you will suffer and will not be free of troubles; try to be faithful and make known my glory".

Our Lady emphasised love and devotion to her Son and most especially in receiving the Eucharist in a worthy manner, she also emphasised the importance of prayer and exhorted Estelle and others to pray much for the forgiveness of sins, and to offer sacrifices for the repentance of others.

Estelle was also told of the tribulations that France would have to endure but she then added, "One can be saved in every state. Where you are, you can do a great deal of good, and you can publish my glory."

During these appearances our Lady also requested that a Scapular be made and with these words said to Estelle, "You will yourself go to the Prelate and you will show him the pattern you have made. Ask him to help you as much as is in his power, and tell him nothing would please me more than to see this worn by every one of my children, and for them all to endeavour to atone for the outrages my Son receives in the sacrament of His love. See the graces I shower upon those who will wear it with confidence and will help you to propagate it."

The Scapular has a picture of The Sacred Heart of Jesus and on the other side it has an image of Our Lady showering all those who wear it with Graces from Heaven. This Scapular gained the approval of the Catholic Church on April 4th, 1900.

Estelle Faguette died in 1929.

I would encourage all to learn more about Our Lady of Pellevoisin.

Peace of Christ to you ALL.

Copyright © 2005 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

Our Lady of Beauraing

Our Lady of Beauraing

Also known as Our Lady of the Golden Heart
Memorial 29 November
Date(s) 29 November 1932 - 3 January 1933

Beauraing 1932
Beauraing is a small village in the French speaking part of Belgium.
Our Lady appeared there to 5 children Andree and Gilberte Degeimbre 15 and 9 years old, Fernande, Gilberte and Albert Voisin 15, 13 and 11 years old.

Our Lady appeared 33 times to these children and the first time was on November 29th, 1932 and the last one January 3, 1933.

On November 29 1932 Fernande, Andree and her sister Gilberteand Albert Voisin went to the local convent school to meetup with Albert's sister Gilberte. Albert rang at the door to the convent and as he waited, he turned around and looked toward the street and the railroad bridge and the little Lourdes grotto. He saw Our lady there dressed in white and when the girls turned around they saw her too above the bridge and the grotto, clouds covering her feet. The girls also saw Our Lady dressed inwhite with her feet hiden by a little cloud.

This was the first apparition and nobody would believe them, not their parents, the Mother Superior of the convent or anybody in their village did.

On December 1, Our Lady appeared for the second time and from that time she would appear nearby a hawthorn tree near the grotto to the children. As soon as Our Lady appeard the children were thrown on their knees and prayed Hail Marys in a loud, high voice. They would only stop if Our Lady was talking to them.

On December 2 Albert asked Our Lady if she was the ImmaculateVirgin, and She smiled and nodded her head, and said to him:"Always be good."

The news was spreaded rapidly and on through the village and the rest of Belgium and beyond. More and more people would come to the hawthorn tree in the grotto to pray the rosary with the children.

On December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception the children were in ecstasy and matches that were lighted were held underneath their hands, they also got pinpricks, etc. but they were not injured or harmed in any way.

The local priest Fr. Lambert and the Church authorities were very prudent about the apparitions and refused to getinvolved. Even the local bishop ordered the priests not to go to the site.

The children were closely watched at the apparitions and questioned separetely.

On December 29 Mary also showed her Golden Heart surrounded by rays to Fernande, the next day also to the other children. Our Lady instructed to build a chapel for pilgirms and She said: "I am the Immaculate Virgin"

Our Lady also said she would give proof that she was theImmaculate Virgin and said: "pray, pray very much and always". Our Lady was wearing a white dress and veil, and a crown.

On January 1, 1933 Our Lady said to Gilberte Voisin to "Pray always," and said that on January 3 she would appear for the last time and would speak to them separately.

On January 3 a crowd of over 30,000 people came to the grotto for the last apparition of Our Lady to the children. She had a message for each of them.

To Gilberte Voisin she said: "I will convert sinners. Goodbye:"

To Andree she said: " I am the Mother of God, the Queen ofHeaven. Pray always. Goodbye:"

To Fernande: "Do you love my Son and me?" which Fernande replied yes "Then sacrifice yourself for me. Goodbye". Our Lady then disappeared.

In July 1935 the bishop appointed a commission of inquiry and in February 1943 Bishop Charue gave his permission for public devotions to Our Lady at Beauraing. In July 1949 the shrine was officially recognised and 2 important documents were issued. One was about the many cures that had taken place at Beauraing and the second one was to affirm that the Queen of Heaven appeared to the children of Beauraing in 1932-1933.

Our Lady of Good Success

Visionary Venerable Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres.

Mother Mariana's early life is shrouded in mystery, so let us begin with the favour that was granted to this most Holy and extraordinary woman of Spain!

Mother Mariana was to be the recipient of Divine Prophecies, but in her wish to remain hidden from the world not much is known about this most wonderful Religious.

God gifted Mother Mariana with the ability to discern souls and to advise her fellow sisters in what is pleasing to God and that all of them should live to please their Father in Heaven and spend less time worrying over the opinion of others. The sisters listened to their Superior as they knew she was wise and that God had touched this woman in a singular way.

But not all the sisters were in favour of these messages nor of their Superior, who strove to maintain a disciplined religious life, many of the sisters did not wish to have such a regimented life and longed for the Rule to be relaxed. They opposed Mother Mariana and those that listened to this most Holy Nun, so much so that they threw Mother Mariana and her supporters into prison.

Mother Mariana suffered severe torments for the sake and the souls of these disobedient Nuns, but her Faith remained undisturbed and her heart at peace, for she remained truly humble and accepted all from the hand of a Loving God.

Mother Mariana was a Spanish Conceptionist who set sail for the new world in order to spread the Word and Love of God into distant lands, hence she arrived in Ecuador, in order to fulfill this mission of making God known throughout the world.

But Mother Mariana was no ordinary woman and it soon became apparent that God had found favour with her and she became the recipient of Divine Prophecies and Mystical events. It has been recorded that Mother Mariana suffered several deaths and at her first death she appeared before God and was given the choice to remain in Heaven or return to earth and suffer for those who's lives would become abhorrent to our Heavenly Father. Mother Mariana chose the latter and suffered in expiation for those who had no love nor reverence for God as would happen when the world entered the twentieth century! She also died on Good Friday in the year 1588 where upon her death she was shown the terrible heresies which would afflict the Church in the twentieth century. She was horrified at such sights and her heart was grieved at the outrages she saw in this vision!

Mother Mariana was to receive many visions and also prophetic messages in her life time, beginning as a child when she was only 9 years old and she saw our Lady appear to her and informed her that she would become a religious of the Order of the Immaculate Conception. In 1582 our Lady once again appeared to Mariana and said to her, "My daughter, will you sacrifice yourself for the people of this time?" Upon seeing in a vision what the future held for the Church, Mariana agreed to our Lady's request, for she was truly horrified to see the decadence which would be all pervasive in the twentieth century!

Our Lady warned Mother Mariana of great Chastisements that would befall this world if the lack of reverence for God persisted and revealed to Mariana the great level of disbelief that would herald in the end for the world as we know it.

Mother Mariana became aware that the greatest grief for our Lord was the indifference and ingratitude towards His Most Sacred Heart and His Presence in the Tabernacles by His Priests and religious, Mariana was obviously deeply distressed at this and offered herself in expiation against these outrages!

Our Lady told Mother Mariana, "Oh, if only human beings and religious knew what Heaven is and what it is to possess God, how differently they would live, sparing no sacrifice in order to enter more fully into possession of it! But some let themselves be dazzled by the false glamor of honors and human greatness while others are blinded by self-love, not realizing that they are falling into lukewarmness, that immense evil which in religious houses destroys their fervor, humility, self-renunciation and the ceaseless practice of religious virtues and fraternal charity and that child-like simplicity which makes souls so dear to my Divine Son and to me, their Mother." Our Lady always emphasized greater devotion to her Son and also the Sacrament of Penance and to restore among her priestly sons a love for God and His Church.

And also gave these prophetic Messages, that in the twentieth century due to a lack of religious fervor by the sons and daughters of the Church, a great falling away would happen. And our Lady continued, "under the appearance of virtue and bad-spirited zeal, would turn upon Religion, who nourished them at her breast." "During this time," she continued, "insomuch as this poor country will lack the Christian spirit, the Sacrament of Extreme Unction will be little esteemed. Many people will die without receiving it – either because of the negligence of their families or their false sentimentality that tries to protect the sick from seeing the gravity of their situations, or because they will rebel against the spirit of the Catholic Church, impelled by the malice of the devil. Thus many souls will be deprived of innumerable graces, consolations and the strength they need to make that great leap from time to eternity..." "As for the Sacrament of Matrimony, which symbolizes the union of Christ with His Church, it will be attacked and profaned in the fullest sense of the word. Masonry, which will then be in power, will enact iniquitous laws with the objective of doing away with this Sacrament, making it easy for everyone to live in sin, encouraging the procreation of illegitimate children born without the blessing of the Church. The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until if reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of customs. The effects of secular education will increase, which will be one reason for the lack of priestly and religious vocations..." "Moreover, in these unhappy times, there will be unbridled luxury which, acting thus to snare the rest into sin, will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women, and in this supreme moment of need of the Church, those who should speak will fall silent."

Our Lord also warned Mariana, "Know, moreover, that Divine Justice releases terrible chastisements on entire nations, not only for the sins of the people, but for those of priests and religious persons. For the latter are called, by the perfection of their state, to be the salt of the earth, the masters of truth, and the deflectors of Divine Wrath. Straying from their divine mission, they degrade themselves in such a way that, before the eyes of God they quicken the rigor of the punishments..."

But also with a message of hope, for our Lord added, "For in all times I have need of valiant souls to save My Church and the prevaricating world." And that our Lord would be appeased by such souls who offered themselves in expiation for the sins of others.

Remember all this and more was revealed to Mother Mariana in the 16th century, we in this century are left with much to ponder on, among Mother Mariana's prophecies was also this, that the Immaculate Conception and Papal Infallibility would be strictly defined and declared dogma!

Mother Mariana died on January 16, 1635.

When her body was exhumed from its rest, her body was found to be incorrupt.

Peace of Christ to you ALL

Copyright © 2005 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.

Our Lady of Lavang

Our Lady of Lavang - La'Vang, Vietnam 1798

In 1533 the first Catholic missionaries arrived in Vietnam. Just one hundred years later there were over a hundred thousandCatholics and seminaries were established and in 1668 the first 2 native priests were ordained.

All through history Catholics have been persecuted including in Vietnam. Specially in 1698 there were severe persecutions. In the 18th and 19th century there were more persecutions. But the Vietnamese Catholics stood firm no matter how dangerous it was. In the 18th century there were already a hundred thousand martyrs. Today bishops and priests are still harrassed because of the communist regime.

By the end of the 17th century the Catholics in Vietnam was so bad that many people fled into the jungle near Lavang near Quang Tri a village in central Vietnam. There a lot of people became sick and they were hungry. One day as the people there were praying the rosary together, they saw a beautful lady holding a little child, with angels all around her. She was simply dressed but with a long cape and she had a crown on. The people recognized her as Our Blessed Lady, Queen of Heaven. Our Blessed Lady comforted and consoled them and taught them how to make medicine from leafs of trees. And anybody who would go there to pray she would protect. She appeared several times to the people of Lavang.

They built a simple church for Our Blessed Lady and several people were cured there.

In 1805 the Vietnamese emperor wanted to get rid of all the Catholics. 30 Catholics were killed by the soldiers right at the little church and the church was burned, but, not by the soldiers who were afraid cause they heard about the miraculous cured people. The altar and the chandeliers were not destroyed in the fire although they were made of wood.

In 1885 a new church was build made of bricks on the same spot as the old one was. It was completed in 1900 and one year later the first celebration of the Shrine of Our Lady took place.There were over 130,000 people there at the shrine. During the years this number only grew more and more and in 1925 they had to enlarge the church, which was completed in 1928. This church was destroyed in the summer of 1972 duringthe Vietnam War.

On June 19th 1988, Pope John Paul II canonized 117 Vietnamese martyrs and recognized the importance of theLady of Lavang and desired a rebuilding of the Basilica forthe 200th anniversary of the first apparition of the Lady of Lavang in August of 1998.