Religious flame burns in Knock IRELAND (BBC News) Despite Ireland's economic downturn, the village of Knock in County Mayo remains popular with pilgrims who visit the site where Mary, Joseph and St John are said to have appeared 130 years ago. Read the entire BBC News Story here. No worship on Burundi's 'Virgin Mary' hill BUJUMBURA (BBC News) Worship has been banned on a small rural hill in Burundi, where a woman claims to see the Virgin Mary on the same day of every month. The 23-year-old's claims of an apparition have become so widely known that thousands of people gather on the hill at the same time to pray. But the governor of the northern province says the worshippers are troublemakers and they should stop. The Catholic church in the area is also investigating the claims of a "vision". Read the entire BBC News Story here.

Book on Rwandan Marian apparitions to be released on anniversary WASHINGTON (CNS) Nov-21-2008 - Like many stories from Africa, the story of Mary appearing to three young girls in Rwanda "wasn't told" beyond the continent, said Immaculee Ilibagiza, writer of the book Left to Tell, her best-seller detailing a first hand look at the Rwandan holocaust. So Ilibagiza wrote the first English-language book about Mary's apparitions in the 1980s at an all-girls Catholic high school in the remote Rwandan village of Kibeho, the only Vatican-recognized Marian apparitions in Africa. "Our Lady of Kibeho" was to be released Nov. 28, the anniversary of the first apparition in 1981. Read the entire Catholic News Story here.

Philadelphia's Miraculous Medal Shrine Celebrates 81st Novena PHILADELPHIA Nov 11, 2008 - Over 10,000 people are expected to pray for peace, families, religious, service people and other groups at Germantown's Miraculous Medal Shrine during its 81st nine-day Solemn Novena starting Monday. Each day, six to nine prayer services will focus on different themes. The novena will end Nov. 25 followed by Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Feast Day Mass celebrated by Bishop Daniel Thomas of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Nov. 26. Read the complete story from the Bulletin.

New Book on 19th Century Knock Apparitions Dáire Keogh of the Irish Times reviews Knock: The Virgin's Apparition in Nineteenth-Century Ireland By Eugene Hynes, Cork University Press, 368 pp. ON A wet night in August 1879, 15 locals witnessed an apparition against the gable wall of their parish church in Knock, Co Mayo. A subsequent clerical investigation identified the supernatural visitors as the Virgin, St Joseph and John the Evangelist. Today, Knock is numbered among the world's pre-eminent Marian sanctuaries, attracting 1½ million pilgrims annually. Few of the devotees, however, are aware of the turbulent setting in which the apparition occurred or the sense in which it challenged so much of what is accepted as traditional Irish Catholicism. Read the complete review at Irishtimes.com

Archbishop of Maryland Issues New Advisory Against Alleged Apparitions BALTIMORE, MD Oct 8, 2008 - Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien issued a new pastoral advisory reiterating statements of his predecessors that the alleged apparitions promoted by Gianna Talone-Sullivan had been thoroughly investigated with no proof of any supernatural character. His latest statement was issued in order to "protect the faith and good morals of the Christian faithful." He ordered that Talone-Sullivan refrain from any further activity within the Archdiocese and and strongly cautioned any of her followers from publishing the messages or promoting the alleged apparition in any any way. Read the complete pastoral advisory.

Hundreds of thousands of Argentineans honor the Virgin of San Nicolás Buenos Aires, Sep 28, 2008 / 10:45 pm (CNA).- Some 200,000 people participated in the Eucharistic celebration near the Sanctuary of Mary of the Rosary of San Nicolás, for the 25th Anniversary of the appearances of Our Lady in Argentina. The Eucharistic celebration was presided over by the Bishop of San Nicolás de los Arroyos, Héctor Cardelli who in his homily stressed that "when Mary calls us together, the family is reinforced, because the Mother is bringing her children together." "How much she told us and how little we recall! How opportune was the intervention of Mary, who reminds us to listen to Christ the Teacher…an encounter with Him ensures the presence of the Kingdom here, among us," he continued. The bishop went on to emphasize that it has already been 25 years since “her maternal accompaniment has come to us and spoken of her love and fidelity to follow Christ, who is our Way, Truth and Life. Christ is the point of reunion, because from Him, our steps have a course, our motivations have direction and our lives make sense." "Considering this brief history, if only 25 years, we see nothing more than grace after grace, where our faith has grown based on acts and the Word being translated into reconciliation, peace, prayer and mission," he concluded.

400th Anniversary of Siluva Apparitions SILUVA, LITHUANIA Sept. 15, 2008 - The Catholic Church in Lithuania celebrated on Sept. 13-14th the 400th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Siluva. Mary appeared in Siluva in 1608 to non-Catholics. Little shepherds saw what they described as a beautiful woman, dressed in white and blue, with a baby in her arms, enveloped in gentle splendor. The Lady wept bitterly and suddenly disappeared. Subsequently, the Virgin, again weeping, appeared to a crowd that had formed at the site where the children indicated. The town's Calvinist pastor was among the group. An icon of the Virgin that had belonged to the village's former Catholic church was found in the place of the apparitions. The icon had remained hidden for almost 100 years. In the wake of those events, and after several miraculous cures, this apparition brought Lithuania to return to the faith after 80 years of Calvinism. The event was recognized by a papal decree published by Pius VI on Aug. 17, 1775. Siluva is now Lithuania's most important Marian shrine. The Pope was in France during the festivities, marking another anniversary of Marian apparitions: the 150th anniversary of the Virgin's appearances at Lourdes. He named the archbishop of Cologne, Germany, Cardinal Joachim Meisner, to be his special envoy for the celebrations.

Report: Vatican to Issue New Guidelines on Assessing Apparitions TImes Online - Sept. 12, 2008 - The London Times has reported that the Pope has asked Monsignor Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, a Spanish Jesuit and secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - which Benedict himself headed as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - to draw up new guidelines for bishops around the world on the recognition of reported apparitions by the Virgin Mary. The Vatican official said the Pope wanted to avoid "excesses and abuses". He believes bishops should resist being swayed by the emotional reaction of believers and be guided instead by strictly applied "scientific, psychological and theological criteria". Vittorio Messori, an Italian Catholic writer who is close to the Pope, said the then Cardinal Ratzinger had told him in 1985 that "patrience and caution" were the key to validating Marian visions. "No apparition is indispensable to the faith" the future Pope told Messori. "The Revelation ended with Jesus Christ". He said Benedict's approach to Mariology was a mixture of "the mystical and the intellectual". Guidelines for the approval of apparitions and revelations were last issued in 1978. They lay down that a diocesan bishop can "either on his own initiative or at the request of the faithful" choose to investigate an alleged apparition. He then submits a report to the Vatican for approval. Read the entire Times Online article

60th Anniversary of Alleged Philippines Apparitions LIPA CITY, Batangas -- INQUIRER.net - September 12, 2008 - Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, delivered the homily during a concelebrated mass Friday at the Our Lady of Mediatrix of All Grace, to mark the 60th anniversary of a Marian apparition to Carmelite nun Teresita Castillo. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was in the audience, together with Batangas Governor Vilma Santos-Recto. Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales and Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal were among those who celebrated the mass. At the end of the mass, Santos-Recto led the prayer for the consecration of Jesus through Mary, while Arroyo led the prayer for consecration of the country. Kneeling before a statue of the Virgin Mary on the altar, Arroyo prayed: "We consecrate to you all that we have, all that we do, all that we are, we consecrate to you our homes our loved ones." She also prayed that the nation would "promote respect for the value of human life." Read the entire Inquirer article.

Congress in Lourdes to Focus on Doctrinal Pillars of Marian Apparitions Rome, Sep 4, 2008 / 08:48 pm (CNA) .- Vicenzo Battaglia, president of the International Pontifical Marian Academy, explained this week that the 23rd Congress the academy will host in Lourdes for the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of Mary to St. Bernadette Soubirous will focus on the doctrinal foundations that explain these kinds of events. In an article entitled published by the L’Osservatore Romano, Battaglia said the congress will take place in Lourdes September 4-8 and will be led by Cardinal Paul Poupard, Pope Benedict XVI’s special envoy. “The importance and relevance of the theme that will be discussed, approved as is customary by the Pope, lies in the great interest of scholars and public opinion in a phenomenon which raises many questions because of the notable number of true or presumed ‘apparitions’ that have occurred in the past and that continue to occur even today,” Battaglia said. He said that 22 experts have participated in organizing the Congress, which aims to provide “doctrinal foundations” to assist in properly interpreting and discerning Marian apparitions. The conclusions of the congress will be made available to bishops, priests and all those who are “called to educate and guide the people of God, so that the faithful will know how to distinguish, in light of the sources of the faith, between true and false Marian apparitions.” Read the entire Catholic News Agency article

Keep God, religion in society, Pope tells French in visit to Lourdes PARIS (Reuters) - Pope Benedict began a four-day visit to Lourdes, France on Friday with a plea to the French to keep God in their lives and let religion help create a better world. Meeting with President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace in central Paris, the German-born pontiff praised France both for the deep Christian roots of its culture and the "serene and positive dialogue" between faith and power. Sarkozy, who has broken a political taboo by speaking openly and positively about the role of religion in society, said it would be "a folly" for France to ignore its long history of Christian thought about God, man and nature. Church bells rang out across Paris to greet the pope as he arrived at the Palace after his arrival from Rome for his first trip to France as pontiff. Read the entire Reuters article Tags: Lourdes

Vatican Discipline for Priest Involved with Medjugorje Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina Aug 31, 2008 (Catholic Culture) -- Father Tomislav Vlasic, a Franciscan priest who was prominent in the first efforts to publicize the alleged apparitions at Medjugorje, has been placed under interdict by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith because of his flagrant disregard for ecclesiastical discipline. Father Vlasic-- who eventually broke with the Medjugorje seers and founded his own quasi-religious community, was cited for "suspicion of heresy and schism, as well as scandalous acts contra sextum, aggravated by mystical motivations." Read the Statement by Bishop Ratko Peric of Mostar Tags: Medjugorje

Bishop Peric Questions Alleged Formation of Medjugorje Commission Mostar, Jun 27, 2008 -- Bishop of Mostar-Duvno Ratko Peric issued a press release questioning the veracity of the claims of a Croatian daily newspaper “Ve?ernji list” which featured headlines “The Vatican. The highest circles of the Catholic Church have decided to follow the phenomenon of Medjugorje – A new Commission for Medjugorje” and “A Commission of the Holy See is being established”. The article quotes Cardinal Archbishop of Sarajevo Vinko Pulji? as acknowledging plans for a Vatican established commission to investigate the controversial ongoing apparition claims. Peric's statement lists the contradictions of the article and emphatically denies any knowledge of the formation of the alleged Commission: "The only thing that is certain in all of these media announcements, journalistic fabrications and Radio-Medjugorje guesses is that the local bishop of Mostar knows nothing about it at all!" Bishop Peric, is as opposed to the claims as his predecessor and in 2004, he upheld the suspension of Fr Jozo Zovko, the "spiritual adviser" to the visionaries. Tags: Medjugorje

'Apparitions' of Guazapa not approved by Church in El Salvador San Salvador, Jun 11, 2008 (CNA) -- Archbishop Fernando Saenz Lacalle of San Salvador has said the Catholic Church has not approved the alleged apparitions of Mary at the hill of Guazapa, despite claims made by the supposed visionary to a local newspaper. During a press conference, the archbishop lamented “the abuse by a group of people in Guazapa who sent false documents to the press, making them believe the apparitions had been approved by the Archdiocese.” The newspaper El Mundo recently published a series of reports on the events in Guazapa, which is located several miles north of San Salvador. The alleged seer, identified as Bessy Rodriguez, gave false documents to the newspaper supposedly showing the apparitions had been approved. Archbishop Saenz pointed out that “no official of the archdiocese has signed, sealed or sent documents to anyone.” “There has been a lot of, shall we say, commercialization of these legends, but the visions of Guazapa have never been approved,” he said. Tags: Guazapa

75th Anniversary of Banneux Apparitions MAY 24, 2008 (VaticanRadio) -- On May 31 2008 the Church in Belgium will mark the 75 anniversary of the apparitions of the “Virgin of the Poor” at the Marian Shrine in Banneux. Today the Vatican released Pope Benedict XVI’s message appointing Cardinal Godfried Daneels, Archbishop of Malines-Brussels, as his special representative at the celebrations. In his letter, the pope emphasized that the Chair of Peter always rejoices in promoting proper devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary among the faithful. The pope wrote that the anniversary of the apparitions gives the Church in Belgium the chance to ponder anew the teaching of the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church which speaks of the of Mary as “she who stands out among the poor and humble of the Lord, who confidently hope for and receive salvation from Him.” The pope remarked that the happy coincidence of the anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin of the Poor with the annual Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an opportunity to help the faithful with the example and prayers of Our Lady to continue on the path of spiritual renewal and to appreciate that the “precept of charity” spurs us on in a diligent service to others in daily life. Pope Benedict XVI concluded the letter by entrusting Cardinal Daneels with the charge to impart his apostolic blessing upon the faithful who gather at the shrine for the celebrations. Tags: Banneux

Church Approves Laus Apparitions (1664) LAUS, France, MAY 15, 2008 (Zenit) -- As pilgrims celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Marian shrine at Lourdes, the Church has officially recognized a new pilgrimage site in France. On May 4th, Bishop Jean-Michel di Falco of the Diocese of Gap, officially recognized the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Benoite Rencurel at the sanctuary of Laus in the area of Hautes-Alpes, France. The pronouncement was made during a Mass in the Basilica of Notre Dame in Laus. Among those present were the apostolic nuncio to France, Bishop Fortunato Baldelli, and 30 cardinals and bishops from around the world. Rencurel, a poor shepherdess, was born in 1647. The Virgin Mary started appearing to her in 1664 and continued visiting her throughout the rest of her life. Rencurel died in 1718. > Read the entire Zenit article. Tags: Laus

French Newspaper Says Pope is Planning September Trip to France ROME (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI is planning a September trip to France, traveling to Paris and the Sanctuaries of Our Lady of Lourdes, a French newspaper reported. The pope's Sept. 12-15 trip will begin in Paris, according to the newspaper Le Figaro. He will meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy shortly after his arrival, it said. On Sept. 13, the pope is expected to celebrate Mass in Paris in the morning and have an evening encounter with cultural leaders. He will fly to Lourdes later in the day. In Lourdes, the pope will take part in jubilee year celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the Marian apparitions there. The commemorative year ends Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The pope is expected to celebrate an open-air Mass Sept. 14 at the Marian shrine and later meet with French bishops, the newspaper said. The Vatican had no immediate comment on the report, but Vatican trip planners were said to be traveling to France in mid-March to prepare the details of the visit. Tags: Lourdes, Benedict XVI

Confessions Increase at Fatima Shrine FATIMA, Portugal MARCH 5, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The shrine of Fatima is becoming more and more a place to find the mercy of God, says the chaplain of the Marian pilgrimage site. Father Clemente Dotti said this to the Portuguese news agency Ecclesia on Monday when reporting that in 2007, almost 10,000 more confessions were heard compared to the previous year. The chaplain explained that the pastoral program of the shrine focused on the merciful love of God in 2007, and with that "we had the opportunity to show how the Mother knew to guide her children to find the mercy of God in the sacrament of reconciliation." According to the shrine, 199,333 people confessed there in 2007 -- 9,016 more than in 2006. Of these, 34,653 confessed in a language other than Portuguese - 1,049 more than the previous year. Father Dotti said 190 priests heard confessions at the shrine in 2007. Tags: Fatima

Time Magazine Writes about Sr. Lucia FEBRUARY 29, 2008 (Time Magazine)- "It is a Vatican rule: candidates for sainthood wait five years beyond their deaths before the Catholic Church begins its investigation of their "heroic virtue," the first step toward canonization. Only two figures in recent history have received a fast-track exemption: Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II, both of them superstars in the Catholic and wider popular firmament. So, when the Vatican recently added Sister Lucia dos Santos, who died in 2005 at age 97, to this list, many wondered why she had been put in that esteemed company. " Read entire Time Magazine article Tags: Fatima, Sr. Lucia dos Santos

Padre Pio Exhumed after 40 Years ROME, March 3, 2008 (Reuters) - The body of the mystic monk Padre Pio, one of the Roman Catholic world's most revered saints who died 40 years ago, has been exhumed to be prepared for display to his many devotees. The body of the Capuchin friar, who was said to have had the stigmata -- the wounds of Christ's crucifixion -- on his hands and feet -- is to be conserved and put in a part-glass coffin for at least several months from April 24. Read entire Reuters article Tags: Padre Pio, Incorruptibles

Vatican Accused of Tampering with Pio's Body ROME, MARCH 4, 2008 (Telegraph UK) The Vatican has been accused of "tampering with the dead" after the body of Italy's favourite saint was exhumed from its tomb. Padre Pio, who exhibited stigmata on his hands and feet throughout his life, died in 1968 and was laid to rest in the Santa Maria delle Grazie church in Puglia. The Vatican said the charismatic monk's corpse was taken from the church crypt on Sunday to conserve it "for generations of future worshippers" as it was under threat from humidity. However, the Pro Padre Pio Association has accused the Vatican of digging up the saint's body in order to put it in a larger church that could more easily handle its annual seven million visitors. It said putting the corpse on show and moving it to the new church would "offend the sentiments of many believers". A court appeal will begin on Thursday. After a series of holy readings, eight monks lifted the casket, made from three layers of metal, wood and zinc, out of the crypt just before midnight. "Right from the start we could see his beard," said Domenico D'Ambrosio, the archbishop of Manfredonia. "You could see his knees very well, his hands, his fingernails. If Padre Pio will allow me, I would say it was like he had been manicured." He added, however, that it was not possible to see Padre Pio's stigmata, which were said to have disappeared just before he died without leaving any scars. Tags: Padre Pio, Incorruptibles

Korean archbishop declares alleged Marian visionary excommunicated SEOUL, South Korea (CNS) -- A South Korean archbishop said an alleged Marian visionary and her followers have been excommunicated automatically. Archbishop Andreas Choi Chang-mou of Kwangju issued the decree Jan. 21, saying "for Christians' healthy faith life and the unity and communion of the church, I declare as such, though my heart grieves." The decree was released to all dioceses and media Jan. 23, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News. Click here to read entire article Tags: Naju