Wigratzbad, Germany (1919, 1938)

1899

Antonie Radler was born in Wigratzbad, a village in Germany (Allgäu, diocese of Augsburg), a short distance from Austria and Switzerland, less than 20 km from the town of Lindau on Lake Constance, at the foot of the Alps

1919

After Antonie Radler (1899-1991) contracted the Spanish influenza, the Blessed Virgin appeared to her, laid her hands on her, and healed her.

1927 - 1936

Antonie worked as a manager in one of her father's butcher shops, in Lindau near Lake Constance.

1936

One day the Gestapo arrived and ordered her to replace the painting of the Virgin by that of the Führer. She was ordered to salute him in the Nazi fashion: "Heil Hitler" instead of the usual Bavarian greeting of "Grüss Gott." Antonie disobeyed those orders and as a result barely escaped several attempts to murder her, notably by drowning. She said that a mysterious cyclist protected her, whom she called her "guardian angel on a bike."

To express their gratitude, her parents erected a small Lourdes grotto in their garden, which was blessed by Father Basch, pastor of their parish, on October 11, 1936, feast day of the Maternity of Mary. The following month, the statue "smiled" at her. She received this prayer in a message: "Our Beloved Lady of Victory, conceived without sin, pray for us!

Dec 15, 1936

The day in the octave of the Immaculate Conception, as she was reciting the third sorrowful mystery of the rosary in front of the Lourdes grotto, Antonie heard "angelic choirs" singing: "O Mary! Immaculate, conceived without sin, Beloved Lady of Victory, pray for us."

July 1937

A chapel was built.

Feb 22, 1938

Around 6:30 a.m., the Virgin appeared to Cecilia Geyer: "I heard something like a slight murmur, and after this the Mother of God came out from a bright cloud that kept increasing in size, looking exactly like the Wigratzbad statue. Suddenly I found myself inside that grotto. The apparition told me:
 
"Build a chapel for me here [...] I shall crush the head of the infernal serpent with my feet [...]. People will come to this place in large numbers, and I will pour a flowing of graces over them. Saint Joseph, Saint Anthony and the souls in Purgatory will assist Antonie."
 
The great lady ordered: "Now go adore my Divine Son in the Blessed Sacrament."
 
"Where can I do this? Right now, the Blessed Sacrament isn't exposed anywhere," Cecilia asked.
 
"So, before my astonished eyes, a chapel appeared at the place that had been designated to me [...]. Inside, on the altar, Jesus had his throne in a magnificent monstrance that was projecting wonderful rays of light in all directions."

June 17, 1938

The government authorized the building of the chapel dedicated to "Our Beloved Lady, Mother of Victory."

July 2, 1938

Construction began on the plot of land donated by Antonie's parents.

Nov 2, 1938

The inauguration was planned for December 8th, feast of the Immaculate Conception, but Antonie was arrested by the Nazis . She was thrown in a common jail, and suffered interminable interrogations.

Dec 7, 1938

During the night, she saw a great cloud rise inside her cell, and suddenly the Virgin appeared to her. She announced Antonie's imminent liberation: the girl would spend Christmas with her family.

Our Lady taught her the prayer to the Child Jesus that is still recited at the shrine today.

Dec 18, 1938

Antonie was freed on December 18th, on the feast of the Expectation of the Virgin. Since that year, an increasing number of pilgrims come to visit the shrine of Wigratzbad.

March 25, 1940

With the permission of the local bishop, a chapel was blessed.

1991

Archbishop Stimpfle of Augsbourg celebrated Antonie's funeral and pronounced her funeral oration. He didn't make an official declaration but confided to Antonie's confessor: "I know that Wigratzbad is authentic!"

March 2011

With a decree, the Ordinary of Augsburg has prohibited the publication of a book of the priest Alfons Sarrach dedicated to these events.