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The director and editors of The Mary Page under the auspices of the International Marian Research Institute do not necessarily endorse or agree with the events and ideas expressed in this feature. Our sole purpose is to report on items about Mary gleaned from a myriad of papers representing the secular press.

New French Shrine 'could rival Lourdes'
Source: Telegraph News (Paris), May 5, 2008

The Roman Catholic Church has officially recognized a shrine in the French Alps where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a young shepherdess--the first such recognition in France for almost 150 years.

But the presence of a government minister drew instant political fire, with the French Left claiming that the country's staunchly secular values were being undermined.

Notre Dame du Laus, which already draws some 120,000 pilgrims each year, was formally acknowledged by the Vatican after three years of research into its credentials by a team of theologians, historians and psychologists.

There have been suggestions it could grow to rival Lourdes, the last place in France to receive the Church's official apparition stamp--in 1862--and which today struggles to cope with five million pilgrims each year.

About six-thousand Catholics, including more than twenty bishops and cardinals, attended a solemn Mass at the sanctuary of Benôite Rencurel--who was sixteen when she first reported seeing the Virgin Mary in 1664.

The shepherdess was described by one observer as the French champion of apparitions, because she saw the Virgin Mary around 2,500 times over fifty-four years--averaging once a week.

Hordes of pilgrims already go to the site in the hope of salvation or a cure. Most recently, a Belgian woman insisted that she had been miraculously cured of a slipped disc after visiting the shrine.

Church authorities in the southeastern town of Gap had long struggled to convince the Vatican to beatify the shepherdess--a request it refused as recently as 2003.

Jean-Michel di Falco Leandri, the Bishop of Gap, told the gathering: "I recognize the supernatural origin of the apparitions and facts experienced and recounted by Benôite Rencurel, between 1664 and 1718.

"I encourage the faithful to come and pray and to seek spiritual renewal in this sanctuary," he said.

The Pope will visit France in September to mark the 150th anniversary of the Lourdes apparitions.

Virgin Mary Miracle in Bosnia
Source: Newsmax.com, May 19, 2008

These are difficult times: wars and rumors of wars, troubling times with the world economy.

While all of these things are happening, there is a remarkable development in Medjugorje, a small village in Bosnia. More than a million people a year are visiting the site where the Virgin Mary has appeared regularly since 1981.

The visions have affected not just Roman Catholics but Eastern Orthodox, Protestants, and even members of non-Christian religions. The local Roman Catholic bishops have tried to throw cold water on these visions. They have been unable to convince people that what is happening there isn't real. Indeed the Vatican has removed them from the process.

There have been all sorts of scientific studies of the two ladies to whom the Virgin Mary has appeared. The women have been judged to be of sound mind and are healthy psychologically. Scripture says, "By their fruits ye shall know them." There have been reports at the site of healings and conversions from the cares and anxieties of this world to a Christian lifestyle.

My son Andrew went there alone. He personally witnessed the statue of the Jesus Christ which daily sheds tears. It has been subjected to x-rays and all sorts other examinations. It is free standing, unconnected to anything. Andrew said he personally felt the tears. In addition, the sun dances as it did at the time of the Communist revolution.

The messages which the ladies have received are consistent with Scripture. That is one of the first things to be examined to be sure that what is taking place at Medjugorje is not a cult. Andrew reports that when the Virgin Mary appears to the ladies birds flock to the area and are perfectly silent. When the visions are finished the birds fly away.

The Virgin implores pilgrims to pray and fast. If enough do, the likely chastisement of this world may be averted. She also wants people to read the Bible and to receive the Holy Mysteries of the Roman Catholic Church. No one is obliged to accept that what is happening at Medjugorje is real. I recall speaking with the late Frank Shakespeare, once our ambassador to the Vatican. He went there multiple times and was profoundly moved by what he saw and personally experienced.

So while there is worldly turmoil, especially in the Middle East, it is comforting to know that there is a place of peace on this earth.

Some thirty-million people who have visited this tiny remote village are witness to the authenticity of the visions. The bitterest skeptics have turned around after visiting.

Why would the Virgin Mary choose this remote location and these two ladies? Her son Jesus Christ only knows.

Meanwhile, if you have not heard of Medjugorje up to this point, chances are very good that you will hear of it and its works as time goes on and as the situation in the world grows more difficult.

To see the original article, click into: newsmax.com/weyrich/virgin_mary_miracle/2008/05/19/97294.html.