Joan Carroll Cruz - See How She Loves You: 50 Approved Apparitions of Our Lady

Nihil Obstat:	Msgr. Gerald Lefebvre
Censor Deputatus
Imprimatur:		Very Rev. Than N. Vu, S.T.L., V.G.
Vicar General
Baton Rouge
February 3, 2011

2012 Joan Carroll Cruz

All rights reserved. With the exception of short excerpts used in articles and critical reviews, no part of this work may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in any form whatsoever, printed or electronic, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-89555-718-6

Cover design by Milo Persic, milo.persic@gmail.com.

Cover image: Mary of the Rosary of San Nicolas.

Printed and Bound in the United States of America.

TAN Books

An Imprint of Saint Benedict Press, LLC

Charlotte, North Carolina

2012

Dedicated to the loving memory of my son,
Michael David Cruz,
who lived quietly, suffered patiently,
and died peacefully
in the embrace of the Church.

C ONTENTS

A CKNOWLEDGMENTS

I AM deeply indebted to all the people at the shrines who so graciously answered my queries and in addition sent pictures, booklets and books. I appreciate their help, their generosity and kindness. I note especially the following:

Very Reverend Father A. Michael, Rector of the Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Health, Vailankanni, India; Frre Basile of the Sanctuaire Pellevoisin, France; Pre Yves-Marie Couet, Director of the Shrine of Lle Bouchard, France; Philippe Lecourtier of La Salette, France; Secrtaire General, Tanguy Lafforgue, Sanctuaire de Ntre-Dame de Laus; James J. Marsala, Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, Green Bay, Wisconsin; M. Rene Fantin, Ntre-Dame-de-lOsier, France; Piegni Dilibri, Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy, Savona, Italy; Antoni Ravier, Santa Maria de Guadalupe, Guadalupe, Spain; Pre Pierre de Couessin, Recteur du Sanctuaire Marial Diocesan, Querrien, France; Mr. Claude Lacroix, Ntre-Dame de Garaison; Administrator Sanktuarium Matki Bozej Lichenskiej, Poland; Administrator S. Andrea Delle Fratte, Roma; Antonio Rodriguez Rodriguez, Santuario Ntra Sra de Chandavila, La Codosera, Spain; Angelika Kuhn of the shrine in Marienfried, Germany; Administrator of the Pontifico Santuario in Pompeii; Jairo M. Rodriguez of the Shrine of Our Lady of Cuapa, Nicaragua; Jean-Clause Bauchat of the Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette, France; Pierrot di Geronimo, Shrine of Our Lady of Banneux, Belgium; The Santuario San Nicolas, Argentina; Abb Jean-Pierre Herman, Chapelain aux Sanctuaires de Beauraing, Belgium; Secretary of the Shrine of Ntre-Dame of Pontmain, France; Lea Fantin, Representative of the Shrine of Ntre-Dame-de-lOsier, France; Don Rocco Di Filippo of Castelpetroso; the Brothers of the Immaculate of Castelpetroso; Dr. Rainer Killich, Kevelaer, Germany; Frre Jean-Marc, CSsR, Ntre-Dame des Trois-Epis; Rev. Joseph Kung of the Cardinal Kung Foundation; Paulette Crutzen and Pierrot Di Geronimo of the Sanctuaire de Banneux; Sanktuarium Matki Bozej Lichenskiej; Fr. Roland D. Mactal, O.P. for the Images of Our Lady of Manaoag, Philippines; Fr. Carlo M. Rossato of Monte Berico; Marian Therese Horvat, Ph.D. of www.TraditionInAction.org; Msgr. Gerald Lefebvre and Father Than N. Vu of the Diocese of Baton Rouge; Rosalie Turton of the 101 Foundation; Pat Lavelle of Our Lady of Knock Shrine; P. Carlo M. Rossato of Santa Maria di Monte Berico; M. Kleemann, Pfarrsekretarin of the shrine Muttergottes von Heede; Adolfo Alvarez of the shrine of Nuestra Senora de Ocotln; Ms. Amber Backus of the shrine of Our Lady of Good Help; and Hong Duong of the Shrine of Our Lady of La Vang.

A UTHOR S N OTE

A PPARITIONS of the Blessed Mother have occurred during all ages of the Church beginning in AD 39 when tradition tells us that she appeared to St. James the Great in Zaragoza, Spain. Many lists exist that detail apparitions from that time, some of which have been regarded as trustworthy according to the local church authorities. However, it is uncertain when the Church first established rules by which to judge the authenticity of these occurrences.

Only a few of the many hundreds of reported visions have been recognized by the Vatican. These private revelations have been judged by the Church to be credible and worthy of belief, though they do not belong to the deposit of faith . The visions reported in this book have either earned the approval of the Vatican or the approval of the local bishop who acted under the directives given by the Vatican, and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The last directive concerning this matter was approved by Pope Paul VI on February 24, 1978, which gives the local bishop the primary responsibility to judge an apparitions authenticity. If the bishop considers the event genuine, he may then give permission for processions and all expressions of faith.

In a few of the accounts in this book, approval for expressions of faith has been granted, though the investigation of the apparition is still under way.

Even before directives of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith were given, and before the regulations of Pope Paul VI, bishops had the authority to approve an apparition without formally declaring the supernatural origin of it. They either declared the apparition to be genuine or implied their approval by permitting churches to be built as requested by the vision, and by consecrating the churches in elaborate ceremonies. They assisted at the burial of many visionaries and permitted statues and images of the vision to be crafted, and blessed and crowned these images. Many popes have also conveyed their belief in the apparitions by visiting the apparition sites and have blessed and crowned statues representing the vision. Many have also issued documents in observance of anniversaries relating to the apparitions.

Since the diocesan bishops main concern is upholding the faith of his people, he is very cautious before offering a decision. In almost all cases the bishop will organize a committee to help in determining if the vision is authentic. The committee will consider if the apparition has a supernatural element and if the individuals under consideration are mentally balanced, honest, and sincere, and if they participate in the sacraments. The committee will judge if the apparition is free from theological errors and that the message of the vision does not try to correct or add anything to the doctrines of the Faith, but instead contributes to a deeper understanding of the Faith. The bishop may allow expressions of faith at the site of the apparition even while the committee is deliberating or gathering evidence.

For the purpose of this book we have decided to begin by relating the details of the vision that took place in Aylesford, England, in 1251, which the Church accepts fully. There are Church-approved visions that followed that apparition, which occurred throughout the world until modern times when the Blessed Mother appeared in Egypt in 2009.

With the exception of three visionaries in this book, two being nuns and one a banker, as well as the saintly visionaries of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, all the other apparitions were witnessed by humble folk, shepherds, simple village people, many children and mostly uneducated people. Their sincerity, religious dedication, local respectability, mental balance and obedience to Church authorities have been carefully considered.