Banneux, Belgium (1933)
Title: Our Lady of the Poor
Investigated: 1933-1942
Approved: 1942 by the Bishop of Liège; officially recognized by the Vatican in 1947
Visionary: Mariette Beco (12 years old)
First Apparition: January 15, 1933
Last Apparition: March 2, 1933
Number of Apparitions: 8
Miracles & Signs: Healing at the spring revealed by Our Lady, numerous reports of cures, and spiritual conversions
Summary: In a garden behind the Beco family's cottage, the Blessed Mother is said to have appeared to Mariette Beco (age 11) eight times. Calling herself the "Virgin of the Poor," Mary promised to intercede for the poor, the sick and the suffering.
Timeline
March 25, 1921
Mariette Beco was born the eldest of a family of seven children in a Catholic working family, who, however, did not practice their religion. She dwelt in a house isolated on the plateau of the Ardennes, along the route of Pepinster. Her household was not a pious one. Her father Julian Beco was an unemployed wiremaker who hadn't been to Mass in many years and her mother Louise was not very devout either. Because of her family circumstances, for two months Mariette had not gone to church, she was doing very poorly in catechism class, and she had stopped going to her instructions for Holy Communion.
Jan 3, 1933
The apparitions of the "The Virgin with the Golden Heart" to the five children of Beauraing, Belgium which is 50 miles to the northeast away from the poor farm village of Banneux-Notre Dame.
Jan 15, 1933
Mariette saw something out her window but thought it was a perhaps reflection of her oil lamp. She moved the lamp to another room and looked harder. Mariette sees through the window of her house a beautiful and luminous lady with a Rosary in her hands . She wore a long white gown with a blue sash and was barefoot in the snow but did not appear cold. She called her mother who caught a faint glimpse of something, but told her she was crazy, locked the door and forbade the girl to look at the vision.
Jan 16, 1933
At school the next day, Mariette and a friend go to see the parish priest Fr Louis Jamin who dismisses her as trying to copy the Beauraing apparitions. For the next two days the Virgin did not appear again but Mariette became pious and restarted her catechism. She learned her lessons perfectly and this surprised Fr Jamin who encouraged her to pray to Our Lady for guidance.
Jan 18, 1933
At 7:00 pm, Mariette ran around to her back yard and fell to her knees in silent prayer. Her father thought this was a strange sight and came out to see what was going on. Mariette saw a birght ball of light increasing in size and passing through the pine trees and finally changed into a "woman's silhouette". The Virgin appeared a yard away from her on a "luminous cloud". Her father and 2 neighbors had gathered to see if they could see anything. Mariette said loudly and with a clear voice: "She is calling me!" The girl rose and ran in the direction of the main road, very fast, as if carried by the wind. Suddenly, Mariette stopped in her tracks and fell to her knees twice, near a spring. Our Lady said: "Put your hands in the water! This fountain is reserved for Me. Goodnight. Good bye." The Virgin disappeared a few seconds later - her silhouette became a ball of light and faded away in the horizon. Around 10:00 pm, Father Jamin went to the Beco's house. He was surprised by Julian's account of the story and his declaration to convert, make a general confession and go to Mass.
Jan 19, 1933
At the same time the next day as Mariette prays the Rosary with 17 people around her, The Virgin appears for the third time. When Mariette asks her identity she says "I am the Virgin of the Poor." They then went to the spring together. Mary declared: "This spring is reserved for all the nations, to bring comfort to the sick." Just before leaving in a ball of light, she said: "I will pray for you; good bye."
Jan 20, 1933
The next day around 6:45 pm, the fourth apparition took place with thirteen witnesses, including Father Jamin and the first two journalists. During this apparition, the Virgin made a request: “I would like a small chapel.” Our Lady imposed her hands on Mariette and traced the sign of the cross over her head. At the end, Mariette lost consciousness.
However, during the following days until February 11, the apparitions stopped. Some made fun of Mariette, calling her "Saint Bernadette." Despite the intense cold, Mariette continued praying and believed that she would see the Virgin of the Poor again.
Feb 11, 1933
On the anniversary of the Apparitions in Lourdes at 7 pm, The Virgin appears for the fifth time. Mariette ran with incredible speed to the spring after the Lady, dropped to her knees and dipped the tip of her rosary in the water. "I come to alleviate sufferings," Mary said to her interiorly.
The following day, Mariette received First Communion from Fr. Jamin.
Feb 15, 1933
The Virgin appears for the sixth time while Mariette prays the Rosary with her mother and friends. Mariette asks for a sign but is only encouraged to "Believe in me and I will believe in you. Pray very much. Goodbye."
Feb 20, 1933
The Virgin appears for the seventh time and encourages her saying: "My dear child, pray, pray very much."
March 2, 1933
The Virgin appears for the eighth and final time. "I am the Mother of the Saviour, the Mother of God. Pray very much. " Then she imposed her hands on Mariette's head and blessed her with the sign of the cross. She said, “Adieu – till we meet in God.” And Mariette cried as she understood this would be her final appearance to her.
1933
The Little Chapel was built and inaugurated.
Mar 19, 1935
Investigations by an Episcopal commission begin headed by Msgr Leroux, director of the diocesan major seminary. Seventy three people testified under oath.
Feb 18, 1937
The commission's work was finished. The whole file (428 pages and 21 documents annex) was transmitted by the diocese of Liege to the archbishop of Brussels-Mechlin, then to Rome.
Jan 2, 1942
The Holy Office had in effect given to these bishops the liberty to "judge these extraordinary events." Msgr. Kerkhofs, bishop of Liege, immediately lifted the restrictions, and promulgated full and entire authorization for practicing the "cult" which to that point had been simply tolerated.
March 19, 1942
Bishop Msgr. Louis-Joseph Kerkhofs of Liege approves the cult of the Virgin of the Poor.
March 25, 1942
Cardinal Van Roy, primate of Belgium, intervened to exclude all the apparitions which had abounded in Belgium, except Beauraing and Banneux, which were being examined by their respective bishops (Namur and Liege).
June 19, 1942
20 meeting sessions were convened for the members of the new committee to make a pronouncement on the character of Mariette Beco and on the supernatural origin of the apparitions. Some evoked the "hysterical disposition" of the seer. Other talked about a deception or illusion. According to them Mariette imagined that she saw the Virgin Mary after having read a flier about Lourdes (conserved in the library of the patronage in Banneux).
Feb 15, 1944
Last meeting of the commitee. The apparitions were viewed with doubt: "The events of Banneux appear to be neither certain nor even probable"
1945
Msgr Kerkhofs, with the help of Father Rene Rutten (1878-1948) ordered a third and last investigation committee. This time, the conclusions were positive and the supernatural origin officially recognized by the bishop of Liege, on August 22, 1949, sixteen years after the events.
1947
The apparitions receive preliminary approval.
Aug 22, 1949
Msgr. Louis-Joseph Kerkhofs, Bishop of Liege, Belgium with the support of the Vatican affirms the supernaturality of the apparitions: "Two times, first in 1942 and then in 1947, we have officially recognized the reality of the apparitions of Banneux. Today after two new years of prayer and observation, we believe in conscience to be able and to be required to recognize without reserve this reality, namely, the reality of the eight apparitions of the Holy Virgin to Mariette Beco" (Dessain. Notre Dame de Banneux, Paris, 1967, p. 207)
1952
The apparitions are recognized by the Vatican.
Aug 14, 1956
Msgr E. Forni, the Apostolic Nuncio to Brussels, solemnly crowned the statue of the Virgin of the Poor.
1985
Pope John Paul II went to Banneux and had an audience with Mariette at the sacristy.
July 31, 1999
The Vatican issues ***a letter to the Bishop of Liege to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the apparitions.
May 31, 2008
Cardinal Godfried Danneels, archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and special envoy named by Pope Benedict XVI, accompanied on his mission by Fathers Karl Gatzweiler and Joseph Bodeson, members of the cathedral chapter of Liege, Belgium to celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin of the Poor.
Dec 2, 2011
Mariette Beco passed away in the "Home de la Vierge des Pauvres" at Banneux, Belgium
*** Vatican Letter to Bishop of Liege Commemorating 50th Anniversary
To the Most Reverend Albert Houssiau, Bishop of Liège,
1. Fifty years ago, on 22 August 1949, Bishop Louis-Joseph Kerkhofs, your predecessor in the see of Liège, definitively recognized the reality of the apparitions of Our Lady of the Poor in Banneux. Moved to recall the Eucharist which I myself, during my Apostolic Visit to Belgium in May 1985, had the joy of celebrating in this shrine which has an important outreach, I gladly join in the prayer of the pilgrims who go there to seek comfort and strength from Our Lady of Banneux, invoked by the name of Our Lady of the Poor, Health of the Sick. With the whole Church, I thank the Lord for the outstanding mission carried out by the Mother of the Saviour and for the example of faith she offers the entire Christian people, called, like her, to follow Christ, every day repeating her "yes", her fiat.
2. In 1933, a few years before the Second World War, Mary appeared in Banneux as a messenger of peace. In a certain way she was summoning the leaders of society to become the artisans of peace and educators of peoples, inviting each person to care for his brothers and sisters, the lowliest, the most despised and the suffering, who are all beloved by God. Today it is still up to us to pray that "Mary, Mediatrix of grace, ever watchful and concerned for all her children, [may] obtain for all humanity the precious gift of harmony and peace" (Message on the 50th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War in Europe, 8 May 1995, n. 16).
3. In contemplating the Virgin Mary, the faithful discover the marvels God worked in his humble handmaid, and in her, Mother of the Church and Queen of Heaven, see the prefiguration of what humanity is called to be through the grace of salvation which was obtained for us through the Saviour's Death and Resurrection.
The faithful who enrol in Mary's school take a path of prayer that guarantees a Christian life; with her they discover the mercy of the Father who stoops down to all human beings, especially the poor, the little and the suffering. Therefore we can tirelessly repeat with Mary her canticle of thanksgiving: "He has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed" (Lk 1: 48).
4. Every pilgrimage a Christian makes is an important moment in his spiritual life. It helps him discover the power of prayer which unifies the being and is the source of the witness each person is called to bear, and of his mission. With Mary we become humble children in the Lord's hands, asking forgiveness for our faults and thereby rediscovering the joy of being God's children who know they are infinitely loved and so have a deep desire to be converted.
Whoever you are, as St Bernard said, "when you are assaulted by the winds of temptation, when you see the pitfalls of misfortune, look at the Star, call upon Mary". "If, troubled by the burden of sin and ashamed at the blemishes on your conscience, you begin to feel overcome by sadness and the temptation to despair, think of Mary. In peril, anguish and doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. May her name be for ever on your lips and in your heart. And to obtain her intercession, never cease to follow her example". Be certain that "in following her, you will not stray and in calling upon her, you will not despair" (Second homily on the Gospel passage: "The Angel Gabriel was sent"). Then, on returning to their daily lives, the faithful receive the grace of renewed trust. They are made more attentive to God's word and the responsibility they receive through their Baptism. They also recognize more readily God's signs on their path.
5. The apparitions of Banneux invite Christians to question themselves about the mystery of suffering, which finds its meaning in the mystery of the Cross of the Lord. When he faces suffering which, in human terms, is inexplicable, the believer turns spontaneously to God who alone can help him to bear it and endure it, sustaining his hope of salvation and eternal beatitude. In a very special way, God is tenderly and lovingly present to every person afflicted by illness, for he is moved by the experiences of his people, the people he loves, to whom he wants to bring relief and comfort. "Then the Lord said, "I have seen the affliction of my people ... and have heard their cry.... I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them ... and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land'" (Ex 3: 7-8). As I explained in the Apostolic Letter Salvifici doloris, every person who offers his suffering contributes mysteriously to raising the world to God, and shares especially in the work of our redemption (cf. n. 19). He is thus joined particularly to Christ our Saviour.
6. I also commend to God those whose mission it is to care for their brethren, to help them and to accompany them with compassion in their physical and moral trials, as well as the members of the pastoral care teams in the hospitals and clinics and everyone who visits the sick and the elderly.
Following the example of the Good Samaritan, they are, as it were, the loving hand of the Lord outstretched to those who are suffering in body and soul; they show them that no trial whatsoever can take away their dignity as children of God (cf. ibid., nn. 28-30). May they tirelessly continue their mission, thus reminding the world that every human life, from its origin to its natural end, is precious in God's eyes!
7. As I entrust you to the intercession of Our Lady of Banneux and the saints of your land, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing to you, as well as to the faithful who travel to the shrine of Banneux in the spirit of the Great Jubilee and to the priests and faithful of your Diocese and of all the Dioceses of Belgium.
From the Vatican, 31 July 1999.
Source: Vatican.va
***
Description of the Virgin
The Virgin was enveloped in a "great oval light" and wore a long white gown with a sash of "unforgettable blue" and a white, tranparent veil covering her head and shoulders. Her right foot was visible and "crowned with a golden rose" between the toes. She had a rosary on her right arm with diamond-like beads and a golden chain and cross. She stood on a cloud with her head and shoulders bent sllightly to the left.
Messages
January 15, 1933
Mariette first observes a smiling woman made of light standing in her yard.
January 18, 1933
The Virgin: "Place your hands in the water."
January 19, 1933
Mariette: "Who are you, lovely Lady?"
The Virgin: "I am the Virgin of the Poor."
[ Mariette kneels three times. ]
"This spring is reserved for all the nations - to relieve the sick."
"I shall pray for you. Au Revoir."
January 20th, 1933
Mariette: "What do you wish, my beautiful Lady?"
The Virgin: "I would like a small chapel."
[The Virgin blessed her with the Sign of the Cross and Mariette collapsed. ]
February 11, 1933 (Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes)
The Virgin: "I come to relieve suffering."
February 15, 1933
Mariette: "Blessed Virgin, the chaplain told me to ask you for a sign."
The Virgin: "Believe in me, I will believe in you. Pray much. Au Revoir."
February 20, 1933
The Virgin: "My dear child, pray much. Au Revoir"
March 2, 1933
The Virgin: "I am the Mother of the Saviour, Mother of God, Pray much. Adieu "
Mariette: "Adieu- till we meet in God."
Miracles and Signs
Many people, including Mariette's father, were converted to Catholicism upon hearing accounts of the apparition. Five hundred thousand pilgrims visit the site of the apparitions every year. Over fifty miraculous cures have been documented at the spring.
Church Approval
Banneux was investigated from 1935 until 1937 by an Episcopal commission, after which the evidence collected was submitted to Rome. Meanwhile growing numbers of pilgrims came to the shrine, and on March 19th, 1942 Bishop Mgr. Louis-Joseph Kerkhofs of Liege approved the cult of the Virgin of the Poor. In 1947 the apparitions themselves received preliminary approval, with this becoming definite on August 22, 1949.
"Two times, first in 1942 and then in 1947, we have officially recognized the reality of the apparitions of Banneux. Today after two new years of prayer and observation, we believe in conscience to be able and to be required to recognize without reserve this reality, namely, the reality of the eight apparitions of the Holy Virgin to Mariette Beco" (Dessain. Notre Dame de Banneux, Paris, 1967, p. 207)
In 1985, Pope John Paul II went to Banneux and had an audience with Mariette at the sacristy. On July 31, 1999, the Vatican issued a letter to the Bishop of Liege to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the apparitions.
Click here to read official Church statements on Banneux.
The Feast of Our Lady of Banneux is observed on May 31st.
Prayer
Invocations to Our Lady of Banneux
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
lead us to Jesus, the Source of Grace.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
save all nations.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
Fountain of Grace, sanctify us.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
relieve the suffering.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
relieve the sick.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
pray for each one of us.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
we believe in thee.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
believe in us.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
we shall pray very much.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
bless us.
Blessed Virgin of the Poor,
Mother of the Savior,
Mother of God,
we thank thee.
O Virgin of the Poor,
May you ever be blessed ! And blessed be He who deigned to send you to us. What you have been and are to us now, you will always be to those who, like us, and better then us, offer their faith and their prayer. You will be all for us, as you revealed yourself at Banneux : Mediatrix of all graces, the Mother of theSaviour, Mother of God. A compassionate and powerfull Mother who loves the poor and all Peaople, who alleviates suffering, who saves individuals and all humanity, Queen and Mother of all Nations, who came to lead all those who allow themselves to be guided by you, to Jesus the true and only Source of eternal life.
Amen.
Our Lady of Banneux, Mother of Our Saviour, Mother of God, Virgin of the Poor, since thou hast promised to believe in us if we believe in thee, I put all my trust in thee. Deign to listen to the prayers that thou hast asked be addressed to thee; have pity on all our spiritual and temporal miseries. Restore to sinners the treasure of Faith, and give to the poor their daily bread. Deign to relieve suffering, to heal the sick and to pray for us, so that thus through thy intercession, the reign of Christ the King may extend over all nations.
Amen.
SOURCE: MiracleHunter.com