Bound in Love

Our Lady of All Nations

is a Marian title associated with a series of alleged apparitions reported by Ida Peerdeman, a Dutch secretary, in Amsterdam between 1945 and 1959.  According to Peerdeman, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to her 56 times, identifying herself as the “Lady of All Nations” and delivering messages emphasizing the importance of the Eucharist, the need for spiritual renewal, and the promise of a final Marian dogma—Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate. 

The apparitions began on March 25, 1945, the Feast of the Annunciation, and included predictions that some observers have interpreted as remarkably accurate, such as the liberation of the Netherlands on May 5, 1945, the founding of the state of Israel in 1948, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and warnings about global conflicts, moral decline, and the dangers of biological warfare. 

Despite initial ecclesiastical caution, the devotion has grown. In 2002, Bishop Jozef Marianus Punt of Haarlem declared the apparitions to be of supernatural origin (constat de supernaturalitate), allowing public veneration.  The Chapel of the Lady of All Nations in Amsterdam (Diepenbrockstraat 3) was consecrated in 1976 and remains a center for pilgrimage and prayer. 

However, the Catholic Church has not officially approved the apparitions.  The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a formal negative judgment in 1974, stating there was no evidence of supernatural origin (non constat de supernaturalitate), and urged the faithful to discontinue all propaganda related to the visions. This ruling remains in effect.

The official website for the devotion is amsterdamapparitions.com, and the Confraternity of the Lady of All Nations manages prayer cards and outreach.  While the Church permits private devotion and the use of the image and prayer, it does not endorse the messages or supernatural claims as authentic. 

Our Lady of Akita

Marian apparitions in Yuzawadai, Akita City, Japan, between 1973 and 1979, experienced by Sister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa, a member of the Handmaids of the Holy Eucharist. 

The apparitions began on June 12, 1973, when Sister Agnes witnessed brilliant light emanating from the tabernacle in the convent chapel. 

On July 6, 1973, she heard a voice from a three-foot-tall wooden statue of the Virgin Mary, which was said to have been carved by a Buddhist woodcarver in 1963.  The statue reportedly bled from its right hand on four occasions, and a cross-shaped wound appeared on Sister Agnes’ left hand, which also bled. 

The statue wept 101 times between January 4, 1975, and September 15, 1981, with the final weeping occurring on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. 

The messages from the Virgin Mary emphasized prayer (especially the Rosary), penance, reparation for sins, and warned of a great chastisement—a punishment greater than the flood—where fire would fall from the sky, affecting both the good and the bad, and causing widespread destruction, including within the Church. 

Bishop John Shojiro Ito of Niigata approved the apparitions and authorized veneration of the statue in a 1984 pastoral letter, declaring the events of supernatural origin. 

In 1988, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) affirmed the messages as trustworthy and worthy of faith, likening them to the messages of Fatima. 

The statue is now enshrined at the Our Lady of Akita Shrine (Redemptoris Mater) in Yuzawadai, where it is venerated by pilgrims from around the world. 

Marian apparitions in Yuzawadai, Akita City, Japan, between 1973 and 1979, experienced by Sister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa, a member of the Handmaids of the Holy Eucharist. 

The apparitions began on June 12, 1973, when Sister Agnes witnessed brilliant light emanating from the tabernacle in the convent chapel. 

On July 6, 1973, she heard a voice from a three-foot-tall wooden statue of the Virgin Mary, which was said to have been carved by a Buddhist woodcarver in 1963.  The statue reportedly bled from its right hand on four occasions, and a cross-shaped wound appeared on Sister Agnes’ left hand, which also bled. 

The statue wept 101 times between January 4, 1975, and September 15, 1981, with the final weeping occurring on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. 

The messages from the Virgin Mary emphasized prayer (especially the Rosary), penance, reparation for sins, and warned of a great chastisement—a punishment greater than the flood—where fire would fall from the sky, affecting both the good and the bad, and causing widespread destruction, including within the Church. 

Bishop John Shojiro Ito of Niigata approved the apparitions and authorized veneration of the statue in a 1984 pastoral letter, declaring the events of supernatural origin. 

In 1988, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) affirmed the messages as trustworthy and worthy of faith, likening them to the messages of Fatima. 

The statue is now enshrined at the Our Lady of Akita Shrine (Redemptoris Mater) in Yuzawadai, where it is venerated by pilgrims from around the world. 

On April 22, 1984, after eight years of investigation and having consulted with the Holy See, the messages of Our Lady of Akita were approved by the bishop of the Diocese of Niigata, Japan, Bishop John Shojiro Ito. He declared that the events of Akita are of supernatural origin and authorized the veneration of the Holy Mother of Akita in the whole diocese. In the Japanese town of Akita, a statue of the Madonna has shed blood, sweat and tears according to the testimony of more than 500 Christians and non-Christians, including the Buddhist mayor of the town. A religious, Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa has received the stigmata and messages from Our Lady.

In June of 1988, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, imparted the definitive judgment regarding the events and messages of Akita, judging them to be trustworthy and worthy of faith. The Cardinal observed taht Akita is a continuation of the messages of Fatima.

Our Lady of Betania

is a Marian apparition reported in Finca Betania, Venezuela, where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Maria Esperanza Medrano de Bianchini from 1976 to 1990, with her final appearance on January 5, 1990. 

The Virgin Mary revealed herself under the title “Reconciler of Peoples and Nations”, emphasizing messages of love, forgiveness, unity, and peace. 

The first apparition occurred on March 25, 1976, and she appeared 31 times over 14 years, with the most significant public manifestation on March 25, 1984, when approximately 150 people witnessed her at the grotto site. 

In her messages, she called for conversion, prayer, reconciliation among nations, and a return to faith and justice, urging people to love one another and serve the poor. 

The local bishop, Pio Bello Ricardo, S.J., officially approved the apparitions in 1987 after a thorough investigation, declaring them authentic and of supernatural origin. 

The approval was made in consultation with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI), and the site is now recognized as sacred for prayer and pilgrimage. 

The apparition is not yet officially approved by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican, but it is approved at the diocesan level and recognized as “Traditionally Approved” by several Marian devotion resources. 

A cause for beatification of Maria Esperanza was opened in 2010 by Bishop Paul Bootkoski of Metuchen, New Jersey, where she passed away in 2004. 

The Betania apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Venezuela, is perhaps the least known of 20th century Marian apparitions that have been formally approved by the Church. Unknown to many, this apparition has actually received formal approval from the local Bishop, Pio Bello Ricardo, on November 21, 1987.

The principal visionary in the Betania apparitions is Maria Esperanza, a Venezuelan mother of seven children who is considered as one of the greatest mystics of the 20th century.

The First Apparition

The first apparition happened on March 25, 1976 in Finca Betania, a small farm located twelve kilometers from the town of Cua in the State of Miranda, Venezuala. In this farm, near the modest farm house on the property, a hill rises, from which descends a stream. At the foot of the hill, there is a small waterfall. This is where the apparitions took place.

In the first apparition, Our Lady announced conveyed to Maria her desire to be known under the title “Reconciler of Nations”:

Daughter, here you have Me with My Hands enriched with graces and covered with splendors of light, to call all My children to conversion; this is the seed of glory I offer as “MARY RECONCILER OF PEOPLE AND NATIONS”, for I come to reconcile all of you.

Our Lady continued to appear to Maria Esperanza in the succeeding years. Some people likewise testified to having witnessed numerous unusual phenomena, such as mist coming forth from the hill where the apparitions occurred, a profusion of flowers, beautiful music and singing from an invisible choir, play of lights, movements of the sun, and many others.

Group Apparition

A small devotion grew out of the first apparition, with people gathering in small groups in the apparition site for prayers and reflection. The Church remained a passive, unofficial observer of the Betania apparitions, with no official ecclesiastical investigations conducted as yet. The Betania apparitions remained very much a small “private” occurrence and devotion among a few individuals in the locality.

All this, however, changed, in March 25, 1984. A group of around 150 people gathered in the apparition site at noon to celebrate Holy Mass. After the liturgical celebration, the crowd dispersed. A small group of children were playing near the waterfall at the foot of the hill. Suddenly, they saw the Blessed Virgin appearing over and behind the waterfall. It was a fleeting apparition, after which they immediately ran to relay the news to the other people who were about one hundred and fifty meters away.

They all rushed to the site of the apparition. They were still discussing the news relayed by the children, when the Virgin appeared again, in full view of all present. During that same afternoon, she appeared seven times, each time around five to ten minutes in length. Her last apparition at dusk lasted approximately half an hour.

One notable difference of the Betania apparitions with other apparitions is that unlike in other apparitions wherein the visionaries usually enter a state of ecstasy, the witnesses of the Betania apparitions remained fully conscious and recollected, and were in fact able to talk to each other while seeing the apparition of Our Lady.

News of the group apparition spread rapidly. Floods of people flocked to the apparition site. The Betania apparitions, meanwhile, continued and were especially numerous in 1984 and 1985.

Investigation of the Betania Apparitions

The group apparition of 1984 triggered an official Church investigation. What is also unique with the Betania apparitions is that it was the local Bishop himself, Most Reverend Pio Bello Ricardo, who personally handled the investigation. In his own estimation, the Bishop spent close to 500 personal hours in the investigation, mostly on personally interviewing each of the witnesses.

As a trained psychologist, the Bishop was perfectly qualified for the task at hand: that of interviewing the witnesses, sorting out fact from fiction, identifying valid testimonies while discarding mere hallucinations. In his pastoral letter dated November 21, 1987, he shared his views on this process:

This…obliged me to dedicate much time to this subject, around four hundred to five hundred hours; but I could calmly question approximately two hundred protagonists and collect, study and file three hundred and eighty-one written declarations. Some were collective declarations. The number of people who signed those declarations is four hundred and ninety.

After three years of rigorous investigation, and after consultation with the Vatican, the Bishop declared in a pastoral letter dated November 21, 1987 that the Betania apparitions were “authentic and of a supernatural character.” The bishop likewise took the additional extraordinary measure of formally declaring Betania to be “sacred ground.” As sacred ground, therefore, the site must maintained as a place for prayer, reflection, pilgrimage and worship.

The Visionary

Maria Esperanza, the principal visionary of the Betania apparitions, is considered to be one of the greatest mystics of the 20th century. She died in August 7, 2004 at 75 years of age, after a long bout with Parkinson’s disease.

Maria was showered by many gifts from God, and experienced numerous incredible unexplainable phenomena that defy human and scientific explanation. These phenomena, well-documented and studied by numerous scientists, include the stigmata (the bleeding wounds of Christ in her hands), apparitions, Eucharistic miracles, “reading” souls, foretelling of future events, and stigmata, visions, “reading” souls, healing, bilocation.

These and other gifts are similar to those of Padre Pio, the great 20th century saint and mystic whom Esperanza personally knew when she was a young woman living in Italy with her husband Geo, a native of that country. Even before they had personally met, Padre Pio was reported as saying to many people: “There is a young woman who is going to come from South America. When I leave, she will be your consolation.”

On September 23, 1968, Maria Esperanza had a vision of Padre Pio. In the vision, Padre Pio said to Maria: “Esperanza, I have come to say goodbye. My time has come. It is your turn.” The next day, newspapers around Italy reported that Padre Pio had died.

Maria’s first mystical experienced happened at the age of five, when Saint Therese of Lisieux appeared to her and tossed her a red rose. At age twelve, she became sick with acute bronchial-pneumonia; then, she had a vision of Our Lady of the Valley, Patroness of Margarita Island, and she recovered miraculously.

In her adolescent years, Maris’ health was very poor; she had an acute heart problem. Later on, another illness partially paralyzed her. Twenty-two physicians told her that she had no hope of survival. To the surprise of the doctors, she was miraculously healed – after the Sacred Heart of Jesus appeared to her and gave her the first of hundreds of messages. Maria Esperanza’s numerous prophecies, visions and messages are recorded as a series of interviews published in the book “The Bridge to Heaven.”

Parallel Message and Title with Akita and Amsterdam

The Betania apparitions title of “Mary Reconciler of Peoples and Nations” is similar in essence and theology with the title of Mary in another Church-approved 20th century apparition: the Amsterdam apparitions where Our Lady appeared under the title “Our Lady of All Nations.” They are, in essence, one and the same, but with the difference that the Betania apparitions highlight more Our Lady’s specific role as Mother of Nations – as reconciler of all peoples and active cooperator in the work of redemption.

It must be recalled that in the Amsterdam apparitions, Our Lady specifically requested that a 5th Marian Dogma be declared: Mary as Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate. Bishop Ricardo, in his pastoral letter, explains that Mary’s role as “Reconciler of Peoples and Nations” is because of the fact that she is Co-redemptrix, the cooperator in the plan of redemption: “Being the Blessed Virgin cooperator in the plan of redemption, she must logically be considered as cooperator in reconciliation.”

The Betania apparitions, therefore, are in essence an extension, a reinforcement of the message of Amsterdam: that Mary is Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate, and as such, she is the “Reconciler of Peoples and Nations”.

Other Marian apparitions of the second half of the 20th century likewise reinforce this message and role of Mary as Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate. In the Akita apparitions, just like in the Amsterdam apparitions, the principal image is that of Mary in front of the Cross – highlighting her role as cooperator in the work of redemption.

In the alleged apparitions of the Virgin in Lipa, Batangas, Philippines, Mary appeared to Teresing Castillo under the title “Mediatrix of All Grace.” Although the Lipa apparitions do not have formal Church approval, devotion to Mary under the title “Mediatrix of All Grace” has flourished.

Mary Lives With Us!

Perhaps the most poignant aspect of the Betania apparitions is that the Virgin Mary chose to appear not just to one visionary, but to many people from all walks of life: students, lawyers, doctors, professionals, and others. Furthermore, it was a “public viewing” witnessed by the crowd in a complete state of full consciousness. They remained fully aware and conscious, excitedly talking to each other while seeing the Mother in the flesh.

Our Lady of Cuapa

It is a Marian apparition reported in Cuapa, Nicaragua, from April 15 to October 13, 1980, to Bernardo Martínez, a humble sacristan and rancher.  The visions were approved by local bishops, including Bishop Pablo Antonio Vega of Juigalpa and Bishop Bosco M. Vivas Robelo of Managua, in 1982, affirming the events as worthy of belief. 

The Virgin Mary appeared in a radiant white dress, barefoot, and often surrounded by light, echoing the appearance at Fatima. She delivered a consistent message: pray the Rosary daily, not mechanically, but with reflection and Biblical meditation, especially within families.  She emphasized conversion, peace, forgiveness, and love of neighbor, warning that Nicaragua would suffer if the people did not change.  On October 13, 1980—the anniversary of the last Fatima apparition—she appeared in a luminous circle, and when Bernardo asked her to be seen by others, her face turned pale and her garments gray, symbolizing sorrow over the people’s hardened hearts. 

She also rejected material donations for a church, saying, “The Lord does not want material churches.  He wants living temples, which are yourselves.” The apparitions are seen as a spiritual response to the civil conflict in Nicaragua and a call to personal and national conversion.  The site is now a Diocesan Shrine, attracting pilgrims, and Bernardo Martínez was ordained a priest in 1995. 

Our Lady Appears

In May — the same month as Our Lady first appeared at Fatima — she appeared to Bernardo. Like at Fatima, she would appear other times, the last visit being in October.

Bernardo described how after a lightning flash, there appeared a pure white cloud on which stood Our Lady:

The dress was long and white.  She had a celestial cord around the waist. Long sleeves. Covering her was a veil of a pale cream color with gold embroidery along the edge. Her hands were held together over her breast. It looked like the statue of the Virgin of Fatima. I was immobile. I had no inclination to run to yell. I felt no fear. I was surprised.

He described how “she extended her arms — like the Miraculous Medal which I never had seen, but which later was shown to me. She extended her arms and from her hands emanated rays of light stronger than the sun.”

Similarly, in Our Lady’s first apparition in May at Fatima, Lucia described how Our Lady opened her hands and the children “were bathed in a heavenly light that appeared to come directly from her hands. The light’s reality cut into our hearts and our souls, and we knew somehow that this light was God, and we could see ourselves embraced in it.”

At Cuapa, it seemed Our Lady was echoing Fatima in the same way. Bernardo asked her name. “She answered me with the sweetest voice I have ever heard in any woman, not even in persons who speak softly. She answered me and said that her name is Mary. … She told me with the same sweetness:

I come from heaven. I am the Mother of Jesus.

He asked what she wanted and, like at Fatima, she told him:

I want the Rosary to be prayed every day. … I want it to be prayed permanently, within the family … including the children old enough to understand … to be prayed at a set hour when there are no problems with the work in the home.

Bernardo later explained: “She told me that the Lord does not like prayers we make in a rush or mechanically. Because of that she recommended praying of the Rosary with the reading of biblical citations and that we put into practice the Word of God.” He asked where are biblical citations? “She told me to look for them in the Bible.”

Our Lady continued:

Love each other. Comply with your obligations. Make peace. Don’t ask Our Lord for peace because if you do not make it there will be no peace.

Remember, during her first visit at Fatima on May 13 she told the children, Say the Rosary every day, to bring peace to the world and an end to the war. In July, Our Lady told the Fatima children, Continue to say the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, to obtain the peace of the world and the end of the war, because only she can obtain it. She also said in July, If you do what I tell you, many souls will be saved, and there will be peace.

And the obligations? Might they be daily duties (more later)?

In Cuapa there then came another Fatima connection. Our Blessed Mother told Bernardo:

Renew the five first Saturdays. You received many graces when all of you did this.

Bernardo admitted people had previously gone to Confession and Communion every first Saturday but no longer did so.

Our Lady then said:

Nicaragua has suffered much since the earthquake. She is threatened with even more suffering. She will continue to suffer if you don’t change.

Pray, pray, my son, the Rosary for all the world. Tell believers and non-believers that the world is threatened by grave dangers. I ask the Lord to appease His justice, but, it you don’t change, you will hasten the arrival of the Third World War.

Remember at Fatima during her July apparition Our Lady warned:

This war [World War I] will end, but if men do not refrain from offending God, another and more terrible war will begin during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night that is lit by a strange and unknown light, you will know it is the sign God gives you that He is about to punish the world with war [World War II] and with hunger, and by the persecution of the Church and the Holy Father.

Next Visits

On June 8, the Blessed Mother gave Bernardo “the same message as she had done the first time,” he wrote, then he gave her many requests from the people. “She answered me by saying: Some will be fulfilled, others will not. The petitions and answer echoed those of Lucia and Our Lady at Fatima.

As the Fatima seers saw in the sky the October vision of Our Lady and the Holy Family, here Our Lady directed Bernardo, “Look at the sky.”

He did, and Our Lady “presented something like a movie” during which he felt “transported” and saw different groups of people including those from the early Christian communities now in celestial joy, to the first to receive the Rosary from her, to a present day countless multitude carrying rosaries.

She said:

I have shown you the Glory of Our Lord, and you people will acquire this if you are obedient to Our Lord, to the Lord’s Word; if you persevere in praying the Holy Rosary and put into practice the Lord’s Word.

On July 8 Our Lady appeared in a dream. Bernardo wrote she told him to “pray for Nicaragua and for the whole world because serious dangers threaten it.” Again, echoes of Fatima because of the lack of peace when her directives are ignored.

On Sept. 8, at the place of the apparitions, Our Lady directed Bernardo, Restore the sacred temple of the Lord [meaning ourselves]. In you is the gratification for the Lord. She added: Love each other. Love one another. Forgive each other. Make peace. Don’t first ask for it. Make peace!

“Peace” was mentioned more than once at Fatima, too.

Before leaving, Our Lady told Bernardo she was going to return. On Oct. 13. Again, the Fatima connection. Oct. 13 would be the date of her last appearance in Cuapa as it was at Fatima.

Oct. 13 Apparition

As Bernardo joined by others was praying at the site of the apparitions, Our Lady appeared and “extended her hands and rays of light reached all of us.”

He continued, “She raised her hands to her breast in a similar position to the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows … her face turned pale, her mantle changed to a gray color, her face became sad, and she cried. I cried too. I trembled to see her like that.”

Recall on Oct. 13 at Fatima, Our Lady appeared as Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and also Our Lady of Sorrows.

When Bernardo asked why she was crying, she answered,

It saddens me to see the hardness of those persons’ hearts. But you will have to pray for them so that they will change.

At Fatima on Oct. 13, Our Lady told the children:

People must amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins. They must not offend our Lord any more, for He is already too much offended!

Earlier at Fatima, on July 13, Our Lady similarly directed:

Make sacrifices for sinners, and say often, especially while making a sacrifice: O Jesus, this is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for offences committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

In August she told the children:

Pray, pray very much. Make sacrifices for sinners. Many souls go to hell, because no one is willing to help them with sacrifice.

Returning to Cuapa, in that Oct. 13 visit Our Lady continued, repeating in a different way what she had said before and also echoed Fatima:

Pray the Rosary, meditate on the mysteries.

Listen to the Word of God spoken in them.

Love one another. Love each other.

Forgive each other. Make peace. Don’t ask for peace without making peace; because if you don’t make it, it does no good to ask for it.

Fulfill your obligations. (Fatima’s Lucia revealed this meant doing your daily duties as the sacrifice required.)

Put into practice the Word of God.

Seek ways to please God.

Serve your neighbor as that way you will please him.

 After Our Lady said this, to answer Bernardo’s petitions for people’s requests, she said, in part:

Ask for faith in order to have the strength so that each can carry his own cross. The sufferings of this world cannot be removed. Sufferings are the cross which you must carry. That is the way life is. There are problems with the husband, with the wife, with the children, with the brothers. Talk, converse so that problems will be resolved in peace. Do not turn to violence. Never turn to violence. Pray for faith in order that you will have patience.

Before leaving she repeated, again in ways echoing her message at Fatima:

Do not be grieved. I am with all of you even though you do not see me.

I am the Mother of all of you, sinners. Love one another. Forgive each other.

Make peace, because if you don’t make it there will be no peace.

Do not turn to violence. Never turn to violence.

Nicaragua has suffered a great deal since the earthquake and will continue to suffer if all of you don’t change.

If you don’t change you will hasten the coming of the Third World War. Pray, pray, my son, for all the world.

A mother never forgets her children. And I have not forgotten what you suffer. I am the Mother of all of you, sinners.

Related to that, Our Lady requested that she be beseeched this way: Holy Virgin, you are my Mother, the Mother to all of us sinners…

Our Lady also gave Bernardo this prayer:

St. Mary of Victory, Favorite Daughter of God the Father, give me your faith; Mother of God the Son, give me your hope; Sacred Spouse of God the Holy Spirit, give me your charity and cover us with your mantle.

That title was originally the name of the feast St. Pius V declared after the victory at Lepanto and which was soon changed to the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary — the title with which Mary identified herself at Fatima.

Approval of the Apparitions

In 1982, Auxiliary Bishop Bosco M. Vivas Robelo of the Archdiocese of Managua, authorized the publication of the narration of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Cuapa. Bishop Pablo Antonio Vega Mantilla, of Juigalpa, (the diocese of the apparitions) was studying the authenticity of the events “in order to be able to assist in discerning the true value of the alluded to message.” In 1994 Bishop Robelo who then led the Diocese of Leon stated, “I hereby authorize the publication of the story of the Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Cuapa and the messages given to Bernardo Martinez. … May this publication help those who read it to have an encounter with Jesus Christ in the Church through the mediation of the Mother of Our Lord.” Bernardo Martinez was ordained a priest.

Our Lady of Kibeho Rwanda 1981-89

It is a Catholic title of the Virgin Mary based on Marian apparitions reported in the 1980s by three Rwandan schoolgirls—Alphonsine Mumureke, Nathalie Mukamazimpaka, and Marie Claire Mukangango—at Kibeho College in southwestern Rwanda.  The first apparition occurred on November 28, 1981, and continued until 1989, with the Virgin Mary appearing as Nyina wa Jambo (“Mother of the Word”), synonymous with “Mother of God.” 

The visions included a powerful apocalyptic message warning of a future Rwandan genocide, which tragically came true in 1994 when over 800,000 people were killed in 100 days.  The apparitions are the only Vatican-approved Marian apparition in Africa, officially recognized by Bishop Augustin Misago of Gikongoro on June 29, 2001, and affirmed by the Holy See. 

Key Messages from Our Lady of Kibeho:

Urgent call to repentance and conversion of hearts.

Pray unceasingly, especially the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, which she asked to be spread worldwide.

Embrace suffering as a path to salvation.

Forgive enemies from the heart.

Build a chapel in her honor—now the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Kibeho in Rwanda. 

The feast day of Our Lady of Kibeho is celebrated on November 28, the anniversary of the first apparition.  The site has become a place of pilgrimage and remembrance, especially after two massacres at the Kibeho church and refugee camp during the genocide. 

Our Lady of the Rosary Argentina 1983

On 25 September 1983, a mother named Gladys Quiroga de Motta, while praying the Rosary in San Nicolás de los Arroyos (Argentina), saw the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus. It was the first of a long series of apparitions. On 27 November Gladys saw a statue of the Virgin and Child. Later, accompanied by Father Carlos Pérez, she recognized it to be identical to the one preserved – awaiting restoration – in the bell tower of the cathedral of San Nicolás. “They have forgotten me, but I have risen”, the Virgin had told her, presenting herself as Our Lady of the Rosary. It was a wooden statue that had been blessed a century earlier by Leo XIII and donated by a woman to the Cathedral of San Nicolás, consecrated in 1884. The Virgin also indicated the place where a sanctuary was to be built, whose work was started by Bishop Domingo Salvador Castagna.

After a long period of theological investigation, the apparitions were finally recognised as having supernatural character by Bishop Héctor Cardelli. In the decree of 22 May 2016 Monsignor Cardelli explained the reasons for his decision, which was based on the perfect adherence of the messages to Catholic doctrine, the proven virtues of the visionary, and the abundant spiritual fruits (conversions, spirit of prayer and charity) generated since the beginning, 33 years earlier, of the apparitions. So he concluded: “(…) as a diocesan bishop competent for this type of pronouncement, motivated by a sense of just conscience (…) I recognise the supernatural character of the happy events by which God, through His beloved Daughter, Jesus through His Most Holy Mother, the Holy Spirit, through His beloved Bride, has lovingly manifested Himself in our Diocese”.

In her messages, the Virgin several times explicitly recalls the mission of Lourdes and Fatima and points out that turning away from God is the cause of all the evils of humanity. What she said on 15 September 1989, the day of Our Lady of Sorrows, is an example of her messages. She explained that in these times “my sorrows are: rejection of my Son, atheism, lack of charity, babies who are not born, misunderstanding in families, the great selfishness of so many children in the world, their hearts still closed to the Love of this Mother” (click here).[1]

The Virgin often ends her messages by indicating precise passages from the Holy Scriptures. She frequently exhorts young people not to let themselves be deceived by the Evil One and to discover God’s love. “I see youths drifting away, the devil drives them away, leading them to sin”, she says on 12 December 1984. Therefore she asks “to pray for the youths of the world who have not met God. For those who behave degradingly, for those who are badly advised. The Lord can redeem them because He is merciful and loves His children” (31 January 1984). The way that Our Lady shows to everyone is “conversion to God” and “consecration to my Mother’s Heart” (9 July 1987). At other times it is Jesus who manifests Himself to Gladys, confirming the maternal mission, as on 19 November 1987, when He explains to the visionary that “souls will come to Me through Her Immaculate Heart”.

Divorce and abortion are among the great evils about which our heavenly Mother warns us. Thus, on 24 November 1985, after having given glory to God for those who honour marriage, she warns that those who divorce “commit a very serious sin, an attack against God, because this is a unique and indissoluble bond”. And on 7 March 1987, she exhorts Gladys to pray “for creatures that are not born” because “there are so many abortions, so many attacks on lives that belong only to God!”

All these sins are multiplying while at the same time the attacks against the institution founded by Christ to proclaim the Truth – the Church – are increasing in the world. “Despite my great sorrow to see with what cruelty the Church is being attacked, I am fighting to save her,” said the Blessed Virgin on 1 November 1986. Eight days later she asked for a novena for the Bride of Christ: “Today more than ever she suffers the most horrible persecutions”, warns the Virgin, but adds that soon the Church will “shine like the brightest star”.

Another uncomfortable message for contemporary society is the indissoluble bond between love and the cross, which must be accepted on every earthly day in view of eternity. “The Lord has prepared, my daughter, for each one their own path. A great truth is that on every path there is a cross, and it is this same cross that must be carried with love and offered to the Lord. One does not reach God except through suffering, and even less does one come to love God if one does not recognize that it is through the cross that one will reach His Glory […]” (19 August 1987).Recurrent is the reminder about the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and the infinite value of the Holy Mass, in which Our Lady asks to participate “every day or at least once a week” (15 September 1984). The fruits will be abundant. In the Holy Mass, explains the Heavenly Mother on August 3, 1985, “you will be nourished by the Bread of Life, which is Christ Jesus. Feed on Him, no plague will come to you from outside, for Jesus will destroy it”.