Apparition of Saint Nicolás de Arroyos Recognized Officially by the Church

(Buenos Aires) The Apparitions of San Nicolás de los Arroyos in Argentina have been recognized. The competent diocesan bishop, Msgr. Hector Sabatino Cardelli, recognized the supernatural character of the events on Sunday, May 22.

San Nicolás de los Arroyos is located approximately 250 kilometers northwest of Buenos Aires and is the capital of a separate diocese of the ecclesiastical province Rosario. Since 1983 the Mother of God has appeared to a mother, Gladys Quiroga de Motta. The seer, a simple woman who is now already a grandmother, has the stigmata of Jesus.

Stigmatized seer

Gladys Quiroga de Motta submitted to obedience to ecclesiastical authority from the beginning. Annually an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary appears in  the same day. Most recently, 250,000 believers gathered on this particular day.

Gladys Quiroga de Motta lives in utmost seclusion and spends most of the day in prayer. The reigning Bishop of San Nicolás de los Arroyos, Msgr. Hector Sabatino Cardelli have already celebrated Holy Masses and led processions to to the place on the river Paraná, where a large church is built. The order for this have been received from the Blessed Mother by the stigmatist.

A spring was found said place, as indicated by the publication. Church history is replete with such visions, where the Blessed Mother appears to the  faithful, demands the establishment of a church and names the exact building site. In such places arose pilgrimage sites which drew numerous faithful to pilgrimage and pray.

White Scapular for those who suffer in body and soul

The Statue of San Nicolas de Arroyos

The white scapular of Gladys Quiroga de Motta is recognized by ecclesiastical authority, which is designated according to the Marian apparition in a special way for those who suffer in body and soul.

Father Carlos Pérez, the spiritual director of the stigmatized, has always been convinced of the authenticity of her statements. So far, more than 1,800 messages have been made, which were given to the seer according to  instructions. Their publication has been authorized by the former bishop of San Nicolas, Msgr. Domingo Salvador Castagna, bishop of 1984-1994. Bishop Castagna said at the time: "I firmly believe that it is an event of the Virgin Mary."

Now his successor has recognized the supernatural character of the apparitions of San Nicolás. A few days ago, Bishop Cardelli led the second diocesan annual pilgrimage to the new Church of St. Mary of the Rosary. On this occasion he announced the official recognition of the phenomenon. The Church had examined the event in the past for more than 30 years and checked it accurately. It was in followed in a process by the prescribed critea of the universal Church. The Chur h considers three questions in such events: "Is a phenomenon of natural origin, it is a work of the devil, or it is of supernatural origin?" The answer to these questions is in the specific case, constat de supernaturalitate. The apparitions are definitely given of a supernatural character.

Maria "Forever Queen and Mistress"

Recognition decree of the Apparitions

The assessment of such a phenomena is the responsibility and authority of the local bishop. As such, Bishop Cardelli, speaks with the judgment of the Church. The Apparitions of San Nicolás de los Arroyos are now among the officially recognized supernatural apparitions by the Catholic Church. The messages have been recognized as authentic. The recognition by the Church does not mean that believers have to believe in the messages or the authenticity. They are not part of the divine revelation.

The decree of approval of Bishop Cardelli ends with the words:

"Finally, and has just as the holy Virgin Mother of God asked, I beg to heaven on behalf of the whole diocese, that she may be forever the Queen and Mistress of San Nicolás de los Arroyos."

The Diocese of San Nicolás de los Arroyos was established in 1947 by Pope Pius XII. from parts of the former archdiocese of La Plata and what is today the Archdiocese of Mercedes. It has 422,000 Catholics, which corresponds to 92 percent of the population. There are 101 diocesan and 13 religious priests active in the diocese.

The number of priests has risen since the mid-80s, when the apparitions began, by 70 percent. Initially there was one priest to 7,100 faithful, now there is one for every 3,700 faithful m.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Image: Wikicommons / Diocese of San Nicolas de los Arroyos

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Madonnas Who Weep Blood

The ZDF (German Television Two) is showing a three part series about the miracles and unusual occurances in the Church -- following an idea from Andreas Englisch -- First part is available -- kathTube-special: The Tears of the Madonna of Syracuse.

Mainz [kath.net] Madonnas weeping blood, people, who are suddenly cured of serious illnesses or supposedly bear the wounds of Jesus: Are the unexplained phenomena signs of God's influence or deception of charlatanry? And why does the Catholic Church need miracles? The three part documentary "Power of Miracles -- The Secrets of the Vatican" began yesterday, Tuesday, the 26th of October. The following episodes are set for Tuesday at 20.15. The idea for the film comes finally from Andreas Englisch, the former Vatican Correspondent of the newspaper BILD.

The investigation follows authors Volker Schmidt-Sonderman and Peter Syudow in the wings of the Vatican, but also the holy sites throughout the entire world. People explain initially "their" miracles for the camera, experts contracted by ZDF attempt to explain the miracles with scientific methods. And finally it gets to the question, why Pope John Paul II., who more people raise "to the honor of the altars" than any of his predecessors, is to be canonized.

Part I, "When Madonnas Weep", explains among other things a story from Civitavecchia, where in 1995 a statue of the Mother of God in the garden of the family Gregori should have wept blood for give consecutive days.. Thousands of pilgrims have drawn to this village north of Rome. Actually, the Vatican doesn't recognize the "miracle". The statue was taken away and medically tested -- proof can not be obtained. Only one "weeping miracle" has been recognized by the Vatican up to this point, it is said to have happened in 1953 in Syracuse, Sicily. The ZDF-Three part series takes the objections and shows exciting components: how does the strict Congregation decide what are miracles, and which are not? Which role does the "voice of the people" play? And why did John Paul II have a Marian statue brought from Civitavecchia to Rome, in order to pray to her?

Part 2, "When those marked by death come back to life", runs on Tuesday, November 2nd, 20.15 hrs, among other things in the Marian Shrine of Medjugorje, where the Mother of God is said to regularly appear before six seers. More than fifty million people, among them many priests, have pilgrimaged, to a site which the Vatican has refused recognition.

"Who fights with the devil" is the title of the 3rd part of the documentary, which will air at the same time as the previous two. One of the features of this show will be the Capuccin priest, Padre Pio, who was canoized by John Paul II. in 2002 . This was astonishing, above all for the reason that his predecessor held Padre Pio, who is said to have born the wounds of Jesus and had the power of bilocation, for a swindler and a cheat.

Video of the Madonna Weeping of Syracuse.

Muslims and Christians Flock To See Mary In Cairo

Our Lady is appearing to Copts in the poorest neighborhoods of Cairo. She doesn't say anything, but her presence speaks nonetheless. Like children, the Copts and some Muslims crowd around her mantel, seeking protection, maternal love and hope. The following is from "The Watchers Lamp" blog.

(ANSAmed) - CAIRO - Exorcisms and alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary are occurring in Cairo, in two of the city's poorest neighbourhoods, and the two phenomena are drawing in throngs of the faithful, mostly Christian Copts but Muslims as well. The most recent event is the one which occurred last Friday in the El Waaraq neighbourhood, located in the Giza area. The Egyptian Gazette reports that many claim to have personally witnessed the Virgin Mary on the roof of St. Michaels church with her arms opening in their direction, while the smell of incense and a flock of doves surrounded the area. This event allegedly occurred at least twice, but a Church appointee was unable to capture it on video. People are now awaiting for the return of Copt pope Shenouda III to return to Cairo from the USA on the day after tomorrow. He is expected to set up a committee that will look into the alleged apparitions, and to decide on the now sizeable amount of money offered by the faithful.



http://watcherslamp.blogspot.com/

The Catholic Shrine in Africa, Sister to Lourdes

The Standard | Online Edition :: The Catholic shrine that knows no faith

Palestinian Nun raised to the Altars

AP) – 23 hours ago

NAZARETH, Israel — A Palestinian nun who co-founded a charity dedicated to educating Arab girls on Sunday took an important step toward sainthood.

Thousands of worshippers gathered in the biblical town of Nazareth to attend the beatification of the late Sister Maria Alfonsina Danil Ghattas.

Ghattas helped found the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem in the 1880s. The order, highly regarded in Palestinian communities, continues to run schools for Palestinian girls in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Ghattas died in Jerusalem in 1927 at the age of 83.

During Sunday's ceremony, the church unveiled a portrait of Ghattas.

Pope Benedict XVI approved the beatification in July — the final step before sainthood.

"The beatification of such an important figure of a woman is a particular comfort for the Catholic community in the Holy Land," Benedict said during his traditional Sunday noon blessing in St. Peter's Square.


Article here...

Who was Sister Marie Alphonsine Ghatta?

On November 22, Sister Marie Alphonsine will be solemnly beatified in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. This is an opportunity to reflect on the life of this girl from Jerusalem to whom the Holy Virgin inspired the founding of the Congregation of the Rosary Sisters , the only indigenous religious community in the Holy Land.
Sultanah Maria Ghattas was born in Jerusalem on the 4th of October, 1843, and baptized on the 19th of November the same year. On 18th July, 1852, she received the Sacrament of Confirmation from the hands of His Beatitude Giuseppe Valerga, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

At the age of 14, she joined the Congregation of St. Joseph of the Apparition as a Postulant. On the 30th of June, 1860, she received the Holy Habit of the Religious of St. Joseph of the Apparition. Two years later, in 1862, she pronounced her three vows. In Bethlehem where she was assigned, she was entrusted with the teaching of Catechism. Besides, she founded Confraternities and Associations and promoted the devotion to Our Lady through the prayer of the Rosary.

She was favored with several apparitions of Our Lady who revealed to Mother Marie Alphonsine Her desire to begin the Congregation of the Rosary. The Virgin Mary appointed Fr. Joseph Tannous as her Director to administer the Congregation of the Rosary.

Read further her story...