Apparitions of the Virgin Mary

Andrew Allen

Ms. Schmidt

Honors English 9

5/1/17
 In 1981, the Virgin Mary appeared to 6 children in Medjugorje, a village in Bosnia and

Herzegovina. This is considered a Marian apparition as there has been others before. One other

example is when Mary appeared to St. Catherine Lebour in Paris on November 27, 1830, and

told her to construct medals with her image on them. In Left to Tell, Immaculee Ilibagiza has a

deep connection with Mary as well. Mary has made herself known to people in many cases,

included apparitions in Paris and Medjugorje, as well as connecting with people such as

Immaculee Ilibagiza.

In the small village of Medjugorje in then communist Yugoslavia, on June 24, 1981,

Ivanka Ivankovi noticed a woman on a hill and pointed it out to her friend, Mirjana Dragievi.

The next day, they came back with more people and the Virgin Mary appeared to six visionaries.

She has now consistently given them messages in the thirty six years since, with the most recent

being on April 25, 2017. In terms of the legitimacy of these apparitions, the Catholic church has

not yet investigated the occurrences since they are ongoing. When monitored, the visionaries

went into an alternate state of mind during the apparitions. Many Catholics and even people of

different faith have started to make pilgrimages to Medjugorje to witness these apparitions.

Mary has entrusted the visionaries with ten secrets regarding the world that they are not allowed

to share. Three of the visionaries have received all ten secrets and have apparitions yearly, with

the exception of Mirjana, who has apparitions on the second day of every month. As for the

other three, Mary appears to them every day at 6:40 P.M. When the apparitions have stopped,

there will be three warnings to the world, which will be in Mirjanas lifetime. Ms. Dragievi is

currently 52 years old, so these warnings will probably come within the next fifty years at some
point. The event has been speculated to have to do with the end of world, but Mirjana has hinted

that we can not necessarily just assume that it is the end of the world.

In 1830, in Paris, Mary appeared to St. Catherine Lebour. She stood on a globe and

commanded that medals be constructed. These had an image of a cross with an M on a cross,

with an image of Mary on the other side. The medals were constructed in 1832, with the

approval of the church. Mary told Lebour these medals, when worn, would bring great

blessings, especially when worn around the neck. These blessing were given to those who wore

the medal and soon the medals had high demand. Overall, Mary appeared to St. Catherine

Lebour and had her make medals that gave great blessings.

Both of these stories relate to Ilibagizas connection to the Virgin Mary and God. She

uses prayer and religion as a tool to survive during her horrifying genocide experience. One

example of this helping her is when she thinks to pull the wardrobe in front of the door of the

bathroom so the killers do not realize that there is a door there. She says it came from a vision.

I couldnt remember if Id ever seen the pastors wardrobe before, but I knew for certain that

the idea to move it came to me when I prayed for help. (Ilibagiza 82) This quotes proves how

God is present in our everyday lives and how he helped Ilibagiza through prayer. She

specifically references her relationship with Mary in this quote, I especially loved the Virgin

Mary, believing that she was my second mom, watching out for me from heaven. (Ilibagiza 6)

Ilibagiza has evidence of God and Mary being present on earth, just how the apparitions show

this presence.

In conclusion, in the case of Medjugorje, the Miraculous Medal, and Ilibagizas story, it

is clear that God and especially Mary have influence in presence on earth.
 Works Cited

"Detailed Description of Our Lady, the Queen of Peace, as She Appears in Medjugorje."

Medjugorje | Detailed Description of Our Lady. Web. 27 Apr. 2017.

Ilibagiza, Immaculeee, and Steve Erwin. Left to Tell: Discovering God amidst the Rwandan

Holocaust. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, 2014. Print.

"The Miracle of the Miraculous Medal: Designed and Revealed by the Blessed Virgin." Central

Association of the Miraculous Medal. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.

"Overview of Medjugorje." Medjugorje Pilgrimages. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.