Newsletter N. 3/26 – What does Maria Valtorta have to do with Ireland?
The Shrine of Our Lady of Knock is dedicated to the only Marian apparition recognized by the Church in Ireland.
Its story is—as with all apparitions of the Blessed Virgin—quite unique: in Knock (known in Irish as “Cnoc Mhuire,” “Mary’s Hill”), a long and complex apparition took place, yet… words fail to describe it! It was August 21, 1879, around 8:00 p.m., when fifteen people ranging in age from 5 to 74—most of them from the village—witnessed this extraordinary phenomenon, not on a field or a lawn, but on one of the walls of the parish church! Maria Beirne, the caretaker of the little church, was the first to notice the apparition: she observed that it was nearly half a meter off the ground and that the image was moving. It was she who alerted the people so they would rush over to see. It rained heavily throughout the entire duration of the vision, and since it lasted nearly three hours, everyone ended up soaked to the skin. However, not a single drop of rain fell on the wall where the vision appeared. “The entire back wall of the church was bathed in a brilliant light that could be seen from a considerable distance. Everything rose about two feet (61 cm) above the ground. There was an altar, and above it stood a Lamb holding a Cross. The altar and the Lamb were surrounded by angels hovering higher up. Around them were golden stars or small bright lights that sparkled like glass beads.” “To the left of the altar were three figures: St. Joseph on the left, the Virgin Mary in the center, and St. John the Evangelist on the right. St. Joseph’s hair and beard were gray, and he was bowing respectfully toward Mary. St. John was dressed as for Mass; he wore a bishop’s miter on his head, held a book in his left hand, and his right hand was raised in a gesture of blessing. Our Lady was life-size; the other two were smaller.” “Our Lady’s eyes were fixed on the sky, and both her hands were outstretched upward. Mary was beautiful. She wore a white dress and a white sash. A veil fell from the back of her head down to her feet. She wore a golden crown on her head. Between the crown and the hem of the veil was a golden rose. Mary was almost iridescent.” Many healings and more than 600 miracles have been documented at the shrine. The parish priest at the time—who remained in that role until his death—was known for his deep devotion to the Virgin Mary and worked tirelessly to assist the growing number of pilgrims: it is said that there were 1.2 million faithful on the feast day. “The apparition at Knock is a powerful message of hope for all Christians; it invites us to reflect on the importance of the Eucharist, to live the message of the Gospel, and to lift our eyes to Heaven in humble and trusting prayer. Our Lady of Knock continues to grant hope and healing to many pilgrims.”
La sua storia è – come per tutte le apparizioni della Vergine Santa – alquanto singolare: a Knock (in irlandese chiamato ‘Cnoc Mhuire’, ‘la collina di Maria’), è avvenuta una lunga e articolata apparizione, in cui però… mancano le parole! Era il 21 agosto 1879, verso le ore 20.00, quando quindici persone di età compresa tra i 5 e i 74 anni – la maggior parte dei quali del paese – assistettero a questo fenomeno straordinario, non su un terreno o un prato, ma su uno dei muri della chiesa parrocchiale! Maria Beirne, la responsabile della chiesetta, notò per prima l’apparizione: osservò che era a quasi mezzo metro da terra e che l’immagine si muoveva. Fu lei ad avvertire le persone perché accorressero a vedere. Per tutto il tempo della visione piovve a dirotto, e siccome durò quasi tre ore, tutti finirono zuppi d’acqua. Tuttavia sul muro della visione non cadde una sola goccia di pioggia. “Tutto il muro posteriore della chiesa era inondato da una luce brillante che poteva essere vista da una notevole distanza. Tutto si elevava a circa due piedi (61 cm) da terra. C’era un altare e, al di sopra di esso, un Agnello in piedi con una Croce. L’altare e l’Agnello erano circondati da angeli sospesi più in alto. Intorno ad essi c’erano stelle dorate o piccole luci brillanti che scintillavano come palline di vetro”. “A sinistra dell’altare c’erano tre figure: San Giuseppe a sinistra, la Madonna al centro e San Giovanni Evangelista a destra. I capelli e la barba di San Giuseppe erano grigi, ed egli era inchinato rispettosamente verso Maria. San Giovanni era vestito come per la Messa, sul capo indossava una mitria vescovile, aveva un libro nella mano sinistra e la sua mano destra era elevata in gesto di benedizione. La Madonna era a grandezza naturale; gli altri due erano più piccoli”. “Gli occhi della Madonna fissavano il cielo ed entrambe le sue mani erano protese verso l’alto. Maria era bellissima. Indossava un vestito e una cintura bianchi. Dalla parte posteriore della testa cadeva un velo lungo fino ai Suoi piedi. Sopra la testa aveva una corona dorata. Tra la corona e l’orlo del velo c’era una rosa dorata. Maria era quasi iridescente”. Nel santuario sono stati documentati molte guarigioni e più di 600 miracoli. Il parroco di allora – che restò tale fino alla sua morte – era conosciuto per la sua particolare devozione alla Vergine Maria e lavorò instancabilmente per assistere il crescente numero di pellegrini: si parla di un milione e duecentomila fedeli nel giorno della festa. “L’apparizione di Knock è un potente messaggio di speranza per tutti i cristiani, ci invita a riflettere sull’importanza dell’Eucaristia, a vivere il messaggio del Vangelo e ad elevare i nostri occhi al Cielo, in una preghiera umile e fiduciosa. La Madonna di Knock continua a concedere speranza e guarigione a molti pellegrini”.
A significant coincidence was also noted: August 21, 1879, is the day on which Pope Leo XIII granted the coronation of the image of Our Lady of La Salette, “where the Blessed Virgin predicted in 1846 the famine and potato shortage that occurred throughout Europe, but especially in Ireland, where more than a million people died between 1845 and 1850.”
The symbolism speaks volumes: the Virgin Mary’s outstretched hands as an invitation to pray; her eyes turned toward heaven to signify the importance of the Kingdom of God for every person; silence, which is the very symbol of humility, of which St. John the Evangelist and St. Joseph are the embodiment and model; furthermore, the former emphasizes the importance of the Gospel, which is both mystical and realistic, and the latter, Patron of the Universal Church, the concreteness of the help that can be obtained even in the material aspects of life through the intercession of the saints; then there is the symbolism of the sacrificed Lamb and the Cross: the redemption wrought by Jesus Christ, indispensable for the salvation of every person; the altar reveals to us the necessity of the liturgy, which makes redemption itself present, especially in the Holy Mass; finally, the angels express the spiritual life in which every person must live and the truth of the Kingdom of God. In short, a substantial portion of catechism presented through symbolic images that everyone can understand, now reimagined both in an imposing mosaic inside the Shrine and in large statues in the Chapel of the Apparition.
These magnificent statues, carved from the whitest Tuscan marble, bring us back to the subject of Maria Valtorta, with a very special connection: they were sculpted between 1960 and 1963 by none other than Lorenzo Ferri—the very artist who gave visual form to some of the visions of the mystic from Viareggio!
That is why, in this town in County Mayo—in the northwest of the Emerald Isle and almost overlooking the ocean—the first International Irish Conference on Maria Valtorta was held on Saturday, May 16. Robert Nugent, who for several years now has been a true “missionary” for Valtorta in his homeland and beyond, promoted and organized the event with diligence and foresight to ensure that everything ran smoothly, and his efforts were richly rewarded by its great success: it is worth noting the active participation of numerous Valtorta readers, newcomers interested in her work, and several priests.
The speakers were divided between those who were able to attend in person—Prof. Emilio Matricciani, Eng. Lucia Martinucci, and myself—and those who submitted a video contribution or participated via live stream—Prof. Liberato De Caro and Prof. Steve Austin—moderated, as previously mentioned, by the excellent Robert Nugent, an effective and attentive chairman. The topics covered almost all concerned the scientific basis of Valtorta’s writings, with the exception of one presentation on the connection between Maria Valtorta and St. Ignatius of Loyola.
This first major Valtortian event was certainly important for Ireland, but also for all of us, inspired to be ever and ceaselessly missionaries of the New Evangelization through the writings of Maria Valtorta. With a heart full of gratitude for this splendid day, I therefore hope that conferences and congresses of this kind may be held in all—truly all—the nations of the world.
— fr. Ernesto Zucchini
[This text was automatically translated by Deepl.com – quotes included]