The miracles of the Most Holy Theotokos today never cease to amaze and delight Christians, and her help comes to all Christians who pray near Her icons.

Help of the Mother of God

A simple girl, Maria, was one of the first women on the planet who gave her heart to God from childhood. Remaining a virgin, she was constantly in prayer, devoting her life to Jesus, the Savior of all people.

A world in which fornication, civil marriages, same-sex relationships have become the norm and are even protected by law will never understand the sacrificial feat of the practically little girl Mary, because she was only 14 years old at the time of her marriage. Not everyone can accommodate this (Matthew 19:1)

Blessed Virgin Mary

Having become the earthly Mother of Jesus, after His Ascension, the Virgin Mary continued to serve the love of Her Son, showing the followers of the King of Kings an example of such character qualities:

• humility;
• self-control;
• responsiveness;
• sacrifice;
• patience;
• unshakable faith.

The help of the Mother of God was granted both to the surviving apostles and to ordinary people who lived during the difficult time of Christian persecution. According to eyewitnesses, the miracles of the Most Holy Theotokos continue today, just as they have for 2000 years.

Icons of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

Feasts of the Virgin Mary associated with her miracles

The celebration of the Protection of the Mother of God (October 14) is one of the great venerations of the Mother of God, which is celebrated by Christians of many denominations. The Blachernae Icon of the Mother of God, which was located in the temple of the same name, was the protector of the people of that region for several centuries.

626 - Constantinople was besieged by the Avars, people in deep sadness constantly prayed and made religious processions around the temple, led by Patriarch Sergius and Constantine the Third, carrying the icon of the Virgin Mary.

Blachernae Icon of the Mother of God

During one of these campaigns, the residents were surprised by the sudden flight of the Avars. It turned out that the leaders and ordinary warriors saw the image of a woman dressed in precious jewelry, standing on the city walls.

• 718 - The Mother of God saves the city from the siege of the Arabs.
• 864 The Russes besieged the city from the sea, Emperor Michael the Third, by whose order the Robe of the Mother of God was lowered into the sea with prayers and chants, watched as a sudden storm arose, causing a storm that scattered the enemy fleet like matchboxes.
• 910 - Saracens (Muslims) besieged Constantinople. Services in the temple were conducted around the clock, and, as St. Andrew, at 4 o’clock in the morning all the people present in the temple saw the Mother of God, accompanied by John the Baptist and John the Theologian.

The majestic trinity knelt near the pulpit, while the Mother of God wept bitterly, asking the Savior for mercy for the city. After the prayer, the Mother of God threw the veil from her head over her hands and covered everyone present with it. The Saracens immediately fled.

Since that time, Orthodox Christians have honored the Feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God.

About other Mother of God holidays:

Apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Portugal and Her Three Mysteries

From May to October 1917, every time on the 13th, three shepherd boys from the city of Fatima in Portugal not only saw a bright light, the Holy Face, but received a message from the Blessed Virgin, known in history as the “Three Mysteries”.

One of their children, Lucia Santos, became a Catholic nun and, at the behest of the Bishop of Lori, in 1941 she wrote down notes on the first Prophecies; she wrote down the third message in 1943 with the condition of its opening 20 years later.

A commentary on the third secret was subsequently given by Cardinal Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict the Sixteenth, which, along with a description of all three secrets, can be found on the Vatican website.

Secret prophecies

In the first vision, the Mother of God showed all the pictures of hell in the form of a huge fiery sea, where demons ruled. Human souls, represented by embers, screamed and moaned. Only the previous promise of the Most Pure One to take the children to Heaven gave them the strength to survive what they saw.

Fatima prophecies - the appearance of the Virgin Mary

The second secret was the prophecy about the Second World War, which might not have happened if the USSR had repented and accepted the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary.

The third message was transmitted through an Angel holding a fiery sword in his hand, from the tip of which tongues of fire erupted. The flame constantly rushed to the ground, but died out when it touched the palm of the Most Pure Mother.

The angel shouted for people to repent. Then the children saw a procession of the priesthood and many people led by the Holy Father, who prayed for the people, wept bitterly over the sick, and upon reaching the cross on the top of the mountain was killed.

In 1981, Pope John Paul II was stabbed while visiting Fatima and, according to the pontiff, was saved only by the Holy Virgin. At the request of the Pope, nun Lucia gave him the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God from the Fatima Church.

Egyptian miracle of the appearance of the Blessed Mary

Volumes can be written about the testimonies of people who have seen the image of the Holy Mother over two thousand years. Many Egyptians saw this miracle. The small village of Zeytun “stuck” to the huge Cairo, the capital of Egypt, and would have remained unknown to few people in the world if not for the appearance of the Mother of God.

In this village, the Church of Our Lady of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in 1925, although the Arabs are Monophysites who believe only in the Divine nature of Jesus.

One of the parishioners of the temple dreamed of Saint Mary and promised to appear in a few decades. It was 1968, half past eight in the evening on April 2, two Muslims were preparing their carts for a new day, when a wondrous light illuminated the dome of the temple and they saw a woman who at first was mistaken for a sleepwalker or a suicide.

Arabs came running to the light and saw how the woman bent over the cross, began to pray, and then hovered up and down around the temple. The people cried out in one voice: “Most Pure Virgin!”, some parishioners rushed to the priest’s home. Ayat Ibrahim was the rector of the temple at that time, and he was given the grace to see the Holy Face in a golden-blue glow through an open window.

Miracle in Zeitoun

Until August 1969, the Most Pure Virgin showed Her Face twice a week; there is evidence of this from more than 350 thousand people.

Everyone who saw this miracle received healing. Even photographs of this Divine gift from Heaven have been preserved.

Yugoslavia, Lviv and Egypt again

The mountain in Medugorje, Yugoslavia, became the site of a real pilgrimage in the summer of 1981, when more than 10 thousand people simultaneously saw the shining image of the Mother of God, many received healing and answers to their prayers.

Visions of the Virgin Mary in Yugoslavia

After this, the Holy Virgin was seen only by young people to whom She left messages, their main meaning - Live in peace, repent, return to God in fasting and prayers! The once communist Yugoslavia has become a Christian country.

Easter 1985 became a historical event in the history of the Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Lviv. Metropolitan John held an Easter service, attended by thousands of people, during which suddenly one of the windows was illuminated by a bright shining light, which gradually emerged into the image of the Virgin.

Frightened and at the same time delighted, the Christians began to loudly offer prayers and hymns to the Mother of God. The same Face was visible from the outside. The news of the miracle instantly spread throughout the city, people began to flock to the temple, which the police tried to disperse.

The beautiful vision was accompanied by messages from the Virgin Mary for more than 20 days, during which time everyone present in that place received healing from illness.

The miracles and help of the Blessed Virgin today are confirmed by witnesses to the events of early September 2000, which occurred again in Egypt.

The dome of the Church of St. Mark, located in the city of Lycopolis, was illuminated every night by the Face of the Holy Virgin in the radiance of a flock of doves. A bright light flooded nearby streets and houses, which confused city authorities, who saw the miracle as machinations of the Orthodox Church. After the city was cut off from electricity, God's light continued to illuminate everything around, giving healing to sick people and cripples.

Miracles in the modern world

In 1988, France was shocked by the miracle of olive oil pouring out at every prayer of Basham Afache, an employee of one of the French entrepreneurs. During preparation for the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, Basham cleaned his home church, constantly praying. Suddenly the worker heard a voice saying that he had been given grace and a gift, and at the same time oil flowed down his hands.

The Parisian Church of St. Stephen witnessed an outpouring of oil that lasted for an hour.

At the request of the abbot, the liquid was examined by scientists. In conclusion, they wrote that the oil does not have an external source, and there is no scientific or logical explanation for this.

Many Orthodox believers testify to the healings bestowed by the Mother of God through prayers near Her Holy Faces:

• a woman, after praying at the “Unquenchable Candle” icon, safely gave birth to a child;
• another parishioner, Zhenya Sidyakova, left her stick near the same icon and went home on healthy legs;

• Galya Marchenko and Nina Shchedyavin, residents of Moscow, testify to the strengthening of faith during the enlightenment of the “Goalkeeper” icon.

It is impossible in one article to list all the miracles and help provided by Saint Mary to those asking near Her icons at the present time. People thank for such miracles:

• healing;
• gaining faith;
• return of a missing person;
• getting rid of cancer;
• liberation from all types of addictions;
• creating a family;
• relief from infertility and much more.

In almost every corner of the globe, at different times, the Most Pure Virgin appeared to people.

The name of the Holy Faces of the Mother of God means the place of her appearance, Pochaevskaya, Iverskaya, Kazanskaya, Vladimirskaya, Georgianskaya, Jerusalemskaya, Ilyinsko-Chernigovskaya and many others.

The icons were named after the miracles given to the world: Bogolyubskaya, Search for the Lost, All-Tsaritsa, Worthy There are others, and each of them gave a spiritual miracle in its own way. To this day, the Bright Face of the Mother of God comes to the aid of all those who ask with a pure heart and faith in the soul.

True faith, life according to the laws of God work miracles, then in the most difficult moments of life God, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the Mother of God help.

Miracle of faith - the appearance of the Virgin Mary

There is hardly a single person in the world who has not heard of Virgin Mary. From the first days after her dormition to this day, the Blessed Virgin Mary helps Christians. According to the Holy Scriptures, the Mother of God, appearing to the apostles on the third day after Her Dormition, told them: “Rejoice, I will be with you all the days.”

It is noted that apparition of the Virgin Mary most often coincide with some future catastrophes, wars and other large-scale disasters.

The Virgin Mary supposedly warns people of danger. Most often She appears in the form of a light female silhouette, as if woven from a haze. According to church scriptures, Jesus crucified on the cross entrusted His Mother to the care of John the Evangelist, his beloved disciple, and all humanity to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

There is an opinion that the Mother of God does not appear to everyone, but only to those who deeply believe and listen to her advice. Of course, this Divine miracle, like all other miracles, is subject to criticism and disbelief by skeptics. But be that as it may, there are known cases when Divine help contributed to the salvation of people.

SENORA GUADELUPE

In Latin America, the most revered shrine is the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. She is considered the patroness of both Americas and is called: “Our Lady Guadalupe.” It all started in December 1531, when 17-year-old Indian Juan Diego, walking to morning mass past Tepeyac Hill, heard someone singing from above.

Climbing the hill, the young man saw a young woman who looked more like his fellow tribesmen than a Spanish woman. The woman seemed to be inside a shining cloud. She introduced herself as the Mother of God. For four days in a row, the Mother of God appeared to Juan Diego, turning to the young man with a request that a church be built on this hill, where everyone could honor her Son, Jesus Christ.

However, the priests decided that the young man was simply fantasizing, because the Indians, as the Spaniards then believed, had no soul, which means that the Virgin Mary could not appear to them.

Then the Virgin Mary ordered the Indian to collect flowers on a rocky hill. The young man obeyed meekly, even though he knew very well that nothing grew there. And suddenly he saw a rose bush growing right on the stone. “Here is My sign,” said the Virgin Mary. “Take these roses, wrap them in your cloak and take them to the bishop.” This time he will believe you."

When Juan Diego unrolled his cloak in front of the bishop, everyone present fell to their knees: the image of the Blessed Virgin was imprinted on the fabric of the cloak. After this, six million Indians converted to Christianity. Thus the baptism of Latin America took place.

"I AM THE IMMACULATE CONCEPT"

The small city of Lourdes, located in southwestern France, became widely famous in 1858 thanks to the 14-year-old girl Bernadette Soubirous. It was she who was honored to witness as many as 18 (!) apparitions of the Virgin Mary. In the cold February of 1858, Bernadette and other children were collecting branches for kindling in the grove.

To get to the deposits of branches, they had to ford a stream. When Bernadette came out to the other side, she heard a noise similar to the sound of the wind, and near the grotto that opened to her gaze she saw a lady in a white dress, at whose feet yellow roses were scattered. Surprisingly, no one else saw anything.

This time the girl did not dare talk to the stranger; she decided that it was the ghost of a recently deceased village resident. Despite her fear, she was drawn to the grotto, and she came there again and again. Now the girl understood that the Virgin Mary was appearing before her, asking her to pray for sinners. During one of her apparitions, the Mother of God gave Bernadette an instruction: “Go to the priests and say: I want a chapel to be built here.”

But the priests took the stories as empty fiction, and the girl as completely crazy. Only her confessor asked to know the woman’s name. And Our Lady answered: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” When the girl conveyed these words to him, the priest was amazed to the core.

Bernadette could not know that shortly before the events described, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And the ministers themselves had previously used the expression “Sinless Conception.” And this meant that the girl really communicates with the Virgin Mary.

The Mother of God also showed Bernadette a miraculous source, to which millions of people subsequently began to flock. In the first year alone, five officially certified healings took place at this source. Bernadette later became a nun under the name Maria Bernarda and died at the age of 35. Already in 1933 she was canonized by the Catholic Church.

Before recognizing her as a saint, representatives of the Catholic Church opened the grave three times. Witnesses to the exhumation were not only priests, but also doctors and other respected members of society. And each time they were all convinced: the body of Bernadette Soubirous was not touched by decomposition. A temple was built at the site of the appearance of the Virgin Mary, and Lourdes is now visited by about five million pilgrims a year.

FATIMA MIRACLE

Perhaps the most significant and famous series of apparitions of the Mother of God began in May 1917 in the Portuguese city of Fatima.

First, the Virgin Mary appeared to three children: Lucie, Jacinta and Francisco, who were playing in a field not far from their house. She asked if they were ready to become the chosen ones of the Lord in order to atone for the insults and blasphemies inflicted on the Mother of God. They enthusiastically agreed.

When leaving, she ordered the children to pray daily for peace and the salvation of sinners and ordered them to come to the meeting place on the thirteenth day of each month. The boys told their parents about everything, and they, in turn, told their neighbors. And already on the 13th of the next month, about 60 people accompanied the children.

It must be said that no one saw the appearance of the Mother of God except these three guys, nevertheless, every month there were more and more people on the field.

Pilgrims began to flock to Fatima from all over the world. Two days before October 13, all the roads leading to the city were clogged with carts and pedestrians. Waiting for the appearance of the Virgin Mary, people, and there were about 70 thousand of them, slept on the ground, despite the cold October rain that had been falling for three days.

Everyone was soaked to the skin. At noon, everyone present knelt down, despite the mud and puddles. Lucia, seeing the Mother of God, exclaimed: “Here she is!”, and everyone saw how the children were enveloped in a light white cloud. It rose up three times and fell again on the children.

Then eyewitnesses said that the rain suddenly stopped, the sun came out, but its appearance was strange: a disk surrounded by a shining crown, which you could look at without squinting.

In front of everyone’s eyes, the sun first spun like a huge fiery wheel, scattering multi-colored bright flashes in all directions, then it seemed to separate from the sky and began to spiral downwards, radiating heat. This sun dance lasted at least ten minutes and was visible many kilometers from Fatima.

When it was all over, people were surprised to find that their clothes were suddenly dry. This was the last appearance of the Mother of God to children.

The Virgin Mary left them three predictions, the last of which was revealed only recently. The first and second were made public by permission of Pope Pius XII in 1942. One spoke of an impending war that would claim millions of lives (apparently, the Second World War was meant). The second prophecy concerned Russia, which must devote its heart to the Virgin Mary so that peace and tranquility will replace the chaos in the country.

But the third message remained a sealed secret for a long time. Only in 2000 did Pope John Paul II lift the veil: it concerned an attempt on his life. Indeed, in 1981, John Paul II was shot by a Turkish terrorist.

But that's not all: presumably, the third message also contains information about the further tragic fate of the Catholic Church. It seems that church hierarchs prefer to hide it so as not to cause unrest among believers.

ON THE ROAD OF WAR

Immediately after the invasion of Hitler’s troops into the territory of the USSR, Patriarch Alexander III of Antioch took seclusion and retired to the dungeon in which the icon of the Mother of God was kept. Without food, water or sleep, he prayed for help for Russia.

Three days later, the Virgin Mary appeared to him and said: “Temples, monasteries, theological academies and seminaries should be opened throughout the country. Priests must be returned from the fronts and released from prisons. They must start serving. There is no way to surrender Leningrad! Let them take out the miraculous icon of the Kazan Mother of God and carry it in a religious procession around the city, then not a single enemy will set foot on its holy land. A prayer service must be performed in front of the Kazan Icon in Moscow, then it must arrive in Stalingrad. The Kazan icon must go with the troops to the borders of Russia.”

Surprisingly, Stalin heeded these words. He promised Metropolitans Alexy and Sergius all assistance. The Icon of the Kazan Mother of God was taken out of the Vladimir Cathedral, it was carried in a religious procession around Leningrad, and the city survived.

According to some reports, the plane, controlled by Stalin’s personal pilot, flew around the defended Moscow with the miraculous Kazan image on board. Few people know that the Battle of Stalingrad began with a prayer service. Then the icon stood among our troops on the right bank of the Volga, and the Germans were unable to cross the river, no matter how hard they tried.

PHENOMENON IN CHERNOBYL

The rector of St. Elias Church Nikolai Yakushin says: “On a rainy spring evening in the sky over Chernobyl, many townspeople saw a female silhouette descending from the rain clouds in an extraordinary radiance. For a certain time, the rain completely subsided and there was an extraordinary silence. Witnesses of the phenomenon realized with fear that something especially important was happening concerning the city itself.

From the unclear silhouette, an image similar to the image of the Virgin Mary in the form of Oranta gradually became clearly visible.

The townspeople saw in the hands of the Mother of God a bunch of dry grass, which she dropped; the grass fell and scattered across the wet ground. In May, when everything everywhere begins to turn green, bloom and bloom, dried grass is practically not found.

And here on the ground there were large quantities of dry stems of grass called Chernobyl. At one time, the radiance moved to the St. Elias Church, and the Holy Virgin blessed God’s temple with both hands. The vision left as suddenly as it appeared.”

Then the appearance of the Virgin Mary was interpreted in its own way: supposedly the Mother of God blessed the temple, and dry grass most likely meant a lean year. Only 20 years later the meaning of the miraculous appearance of the Mother of God became clear. She warned of impending danger, because it was no coincidence that a bunch of dry grass, called Chernobyl, or wormwood, was dropped on the city of the same name.

“The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a lamp, and fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of this star is “wormwood,” and the third part of the waters became wormwood, and many of the people died from the waters, because they became bitter” (Revelation of St. John the Theologian 8:10-11).

The life of Saint Andrew describes the vision that opened to him: he was shown the beauties of paradise, but, not seeing the Mother of God anywhere, he asked his mysterious companion: “Where is She?” In response I heard: “She walks the earth and collects the tears of those who cry.” This is how the Blessed Virgin Mary walks to this hour and will always walk the earth, collecting the tears of the suffering.

One of the military men who took part in the assault on Konigsberg in 1944 said: “When the front commander arrived, there were priests with him with an icon of the Mother of God. After serving the prayer service, they calmly walked towards the front line. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the shooting from the German side stopped, and our troops began the assault.

The incredible happened: the Germans died in the thousands and thousands surrendered! The captured Germans later said in one voice: “Before the Russian assault began, Madonna appeared in the sky, which was visible to the entire German army. At this time, absolutely everyone’s weapon failed - they could not fire a single shot.”

Everyone remembers the tragedy in Budennovsk in 1995, when Basayev’s gang captured the staff and patients of the central city hospital. During those terrible days, local residents several times saw in the sky the image of a grieving woman, dressed in dark clothes and standing at a cross formed by clouds.

Apparitions of the Virgin Mary occurred both before the terrorist attack itself and after the militants left the city. Many are still convinced that some of the terrorists were demoralized by Her appearance and this was the decisive moment for the release of the hostages.

FICTION OR REALITY?

There is still no consensus about the apparitions of the Virgin Mary. People react differently to such rumors. Those who were lucky enough to witness this miracle indignantly reject the idea of ​​a hoax. Skeptics shrug their shoulders.

It must be said that scientists have not yet managed to solve this mystery. Some of them explain this by reasons more familiar to the modern world. For example, the French-American scientist Jacques Vallee is sure that aliens are actually involved in the Fatima miracle.

“The famous visions at Fatima are a striking historical example of the religious overtones of UFO encounters. The factual side of the events is quite well known, but I am willing to bet that few people know the true essence of what happened in 1917 near this small Portuguese town.

Even fewer people, I believe, know that the series of sightings of a creature believed to be the Virgin Mary began two years earlier with a series of classic UFO sightings,” wrote Valle in the book “Parallel World.”

Russian scientist V. Mezentsev explains that the sun dance, which was observed by 70 thousand pilgrims who came to Fatima on October 13, 1917, together with their children, was an optical illusion, a trick of light. Be that as it may, the Roman Catholic Church officially recognized the Fatima miracle and many other apparitions of the Virgin Mary.

Today, when the world is continually shaken by catastrophes, tragedies, confrontations, intolerance and wars, perhaps we should not break spears in meaningless disputes, but simply heed these warnings and hear the main call of the Most Holy Theotokos: “People, stop in your madness!”

And then there will be more goodness and less sorrow in the world.

Galina BELYSHEVA

Despite the fact that in the holy book of Christians, the Bible (the New Testament), there is little information about the words and deeds of the Virgin Mary, Her wonderful image and special respect for it are found throughout the world, continuing to this day with inexplicable force to attract believers and atheists in the most different corners of the globe. We again turn to this beautiful, luminous topic, because we consider it the most worthy of the topics that we can raise, and to which a person is obliged to pay attention, due to his limited understanding of the essence of the hidden processes of the universe. Even though many people live in earthly and perishable things, and I still can’t accept what they don’t see, even though conversations about spirituality and deep feelings cause distrust and detachment, however, even the most ingrained opinion and extinguished interest can be convinced and ignited with interesting and obvious facts, because facts are a stubborn thing.

Yes, Maria "most likely somewhere exists," both believers and skeptics will quietly agree with me. Yes, for some reason it is revered throughout the planet. Yes, perhaps there is something more behind this than the ordinary status of a canonized saint. But what next? And then the facts!

MARIA...

Isn’t it amazing that in Catholicism she is revered as the immaculate Virgin Mary, in the Orthodox tradition the Most Holy Theotokos, and in Islam, in the holy book of Muslims, the Koran, She is noted as the only and most worthy of all earthly women. In confirmation, I will quote from the Koran: “The angels said: “O Maryam (Mary)! Verily, Allah has chosen you, purified you and elevated you above the women of the worlds" (Quran 3:42-43)." The following follows from this, given that the total number of followers of the two leading world religions of Christianity and Islam is more than 3.8 billion (2.3 + 1.5, respectively), a good half of the Earth’s population knows about Mary and to one degree or another expresses his respects.

Doesn’t it look unique that with the image of Mary, on some subconscious and spiritual level, many residents, regardless of age, religious affiliation and nationality, associate the purest, kindest, most ideal ideas about human nature, thanks to which, people are convinced , The Virgin Mary rightfully occupies a special, honorable place in the divine “heavenly” hierarchy. And the point is not how high her hierarchical level is and how close she is to God; for some reason, no one doubts that she is a great spiritual being who has been providing invisible support to suffering humanity for centuries. Probably, many of us, in difficult moments of life, came to Her most pure image, asking for help and consolation.

Don’t you, dear readers, also find it surprising that no matter what changes the evolving society has undergone over two millennia, no matter how history has been rewritten to suit someone’s interests, the authority of the Virgin Mary still remains unshakable and unshakable?

APPEARANCES OF THE VIRGIN

Don’t you think it’s amazing and strange that the largest number of evidence of miraculous healings, visions and phenomena of a supernatural nature - when compared with all the canonized saints combined - is again associated with the Virgin Mary. The historical chronicle is literally filled with Her miracles, it’s hard to deny. To be fair, note that neither Buddha, nor Mohammed, nor Jesus, nor saints and prophets come to people in moments of the most difficult trials, but for some reason it is the Virgin Mary. There is even a specially created website (http://miraclehunter.com) that collects confirmed and unconfirmed facts about the appearance, visions and revelations of St. Mary at different times. Here is a map from this site that displays the geography and chronology of Mary’s apparitions to certain inhabitants of the Earth. Pay attention to the end of the 20th century.

FACTS OF THE APPEARANCE OF THE VIRGIN MARY...

The name of the Mother of God, the name of the icon or place of appearance	A country	Date of Apparition		Who saw
Zaragoza	Spain	39		Jacob Zavedeev
Anastasiopol	Byzantium	601		Theodore Sikeot
Blachernae Church	Byzantium	2 October 910		Andrey Yurodivy
Virgin Mary of Walsingham	England	1061		Richeldis de Favershe
Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God	Russia	1155		Andrey Bogolyubsky
Trinity-Sergius Lavra	Russia	1385		Sergius of Radonezh
Our Lady of Healing	France	1515		Anglèze de Sagazan
Our Lady of Guadalupe	Mexico	12 December 1531		Juan Diego
Kazan Mother of God	Russia	July 8 1579		Matrona Onuchina
Lo	France	from May 1664 to 1718		Benoit Rancourel
Wonderful medallion, Rue du Bac 140, Paris	France	1830		Ekaterina Labure
Sarov	Russia	November 25 1831		Seraphim of Sarov
Rome	Italy	January 20th 1842		Alphonse Ratisbon
Virgin Mary of La Salette	France	September 19, 1846		Maxime Giraud and Melanie Calvat
Lourdes	France	11 February au 16 July 1858		Bernadette Soubirous
Our Lady of Pontmain	France	January 17, 1871		Eugenia Barbedet, Joseph Barbedet.
Gitterzwald	Poland	du 27 juin 1877 au 16 septembre 1877		Justyna Szafrynska, et Barbara Samulowska
Our Lady of the Sovereign	Russia	end of February 1917		peasant of the settlement of Pererva, Bronnitsy district, Evdokia Adrianova
Virgin Mary of Fatima	Portugal	from May 13 to October 13, 1917		Lucia dos Santos, Francisco Marto and his sister Jacinta
Boren	Belgium	November 29, 1932, January 3, 1933		Fernande, Gilberte et Albert Voisin, Andrée et Gilberte Degeimbre
en:Our Lady of Banneux	Belgium	January 15, 1933 – March 2, 1933		Marietta Beko
Amsterdam	Netherlands	1945		-
L "Il-Bouchard	France	from 8 to 14 December 1947		four small children
Betania	Venezuela	de 1940 au 5 January 1990		Maria Esperanza Medrano de Bianchini
Our Lady of Garabandal	Spain	from 1961 to 1965		four girls aged 11 and 12: Maria Loli Mason, Jacinta Gonzalez, Maria Cruz Gonzalez, Conchita Gonzalez
Our Lady of Zeytun	Egypt	from April 2, 1968 to May 29, 1971		hundreds of thousands (probably millions) of Egyptians and foreigners, Christians and Muslims
Our Lady of Akita	Japan	from July 6 1973 to October 13, 1973		nun Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa
London	Great Britain	1985		Patricia Meneses
Kibuye	Rwanda	from November 28 1981 to November 28, 1989		Alphonsine Mumureke, Nathalie Mukazimpaka, Marie Claire
Tskhinvali, armed conflict 2008	South Ossetia	August 2008		many people who saw the silhouette of a woman during battles

RECOGNIZED AND UNRECOGNIZED APPEARANCES OF THE VIRGIN.

FLYWAY OF AN ICON OF THE VIRGIN AROUND MOSCOW IN DECEMBER 1941.

The story of how on December 8, 1941, on Stalin’s orders, a flyover of the Tikhvin Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary was made on the outskirts of Moscow, besieged by fascist troops, was told to the world by the Orthodox writer Nikolai Blokhin. This message amazed many and was distributed in a large number of publications in the media. According to some, this story proves that Stalin was a leader of secret faith, that he was transformed during the war, and that the Mother of God helped him. However, there were also many objections to this matter; military historians and church ministers began to conduct their investigations, proving that myths about religious processions and signs arose around all major battles, they say, these are all fictions. I won’t say anything, because I don’t know for sure. I would only like to note that after the “flight of the icon of the Mother of God around Moscow”, in December 1941, a turning point in the entire Second World War took place, the capital of the USSR survived and for the first time a counter-offensive began, which later developed into the final Victory over Nazi Germany.

As a modest observer, I would like to note a very strange weather phenomenon associated with an unnaturally sharp warming on December 8 in the central region of Russia. For some reason, critics do not pay attention to the fact that in two days the temperature in the region rose from -29 to +1 0 C (!). Specifically, the difference during one day alone was 24 degrees. Have you seen this in your lifetime, dear reader? I found an archived weather service for CIS cities in the 19th-20th century: www.thermo.karelia.ru, where you can see a report for the city of Tambov (for some reason there is no Moscow), and I provide a screenshot as proof:

IMAGE OF MARY OF GUADALUPE IN LATIN AMERICA.

Residents of Latin America sacredly honor the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, who is considered the patroness of both Americas and is respectfully called “Our Lady of Guadalupe.” And the cult of veneration of the Virgin of Guadalupe began with the modest Indian Juan Diego, who lived near Mexico City. On December 9, 1531, as a Catholic convert, he hurried past Tepeyac Hill to attend morning mass at church, but unexpectedly heard beautiful singing. Deciding to be curious about where this voice (or voices) was coming from, he climbed to the top of the hill and saw a shining cloud. In the cloud, Juan Diego saw a beautiful young woman who looked more like the girls of his tribe than a white-skinned Spanish woman.

The lady called herself the Virgin Mary and asked to build a temple at the site of her appearance so that everyone could honor her Son, Jesus Christ. But bad luck! The priests did not believe Juan, deciding that the Mother of God could not appear to some Indian without a soul (previously, the Spaniards believed that the indigenous population of Latin America did not have a soul, which means that Indians could be killed without a twinge of conscience).

But the Mother of God did not retreat. One day, when Juan Diego went to find a priest for his sick uncle, the Virgin Mary once again appeared to the unfortunate Indian and ordered him to collect all the flowers that he could find on the hill. The young man obeyed, although nothing grew on the hill. But suddenly he saw a rose bush growing on a rock. “Here is My sign,” said the Virgin Mary. “Take these roses, wrap them in your cloak and take them to the bishop.” This time he will believe you." Arriving at the bishop, Juan Diego unwrapped his cape, where there were roses, and everyone saw on the cloth the Virgin Mary standing on the new moon, surrounded by stars and the Sun. After this, the priests repented of their unbelief, and Juan Diego's uncle, who was dying, was miraculously healed. All this convinced the indigenous people of Mexico, who continued to worship their gods, that Christianity was the true faith. And after the appearance of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, almost 6 million Indians independently converted to Catholicism. Thus the baptism of Latin America took place.

APPEARANCE OF MARY IN LOURDES, FRANCE, 1858.

In 1858, the Virgin Mary appeared to a simple village girl from the French town of Lourdes. 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous, who did not shine with intelligence, actually became the messenger of the dogma of the Catholic Church about the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On February 11, 1858, Bernadette and her other children were sent by her parents to fetch branches for kindling. To get to the grove, where they could collect these same branches, the children had to cross a small stream. Bernadette's friends quickly completed this task, but the girl was left standing undecided whether to cross the stream or not.

Without waiting for her decision, the children left Bernadette alone. When the girl finally decided to cross the cold stream, she suddenly saw a golden cloud that floated out of the cave on the other side of the stream. On a cloud stood a woman of unearthly beauty... The first time Bernadette did not dare to follow the beautiful lady, but for all the other 18 appearances, the shepherdess not only followed the stranger, but also talked to her. At first, the girl thought that this was the soul of one of the village residents who had died a year earlier, but later she realized that the Virgin Mary herself was talking to her.

FATIMA APPEARANCE OF THE VIRGIN MARY.

It is believed that the Virgin Mary appeared to three children from the Portuguese town of Fatima in 1917, but some researchers claim that these apparitions continued from 1915 until the end of 1917. The Virgin Mary left three predictions for three children - two sisters Lucie and Jacinta and their brother Francisco - that were not immediately revealed. Firstly, the children were not believed at first. When Jacinta told her parents about her meetings with the beautiful Virgin, she was ridiculed, and Lucia was even beaten. The headman, interrogating the children together and separately, could not get a confession that all these meetings and predictions were an invention of the children themselves.

We have written about this several times, read on our website in the articles “The Fatima Apparition of the Virgin Mary and the Prophecy of Saint Malachi”, “Predictions about the Last Pope”.

APPEARANCE OF THE VIRGIN IN ZEITOUN, EGYPT, IN 1968.

APPEARANCE OF THE VIRGIN MARY IN JAPAN, IN THE TOWN OF AKITA.

The Most Pure Mother of God appeared to people not only in Europe. In the early 70s of the last century, the Virgin Mary appeared in Japan, in the small town of Akita. The Mother of God was seen by the deaf nun Agnes Sasagawa Katsuko. At the age of 19, after an unsuccessful operation, she lost her hearing and was bedridden for 16 years. The doctors just shrugged their shoulders. They were powerless to help the girl. A deaf patient was transferred from hospital to hospital. And in one of the hospitals, she met with a Catholic nurse who told the unfortunate woman about the Christian faith. Thanks to the nurse, Agnes's condition improved, and in 1969 she decided to enter a monastery and devote herself to God. True, 4 months after the tonsure, the woman’s condition worsened again, and only holy water from a source in Lourdes helped the nun get back on her feet.

The first time Agnes saw the Virgin Mary was on June 12, 1973 during prayer. Brilliant mysterious rays came out of the Monstrance. Agnes saw these rays for several days, and then a stigmata in the shape of a cross formed on her left palm. The pain was unbearable, but the nun held firm, answering the sisters who consoled her that the wound on the hand of the Blessed Virgin Mary was much deeper. The amazed sisters decided to go into the chapel and discovered the same wound on the statue of the Virgin Mary... But the miracles in Akita did not end there. That same evening, Agnes, praying to the image of the Mother of God, heard the first message. The Virgin Mary told the nun that she would soon be healed and called on all the sisters to pray for people in order to atone for their sins and stop the wrath of the Heavenly Father.

The Mother of God appeared to Agnes several more times, calling her to patience and perseverance. She predicted the nun not only her future fate, which included persecution and ridicule, but also the fate of the Japanese people, in particular the deadly tsunami in March 2011. 10 years after the appearance of the Virgin Mary, Agnes’s hearing returned and she finally recovered. After humiliating examinations of the sisters who witnessed the miraculous phenomenon, the Roman Catholic Church nevertheless recognized this fact as genuine, although before the investigation, more than 500 people, including both Christians and Buddhists, saw the statue of the Virgin Mary in the Akita monastery exuded blood, sweat and tears.

APPEARANCES OF THE VIRGIN MARY IN BOSNIA, IN 1981.

For the first time, information about Medjugorje became known in the summer of 1981, when six local young children (4 girls and 2 boys) announced that the Virgin Mary appeared to them, who introduced herself as the “Mistress of the World.” There is evidence that these phenomena continue to this day. In them, the Virgin Mary conveys short messages - she calls believers to conversion, prayer and peace. To date, three witnesses to the apparitions receive messages from Mary daily, while the other three receive messages only once a year. Phenomena occur systematically - at the same time. Interestingly, four of the witnesses live in Medjugorje, while the other two live in Italy and the USA. Despite these circumstances, they all continue to hear and see Mary.

THE MIRACLE OF THE MOTHER OF GOD IN THE SKY OVER SUFFERING NANEVIA, 2015.

Christians living in the Nineveh Valley, partially occupied by IS, report the miracle of the appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary to them. On the evening of December 21, 2015, eyewitnesses in various areas of the cities of Alkash and Ankawa witnessed an unusual phenomenon: a bright red figure lit up in the completely dark night sky, which did not go out for several minutes. The fiery image shocked the local residents: according to the majority of the believing Ninevites, the light figure was nothing more than the silhouette of the Blessed Virgin Mary, well known to Christians from iconography and church sculpture. The miraculous event caused a wide resonance in the Christian society of Iraq.

HOW MANY PHENOMENA ARE REMAINED UNACCOUNTED?

The miracle happened on December 16, 1890 in house No. 1 on Voskova Street in St. Petersburg. A terminally ill boy turned to heaven with a prayer, after which the Mother of God appeared to him with instructions to go to the other end of the city to see her miraculous icon. She was then in the church on Obukhov Defense Avenue. He did so, and after praying at the miraculous icon, the paralyzed boy returned home on foot on his own feet. When he grew up, he became a monk in the parish of the Most Holy Theotokos, established in this house. Now he is not there, but the memory of the appearance of the Mother of God to the child has been preserved to this day.

The miracle happened on December 16, 1890 in house No. 1 on Voskova Street. A terminally ill boy turned to heaven with a prayer, after which the Mother of God appeared to him with instructions to go to the other end of the city to see her miraculous icon. She was then in the church on Obukhov Defense Avenue. He did so, and after praying at the miraculous icon, the paralyzed boy returned home on foot on his own feet. When he grew up, he became a monk in the parish of the Most Holy Theotokos, established in this house. Now he is not there, but the memory of the appearance of the Mother of God to the child has been preserved to this day.

How many apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary remained unaccounted for by official statistics? Tens, hundreds, thousands?

EPITHETS...

Now let's see how great is the grateful, laudatory series of names and epithets given to her, the Most Holy Theotokos, in the Russian Orthodox tradition of akathists and prayers. And this list is far from complete.

United by proper name:

• Maria,
• Mariam,
• The Virgin Mary,
• Our Lady,
• Mother of God,
• Mother of God,
• Seide Mariam (Lady Mariam in Islam),
• Mother,
• Mati,
• Bogomati,
• Mother of Light,
• Mother of the world
• Madonna,
• Mother...

Holiness and purity are noted in the following titles:

• Holy
• Holy,
• Good,
• Offering
• Most pure,
• Beautiful,
• Blessed One,
• Blessed Mary,
• Strong,
• Lady,
• Benevolent,
• Gracious,
• Virgo,
• Maiden,
• Ever-Virgin,
• Ever-Maiden,
• Immaculate,
• Bride of God,
• Innocence,
• Innocence and Help,
• Patronage,
• Most Pure Mother,
• Mother of God,
• Tenderness,
• Joy,
• All-merciful,
• Responsive, Merciful and Compassionate,
• Undefiled, Unglamorous, Imperishable,
• Glorious...

And Her power and strength are expressed in the following words:

• Lady,
• Queen,
• Intercessor,
• Madam,
• Assistant,
• Handmaid,
• Intercessor,
• Intercessor,
• Prayer book,
• Comforter,
• Superior,
• Hope,
• Guidebook,
• Hope and Refuge,
• Intercession and Help,

Akathists of the Most Holy Theotokos, filled with figurative comparisons:

• Our Holy Lady Theotokos,
• Queen of heaven and earth,
• Protection of all who come running to You,
• Burning bush,
• Light-receiving candle,
• The mountain is not cut by hands,
• Unbreakable wall
• Intercessor and Helper of the world,
• Life-giving Source,
• Most Pure Mother,
• The bride is not a bride,
• Unexpected joy
• Strong helper to the human race,
• Helper and supporter of life and salvation,
• The most honorable Cherub and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim,
• Deliverer from sorrows,
• Ambulance Assistant,
• Heavenly Intercessor,
• Great Panagia,
• Satisfying sorrows
• Zoryanitsa, Red Maiden, Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
• Mother Most Holy Theotokos,
• Blessed Virgin Mary,
• Mother of God, Unfading Color,
• All-generous Mother of the philanthropic Lord,
• God's Chosen Lady,
• One purest soul and body,
• The One who surpasses all purity, chastity and virginity,
• One who has completely become the abode of the complete grace of the all-holy Spirit,
• The most insubstantial forces,
• Friend of the orphaned and strange to the Representative, mourning Joy,
• Offended by the Patroness,
• this list goes on and on...

For centuries, great elders, prayer books and just ordinary people have woven into Her praises the purest and most sublime, the best words of the Russian language! Isn't this a miracle?! As an example, Saint Andrew of Crete gives a list of Old Testament prototypes of the Mother of God: “With how majestic names She is adorned, and how expressively she is shown in many places of Scripture. So, wanting to talk about her, it calls it a maiden, a quarrel, a prophetess, then - a marriage chamber, the house of God, the Church of the Holy, the second skin, the holy meal, the purebin, the golden censer, the saints of the saints, the glory of the glory, the golden stem, the ark. of the Covenant, the Priestly Rod, the Royal Scepter, the Diadim of Beauty, the Vessel with the Anointing Chrism, the Alabaster, the Candlestick, the Incense, the Lamp, the Lamp, the Chariot, the Bush, the Stone, the Earth, Paradise, the Country, the Field, the Source, the Lamb...”

Incredible, isn't it? And it's all about one person!

ICONS...

At this religious segment of the story, the ever-hurrying reader may pause somewhere and doubt; in this case, I have a few questions in store for him:

• Has there ever existed in history (and in what religion) such a true saint, whom people would so generously sing in their prayers?
• Has there ever been such a true saint in history (and in what religion), who would have shown so many miracles of his Presence and support to people?
• Has there ever existed in history (and in what religion) such a true saint, whom iconography would depict in such rich abundance and diversity? In the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church alone, about 260 revered and miraculous icons of the Mother of God are mentioned; in general, more than 860 (!!!) names can be counted.

I admit, I feel a certain awe just from writing these lines. And whoever She is, or the mother of Jesus, or His devoted ascetic Mary Magdalene - and we are inclined, not without reason, to believe that this is so... now it doesn’t matter, the point is different - Her presence, support and Love bestowed upon all of us so clearly, obviously (!), that the proper, seemingly logical response step, ours with you, - Hey, - Love!.. But for some reason we continue to run, rush, sin, problematic - preoccupied and chilled, paying attention to others... And Maria is still waiting... And will she wait? Who should I ask about this?.. Myself!

Isn’t there a charmingly incomprehensible mystery in those amazing and, judging by historical artifacts, indisputable evidence that confuses learned men, that the most holy image of Her with a baby in her arms was well known to ancient people long before the advent of Christianity as a religion, and this is what we are talking about wrote in detail in the article “The Cult of the Mother of God,” presenting the most complete photo collection of materials on the Internet. Look at the photo, who can explain this? Let's say historians have agreed, but let us - people - remain adequate!

PEOPLE...

Oh Maria! How much unearthly warmth and spiritual affection your radiant image gives us! There are so many who turn to You with hope... and whom You helped!

MARIA!

O most beloved, most beautiful of women! The most caring of mothers! The most devoted of friends! Your mercy has no boundaries. Your most holy face is protected by closed eyelashes. Your quiet steps have left divine traces in the hearts of many of us - they awaken, beckon, and affectionately call us to our Father’s House. Why does my chest feel so warm when I mention You? Why do tears inevitably flow during a heartfelt call? Why again and again, despite our ignorance and rabid animal savagery, do You continue to knock on our dark house, ready to bring a ray of light to help? What is the greatest secret hidden in Your charm, in your spiritual achievement and service?

Yes, today many things seem like an outlandish fairy tale and there are countless reasons for ridicule, but can an outside opinion shake, doubt, or shake a true believer, a true Muslim? When God - Allah - comes first, everything else falls into place.,

Very often people encounter the manifestation of the divine principle in their lives. Apparitions of the Virgin Mary also occur in the modern world and are worth mentioning. When does the Mother of God most often appear to people, and why does this happen?

It is important to note that the appearance of the Virgin Mary most often occurs in those countries where religious faith is still strong. It is also believed that such a miracle can only be seen by a person who has long believed in the divinity of the origin of the world.

When and how does the Virgin Mary most often appear?

The appearance of the Mother of God, as noted above, can occur under a variety of conditions, but most often, the Mother of Christ tries to warn ordinary people about disasters and wars that will soon occur. Moreover, sometimes the Virgin Mary appears in the middle of a city in which military operations are taking place. It is very easy to notice her, as well as to distinguish her from an ordinary person.

The thing is that the Mother of God appears in the form of a light female silhouette, as if woven from a haze. Of course, people immediately pay attention to such a strange phenomenon, understanding all its sublimity and divinity. In particular, the Mother of God appeared in South Ossetia, in Tskhinvali, during shelling of the city and armed battles. This is evidenced by numerous believers who noticed a mysterious silhouette among the destroyed houses and destroyed villages. Also, many eyewitnesses claimed that the mysterious figure stopped bullets and prevented explosions. Of course, it is almost impossible to confirm the divinity of such a phenomenon.

And yet, believers are usually shocked to the core by such cases. Why does the appearance of the Mother of God occur? Most often, there is one reason - protecting people from sorrows, and accompanying them through the most difficult trials in life. In particular, the Mother of God often appears during military operations, when people need faith and protection. Also, the Mother of God can appear to a person during illness, as a symbol of the fact that he has not yet fulfilled his life purpose. It is believed that not every person can visit the appearance of the Mother of God. Only a deeply religious person will be able to notice the silhouette of the Mother of God and listen to her wise advice. And yet, you should not completely rely on such a divine appearance, because in a state of passion, a person can imagine anything he wants.

People often testify that the Mother of God suggests the right path that a person should follow in life. Of course, such a strange divine phenomenon is often discussed both in the press and in church circles. Here everything depends on a person’s skepticism or his deep faith in what is happening.

The most famous cases in the modern world

The appearance of the Mother of God these days is not uncommon. Of course, now such phenomena are increasingly subject to criticism and skepticism from fighters against prejudice. The whole point is that now people’s faith in the divine principle is weakening, and therefore, even obvious cases of the intervention of the Mother of God in people’s lives are subject to skeptical analysis.

And yet, no one now disputes the appearance of the Mother of God in the sky over Budennovsk. The fact is that in 1995 the city of Budennovsk was captured by Basayev’s militants, who held 150 people in a local hospital. For several days, the hospital staff, the elderly, children and women in the final stages of pregnancy, prayed for divine salvation. Apparently, their prayers were heard, because soon a woman dressed in black began to appear in front of the hospital building. She prayed at a cross made of clouds, and this made an indelible impression on everyone. Many people still believe that it was the appearance of the Virgin Mary that helped them survive. The fact is that even the militants became imbued with this phenomenon and decided to retreat. As a result, due to divine intervention, innocent people were saved.

The appearance of the Mother of God in the sky once happened in Samara. The face of the mother of Christ was noticed by a girl named Christina, who immediately identified the divinity of this sign. Later, the face was captured on camera, and the pictures spread almost all over the world. Experts around the world unanimously confirmed the divinity of this phenomenon. And yet, there were skeptics who actively denied that there was anything supernatural, much less divine, in the symbol. By the way, this phenomenon happened quite recently, in 2010.

In fact, the appearance of the Mother of God in the modern world confirms that a person can even now encounter something divine and incredible. Perhaps all this is just the machinations of overly religious people who are trying to find the desired symbols in everything. However, sometimes, in stressful situations, only divine help can help save a person. It is quite possible that such phenomena will be repeated again, because now the global political situation clearly does not inspire calm.

It is interesting to note that skeptics have proven that many of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary were untrue. As in the case of UFO sightings, the face of the Virgin Mary is often just a fiction that helps draw attention to observers of the divine miracle. And yet, the mysticism of some of these events cannot leave a person indifferent.

The appearance of the Mother of God is evidence that even in the modern world God does not abandon man. Perhaps now faith is losing its meaning, but there are situations when only divine help can save a person and give him hope.

On the first day of the new year, Catholics around the world celebrate the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and we remember the most notable appearances of the Virgin Mary to the people in history

Irina ROMANOVA

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The Virgin Mary is one of the most revered personalities and the greatest of Christian saints. There is probably not a single person in the world (with the exception of babies, perhaps) who has not heard of her. Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Muslims, and atheists know about Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ.

The veneration of the Virgin Mary is based on the truth of Her Motherhood, and it is to this truth that the Roman Catholic Church dedicated the first day of the new year. On January 1, Catholics around the world celebrate the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary - the holiday that completes the Christmas octave.

Well, on this day we will remember the most famous appearances of the Virgin Mary to the people. However, let us make a reservation that not all of these phenomena are officially recognized by the Catholic Church. Some are still waiting in the wings and are being carefully studied. In addition, there are many times more apparitions of the Blessed Virgin than seven.

The first appearance. Baptizing Latin America.

Residents of Latin America sacredly honor the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, who is considered the patroness of both Americas and is respectfully called “Our Lady of Guadalupe.” And the cult of veneration of the Virgin of Guadalupe began with the modest Indian Juan Diego, who lived near Mexico City. On December 9, 1531, as a Catholic convert, he hurried past Tepeyac Hill to attend morning mass at church, but unexpectedly heard beautiful singing. Deciding to be curious about where this voice (or voices) was coming from, he climbed to the top of the hill and saw a shining cloud. In the cloud, Juan Diego saw a beautiful young woman who looked more like the girls of his tribe than a white-skinned Spanish woman.

The lady called herself the Virgin Mary and asked to build a temple at the site of her appearance so that everyone could honor her Son, Jesus Christ. But bad luck! The priests did not believe Juan, deciding that the Mother of God could not appear to some Indian without a soul (previously, the Spaniards believed that the indigenous population of Latin America did not have a soul, which means that Indians could be killed without a twinge of conscience).

But the Mother of God did not retreat. One day, when Juan Diego went to find a priest for his sick uncle, the Virgin Mary once again appeared to the unfortunate Indian and ordered him to collect all the flowers that he could find on the hill. The young man obeyed, although nothing grew on the hill. But suddenly he saw a rose bush growing on a rock. “Here is My sign,” said the Virgin Mary. “Take these roses, wrap them in your cloak and take them to the bishop.” This time he will believe you."

Arriving at the bishop, Juan Diego unwrapped his cape, where there were roses, and everyone saw on the cloth the Virgin Mary standing on the new moon, surrounded by stars and the Sun. After this, the priests repented of their unbelief, and Juan Diego's uncle, who was dying, was miraculously healed.

All this convinced the indigenous people of Mexico, who continued to worship their gods, that Christianity was the true faith. And after the appearance of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, almost 6 million Indians independently converted to Catholicism. Thus the baptism of Latin America took place.

The second phenomenon. The Virgin and the Shepherdess.

In 1858, the Virgin Mary appeared to a simple village girl from the French town of Lourdes. 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous, who did not shine with intelligence, actually became the messenger of the dogma of the Catholic Church about the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On February 11, 1858, Bernadette and her other children were sent by her parents to fetch branches for kindling. To get to the grove, where they could collect these same branches, the children had to cross a small stream. Bernadette's friends quickly completed this task, but the girl was left standing undecided whether to cross the stream or not.

Without waiting for her decision, the children left Bernadette alone. When the girl finally decided to cross the cold stream, she suddenly saw a golden cloud that floated out of the cave on the other side of the stream. A woman of unearthly beauty stood on a cloud...

The first time Bernadette did not dare to follow the beautiful lady, but for all the other 18 appearances, the shepherdess not only followed the stranger, but also talked to her. At first, the girl thought that this was the soul of one of the village residents who had died a year earlier, but later she realized that the Virgin Mary herself was talking to her. Bernadette, who passionately wanted to know the name of her interlocutor, once voiced her question at one of the meetings, and then the Mother of God answered: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” The girl conveyed these words to her confessor, who remembered that literally 4 years earlier the church had accepted the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Of course, the uneducated Bernadette could not know about this. So, all the residents of nearby villages believed that the young shepherdess from Lourdes communicated with the Virgin Mary.

Bernadette later became a nun, but did not live long. She died at the age of 35 from backbreaking work, the envy of other nuns and worries associated with the enormous attention of pilgrims to a modest girl. In 1933, Bernadette Soubirous was canonized as a saint of the Catholic Church.

The third phenomenon. Fatima secrets.

It is believed that the Virgin Mary appeared to three children from the Portuguese town of Fatima in 1917, but some researchers claim that these apparitions continued from 1915 until the end of 1917.

The Virgin Mary left three predictions for three children - two sisters Lucie and Jacinta and their brother Francisco - that were not immediately revealed. Firstly, the children were not believed at first. When Jacinta told her parents about her meetings with the beautiful Virgin, she was ridiculed, and Lucia was even beaten. The headman, interrogating the children together and separately, could not get a confession that all these meetings and predictions were an invention of the children themselves.

Thirteen years later, after a thorough investigation, the appearance of the Virgin Mary at Fatima was recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as a genuine miracle. However, skeptics are still confident that there is nothing supernatural in the Fatima apparitions. Some scientists believe that the “dance of the sun,” which was observed by 70 thousand pilgrims who came to Fatima on October 13, 1917, with children and 70 thousand pilgrims who came to Fatima, is easily explained by the laws of physics, while others are sure that a UFO is to blame.

Nevertheless, three predictions, three secrets that the Mother of God revealed to three children came true. The first concerned the beginning of World War II, the second - the fate of Russia, and the third - the fate of the Pope.

About Russia, the Virgin Mary said this: “... Another war will begin... (we are most likely talking about the October Revolution and the Civil War - author’s note) To prevent this, I will ask for the dedication of Russia to My Immaculate Heart... If my requests are responded to, Russia will convert and peace will come; if not, then she will spread her errors throughout the world, sowing wars and persecution against the Church; the righteous will become martyrs... many nations will be destroyed. But in the end My Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to Me, which will convert, and peace will be granted for a while.”

By the way, in 1952, Pope Pius XII, with a special apostolic letter, dedicated the peoples of Russia to the Most Pure Heart of Mary. A similar ceremony took place 12 years later, when the next Pope, Paul VI, dedicated the people of Russia and other countries of the “socialist bloc” to the Heart of Mary for the second time.

The third prediction of the Virgin Mary was revealed relatively recently. It concerned an attempt on the life of the Pope. Indeed, in 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot by a Turkish terrorist. However, the hierarch of the Catholic Church remained alive, and a year later he visited Fatima, placing a bullet taken from his body on the altar of the temple built in honor of the appearance of the Virgin Mary.

The fourth phenomenon. Virgin Mary in Japan.

The Most Pure Mother of God appeared to people not only in Europe. In the early 70s of the last century, the Virgin Mary appeared in Japan, in the small town of Akita. The Mother of God was seen by the deaf nun Agnes Sasagawa Katsuko.

At the age of 19, after an unsuccessful operation, she lost her hearing and was bedridden for 16 years. The doctors just shrugged their shoulders. They were powerless to help the girl.

The deaf patient was transferred from the hospital. And in one of the hospitals, she met with a Catholic nurse who told the unfortunate woman about the Christian faith. Thanks to the nurse, Agnes's condition improved, and in 1969 she decided to enter a monastery and devote herself to God. True, 4 months after the tonsure, the woman’s condition worsened again, and only holy water from a source in Lourdes helped the nun get back on her feet. The first time Agnes saw the Virgin Mary was on June 12, 1973 during prayer. Brilliant mysterious rays came out of the Monstrance. Agnes saw these rays for several days, and then a stigmata in the shape of a cross formed on her left palm. The pain was unbearable, but the nun held firm, answering the sisters who consoled her that the wound on the hand of the Blessed Virgin Mary was much deeper. The amazed sisters decided to go into the chapel and discovered the same wound on the statue of the Virgin Mary... But the miracles in Akita did not end there. That same evening, Agnes, praying to the image of the Mother of God, heard the first message. The Virgin Mary told the nun that she would soon be healed and called on all the sisters to pray for people in order to atone for their sins and stop the wrath of the Heavenly Father.

The Mother of God appeared to Agnes several more times, calling her to patience and perseverance. She predicted the nun not only her future fate, which included persecution and ridicule, but also the fate of the Japanese people, in particular the deadly tsunami in March 2011.

10 years after the appearance of the Virgin Mary, Agnes’s hearing returned and she finally recovered. After humiliating examinations of the sisters who witnessed the miraculous phenomenon, the Roman Catholic Church nevertheless recognized this fact as genuine, although before the investigation, more than 500 people, including both Christians and Buddhists, saw the statue of the Virgin Mary in the Akita monastery exuded blood, sweat and tears.

Fifth phenomenon. The Most Pure One in Zeitoun.

Sometimes the appearance of the Mother of God can last for years. So, in Egypt, the Virgin Mary was seen starting from April 2, 1968 and ending in August 1969. The Zeytun phenomenon is noteworthy in that the Mother of God was seen not only by Christians and photographs of this phenomenon remained.

The first to see the Virgin Mary in the Cairo suburb of Zeitoun were... Muslims. The three mechanics saw a woman dressed in white robes standing on top of the church. Unfortunately, the men were never able to see their faces due to the blinding light emanating from the figure. But someone suggested that it was the Virgin Mary, and immediately the figure in white confirmed this assumption with an affirmative tilt of her head.

The people who observed the appearance of the Virgin Mary immediately rushed to the priest who lived nearby, demanding that he explain this vision. The priest decided to look at the phenomenon, opened the window - and a wonderful Light poured into his room. He saw the Most Pure Virgin in a halo of radiance, however, the vision did not last long. The figure rose into the night sky and disappeared into the darkness.

The number of people wishing to see the Blessed Virgin grew exponentially. Crowds of 250 thousand people gathered at the church where the first apparition took place. Christians, Jews, Muslims, and atheists chanted: “We believe in You, Holy Mary! We bear witness to You, Holy Mary!” And the Virgin Mary appeared to a crowd of thousands...

At first, these phenomena happened two or three times a week, but over time, the Mother of God appeared before the eyes of people less and less often. But each time Mary appeared in different guises - now as the Queen of the World, now as the Virgin grieving for all nations, now with the Baby Jesus in her arms, now kneeling before the Cross. There are known cases of miraculous healing during these phenomena. Once, photographer Vagih Rizk Matta, trying to photograph the Virgin Mary on film, slightly opening the camera shutter, discovered that his sore arm, which had been bothering him for a long time, suddenly healed. The appearance of the Virgin Mary in Zeytun became a kind of bridge between East and West. For the first time in the history of mankind, people of different faiths prayed together, without any division into nationalities and races.

The Holy Cross Icon of the Mother of God was painted after the appearance of the Mother of God in Budennovsk.

On June 14, 1995, at noon, Shamil Basayev’s gang burst into the city of Budennovsk, Stavropol Territory. The militants destroyed everything in their path, taking the staff and patients of the central hospital hostage. According to Basayev himself, he did not plan to stop in Budennovsk at all, his goal was the airport in Mineralnye Vody, where he and his people wanted to hijack a plane to go to Moscow. But the militants did not have enough money to get to Mineralnye Vody - they all spent it on bribes to police patrols. Realizing that there was a catastrophic lack of funds, Basayev decided to carry out a terrorist attack in Budennovsk.

As a result, more than 1,500 people were taken hostage by the bandits. For six days, medical staff, elderly people, children and pregnant women ready to give birth lived in anticipation of a miracle. And the miracle happened. The Virgin Mary hastened to the aid of the hostages.

Residents of Budennovsk, as well as militants, have repeatedly seen a grieving woman in dark clothes standing near a cross made of clouds. Moreover, the Mother of God was seen not only the night before the seizure of the hospital, but also the night before the terrorists left the city. There is an opinion among local (and not only local) residents that it was the appearance of Mary that was decisive in Basayev’s desire to leave Budennovsk, since some of the terrorists were shocked and demoralized by the appearance of the Mother of God. On the fortieth day of commemoration of the victims of this tragedy, at the behest of Metropolitan Gideon of Stavropol, the Holy Cross Icon of the Mother of God was painted. It shows Mary near a cross on a blue background. The saint's hands are folded in prayer. True, the Mother of God, contrary to the descriptions of witnesses, is depicted in purple clothes, not dark ones. The color red became a symbol of the blood of innocent victims in 1995 in Budennovsk.

With the advent of the 21st century, the Virgin Mary did not leave the inhabitants of the Earth, continuing to appear to those who most needed protection. In 2008, residents of burning Tskhinvali saw the Mother of God walking through the streets of the city torn apart by shells. When Georgian troops attacked South Ossetia on August 8 of that year, some residents were able to watch as the beautiful Virgin descended from the dome of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and walked towards the Russian soldiers, despite gunfire and explosions.

Bishop George of Alania at first did not believe the witnesses of this miracle, believing that some residents of Tskhinvali saw the Virgin Mary out of fear, but then he himself saw the Mother of Jesus Christ leaving the church, and all doubts disappeared like smoke. The Mother of God was seen precisely in those places where the bloodiest battles took place.

Incredible, but true: the bombs destroyed many churches, but spared the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from where Mary descended. Shells fell into the cathedral courtyard, but they did not cause any damage to the building.

By the way, the paper icons of the Mother of God and the Savior, which were distributed to the soldiers of the Russian Army by a local resident, helped warrant officer Alexander Shashin stay alive. He put the icons in his breast pockets, and the sniper’s bullet, flying straight into his chest, suddenly turned sideways and hit him flat, falling on Alexander’s knees. After this incident, the ensign provided all his colleagues with the icons that he had taken in reserve. No one died from Shashin’s unit...