Encountering Mary: Visions of Mary from La Salette to Medjugorje

by Sandra Zimdars-Swartz

Over the past two centuries, hundreds of apparitions of the Virgin Mary have been reported, drawing crowds to the seers and the sites, and constituting events of great religious significance. Zimdars-Swartz provides an intriguing exploration of the experiences and interpretations of seven apparitions.

Genres: Spirituality, Religion, Catholic

342 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1992

Reviews

[Bill reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encountering Mary is a collection of stories of apparitions of the Virgin Mary. The first is the lesser known one of La Salette in 1846. Two small, uneducated shepherd children told of a woman warning of an upcoming famine, due to a lack of faith of the people of France. Shortly thereafter, miraculous cures were attributed to water from a spring where Mary had appeared. Twelve years later, the most famous of the apparitions, that of Lourdes, to Bernadette Soubirous, occurred. Another spring, and more miraculous cures. Next up, Fatima in 1917. Lucia Dos Santos was another poor shepherdess who saw Mary in Portugal with two friends, Francisco and Jacinta. The boy died within two years, and the girl within three. Only Lucia, who would become a nun, would live a long life. In 1964, Rosa Quattrini, proclaimed visions of Our Lady. She was befriended by the stigmatic priest, Padre Pio. It is a strange and bewildering chapter, with Rosa bequeathing her foundation to the Pope in her will; Il Papa refused her generosity. San Damiano has remained a controversial site, many years after the death of Mama Rosa. I believe her photo is on the label of an excellent ravioli. In June of 1964, four twelve year-old girls in Garabandal, Spain reported seeing and angel, and shortly thereafter, a lady. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel would appear to them for the next two years. People from the village gave objects to the girls during ecstasies to hold up for a blessing by Mary. The author moves on to the secrets given to the various visionaries. After years of pressure from the Church, the children from La Salette finally divulged the secrets to Pope Pius IX. The usual rumors of the end times circulated. I can recall the Y2K madness of 2000, when pilgrims headed for ze hills awaiting the Rapture. I share the in the writers' skepticism. She uses the word “cult” repeatedly, I can find no fault in the use of the term. Lucia of Fatima wrote of horrible visions of hell and added to the end of the world rumors. One common theme was the conversion of Communist Russia to Catholicism. In 1950, Mary Ann Van Hoof, a farm wife in rural Wisconsin(go Packers), claimed to have been given a message from Mary about Russia. At the same time, Joe McCarthy was starting his Red Scare campaign and the RC Church loved him, and even to this day, consider the alcoholic lunatic a saint. Politics and religion can make for some strange bedfellows. In the end, I suppose that people have a need to believe in something more than this. It is as old as mankind itself. Encountering Mary is a well researched but critical look at the meaning of faith.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this many years ago after it was given to me as a gift from a relative with a strong religious devotion to Mary who believed it would lead me to the same beliefs. They must have picked it up without looking at it very closely, because it is not a devotional sort of book at all: it's a frank, in-depth, journalistic/scientific look at the phenomenon of Marian apparitions. I quite enjoyed it.

Did the apparitions of Mary actually occur? I don't think this book presses an opinion on the reader one way or the other -- however, through careful study of available records, interviews and facts, the author makes it very clear that the original reports of what occurred vary greatly from what is currently taught. We're introduced to the places, times, personalities and conflicts that shaped the tales of the Marian apparitions and lead them to become the phenomenon as now known today. It's a fascinating look at the very human influences behind the legends.

[Andrew McHenry · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an objective look at several different Marian apparitions, most of them in Europe, dating back to the 19th century. It's a bit tedious at times, but she does a good job of presenting her topic - both from the perspective of the visionaries and the engagement with ecclesiastical authorities and the general public that follows. The book is very well-researched. It's a bit older now though; she's probably due for a sequel.

[Steven H · Rating 3 out of 5]

A BROAD SCHOLARLY SURVEY OF MODERN MARIAN APPARITIONS

The Author wrote in the Preface to this 1991 book, "My interest in modern Marian apparitions began in 1982, when I spent the better part of a day exploring Lourdes... I found Lourdes compelling in its own right, from the crowds of the sick and inform in their wheelchairs to the innumerable souvenir shops filled with thousands of pious trinkets. Critics of Lourdes charge that shrine... exploit the hopes of the desperately ill... The impression that I had... was that under the ever-present image of Mary at Lourdes these people had achieved some kind of peace with themselves ... and that their suffering, if not physically alleviated, was at least transformed into something meaningful...

"While the scholarly study of apparitions is ... not a very well paved path, I am convinced that it is worth the effort... This study is an introduction to modern Marian apparitions. It traces the transformation of private experience into public belief and the transformation of suffering... into meaning... I hope this introduction will inspire other scholars to ask their own questions of Marian apparitions and to seek to answer them according to the rules of their own disciplines."

She notes, "The first Marian apparition of the nineteenth century to receive widespread attention and to be formally recognized by Roman Catholic authorities was the apparition reported by Catherine Labouré in... 1830. The most important feature of this ... apparition was the purported revelation of an image of the Virgin which Catherine said she was instructed to have struck into a religious medal, over which was to be written the prayer, 'O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.' ...

"While it is generally acknowledged that the great popularity of this 'Miraculous Medal' helped prepare the way for Pope Pius IX's proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854, it would seem that it also contributed substantially to the Church's formal approval of the authenticity of Catherine's visions in 1836 to [her]... canonization in 1947." (Pg. 26)

Of Fatima, she observes, "All accounts agree that [Lucia] was the only one of the three seers to interact with both her vision and with the crowd, carrying on conversations with both while her two cousins stood by silently... She has said... that it was her who convinced [her cousins] that they had to be very careful in speaking about their experiences. Lucia's leading role... is the first important matter with which the student of Fatima has to come to terms. The second is the fact that much of what devotees today accept as the content of the apparition comes from four memoirs written by Lucia in the convent between 1935 and 1941, many years after the series of experiences that constitute the apparition event." (Pg. 68)

She comments, "It is clear that most Roman Catholic officials almost from the very first doubted the authenticity of the San Damiano apparition and were troubled by the growth and the ongoing expressions of piety at the site. It would seem, however, that some officials were initially reluctant to speak out against the growing cult...The apparition at San Damiano began in 1964, when the Second Vatican Council was well under way, and for bishops suddenly confronted with implementing the Council's wide-ranging reforms, one might expect that San Damiano would be profoundly disturbing...

"[T]he standoff between these officials and the seer and devotees of San Damiano ... involved a conflict between the Church's need for a single, unified order and the human need for expressions of physical well-being that often crystallize around an apparition, and this survey will illustrate how hard it may be for a bishop and for the Church as a whole to prohibit devotion to such an apparition once this process of crystallization has begun." (Pg. 113-114)

Of Garabandal, she says, "Conchita has said in her Diary that at the beginning of the apparition she and the other girls were told by the Virgin that they would come to deny the appearances and to contradict one another, and that their parents would cease to get along with each other... one the day when Conchita returned from Santander. They were driving home... when Conchita leaned over to a priest and said, 'A day will come when we will deny all that---absolutely all---and we will contradict one another.'" (Pg. 147)

She adds, "this 'period of doubt' which came upon all four of the seers is very interesting... interiorly they knew that they had seen the Virgin and the angel, but publicly they were denying some aspects of their experience. They told their parents, for example, that they had not seen the Virgin or the angel... This period of doubt lasted through the spring of 1962 and then... [they] reaffirmed their supernatural experiences. Mari Cruz, however, continued her denials." (Pg. 148)

This is a fascinating survey, that covers a full range of apparitions (including Medjugorje) in an objective, though not in a "pious" way. While I might have hoped for some more critical thought and analysis of the apparitions and less simple "reporting," this book will be very helpful for anyone wanting a broad survey of such visions.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed and technical reviews of the experience of visionaries of the Blessed Virgin, without discussion of evidence for or against any such apparitions or any judgment of fact.

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dated but nevertheless still useful analysis.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great piece of work looking at this phenomenon without judgement or too much influence on the reader. Really intriguing material.

[Connie Backus-yoder · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information in this book was quoted several times in another book I had read.