Wisconsin Shrine Approved as First U.S. Marian Apparition Site

The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help receives the decree from Bishop of Green BayFollowing a two-year formal inquiry, Bishop David Rickin of the Diocese of Green Bay issued a decree with "moral certainty" that the events, apparition and locutions given to a young Belgian immigrant woman were approved. Adele Brise claimed to have received three visits from the Virgin Mary in October of 1859.

On 10/9/1859, a year after the Marian apparitions at
Lourdes, France; Mary, the Queen of Heaven is
alleged to have appeared 3 separate times in
Northeastern Wisconsin to Adele Brise.
(Recreated in above image.)

During October of 1859 the Virgin Mary is alleged to have appeared to a young Belgian immigrant woman, Adele Brise, on three occasions in Champion, Wisconsin. Since that time faithful pilgrims have continuously visited the chapel which stands of the site of those appearances.

On Wednesday, December 8, which is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the Most Reverend David Rickin, Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay, decreed with "moral certainty" that the events, apparitions and locutions given to Adele Brise in October of 1859 do exhibit the substance of supernatural character, and approved these apparitions as worthy of belief (although not obligatory) by the Christian faithful.

This historic decree concerning the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help is a first for the United States, where no other appearances have been validated. Two alleged apparitions in the US that were examined by the Church and formally declared to be false are Necedah, Wisconsin and Bayside, New York.

An apparition is an appearance of Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary or one of the Saints. An appearance may include a message for the person who sees the apparition.

There are 11 approved sites in the world in addition to Our Lady of Good Help. Probably the most well-known apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary are Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico in 1531; Lourdes, France in 1858; and Fatima, Portugal in 1917.

During each of the three apparitions near Champion (then Robinsonville), Wisconsin, a lady in shining white clothes appeared to Adele. The third time she identified herself as "the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners."

She went on to tell the 28 year-old woman, who lived with her family on a small homestead in northern part of the state, "I wish you to do the same."

The Virgin Mary then gave her a mission for evangelization and catechesis: "Gather the children in this wild country, and teach them what they should know for salvation . Go and fear nothing. I will help you."

Before moving to America with her family about four years earlier, Adele had intended to become a nun and later went on to become a Third Order Franciscan after the apparition.

She fully embraced the mission she had been given and traveled throughout the state, which was still mostly unsettled, giving religious instruction to children and adults. At that time there was a severe lack of priests and attending Mass often involved a laborious journey.

She also established a Catholic school and a community of Franciscan women near the Shrine.

Six years prior to Sister Adele's death in 1896, her adopted hometown of Robinsonville, Wisconsin renamed itself after the Belgian town of Champion. She had requested the change in honor of a childhood promise she had made to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she would enter a Belgian religious order in that region.

Since the 1859 appearances, bishops of the Diocese of Green Bay have been supportive of the apparition account and the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, which was erected on the site, as a place of prayer and pilgrimage. However, none had made a official declaration.

While no one can actually prove a supernatural occurrence, there are other factors that can be considered. The Church judges apparitions on the basis of their consistency with Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the teachings of the Church, any subsequent spiritual benefits in the lives of people, and whether there is anything in the life of the seer that detracts from the credibility of the account.

A decree with moral certainty approves apparitions as worthy of belief by the Christian faithful; however, there is no obligation for belief implied in the approval.

On January 9, 2009 Bishop Rickin opened a formal investigation of the apparition and appointed a team of experts to conduct the study. The formal decree came after just under two years of examination.

While some may think that the Holy See or a conference of bishops makes such decrees, the Bishop is the one responsible for judging the authenticity of apparitions that are said to have occurred in his Diocese.

Bishop Ricken told the Catholic News Agency (CNA) that Sister Adele's own life was among the most convincing testimonies to the validity of the apparition. Rather than calling attention to herself or the apparitions, she had humbly devoted the rest of her life to fulfilling the instructions she had received.

"She went all over this area, and visited the homes that were scattered far and wide," Bishop Ricken said, recounting the sister's Franciscan spirit of humble simplicity. "She walked most of the time, and she'd spend several days with the children teaching them the catechism and talking with the parents about their faith."

"She really had an evangelistic spirit and lived that out, not just immediately after the message, but her whole life long."

Bishop Ricken went on to tell CNA that the simplicity and clarity of Mary's message also testified to the truth of the apparitions. Her instructions to Sister Adele were "simple, but very much loaded with the main message of the Gospel and with the teachings of the Church."

The bishop also recalled discovering "countless stories of answered prayers," including reports of "what many call miracles," among those who had visited the shrine to seeking intercession from Our Lady of Good Help.

The formal declaration from Bishop Rickin can be read here.

Blessed Pope John Paul II 1st official Feastday!

The Church celebrates the first memorial for Blessed Pope John Paul II today. (May 18, 1920 - April 2, 2005)
Oct. 22, 1978, was the day he was installed as Pope and the date chosen for his feast.

He was born Karol Józef Wojtyłla in a small Polish town called Wadowice, the youngest of three children. His mother died when he was eight and he moved to Krakow with his father. In his young adulthood, he had a passion for acting and the theater, both performing and writing. The Nazi invasion of Poland changed everyone's lives and after his father's death he felt a calling for the priesthood. Much of his study was done in secret for at times he had to hide from the occupying German army but this increased his resolve. He was ordained November 1, 1946 in Krakow and sent to study theology in Rome where he earned a doctorate in sacred theology. He was appointed Archbishop of Krakow in 1964. He was elected Pope on October 16, 1978 and served until his death on April 2, 2005. His writings and his life had a major effect on the Catholic Church and the world. He wrote about theology, social issues and the dignity of women and upheld the traditional values of the Church. He was the most traveled Pope in history and attracted large crowds wherever he visited. He inspired the Solidarity movement in Poland which would lead to the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union. He made a particular effort to identify with the young people in the Church and established World Youth Day in 1984. He also tried to heal the differences between the major religions by finding common ground between them. He was wounded in an assassination attempt in 1981 and later forgave the gunman. He was one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century. His last words were, "Let me depart to the house of the Father." He was Beatified on May 1, 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI.

Vatican Radio today offered two tributes to the Polish Pontiff.
The first focused on the Holy Father's prayer life. It was an interview from the archives with Cardinal Roberto Tucci, who organized many of the Pontiff's trips abroad.
The second tribute focused on the Pope's personality, drawing from the personal experiences of papal biographer George Weigel and Vatican reporter John Allen.
Weigel described the Polish Pontiff as "relentlessly curious," and said he was constantly looking ahead -- that there was nothing "nostalgic" about his personality. This trait, however, Weigel characterized as a reflection of the Holy Father's Christian faith: "He really believed that Providence was at work in history and therefore he wanted to know what was going on because that allowed him insights into how the divine will was working itself out in perhaps surprising ways at this moment in time."
Allen, for his part, shared an insight into the Pope's capacity as a communicator, when the Holy Father was able to put him at ease during their first personal interview.

Why not offer a rosary today, asking for his intercession and in thanks for all he worked for?

BRAVO Msgr Biebel!

October Musings from the Rector’s desk… October 16, 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Cathedral Family and friends,

The current issue of FAITH Life covered our Holy Father’s teaching during his visit to Germany. He was clearly concerned about the weakening of the Faith there and the fact that only 31% of his own country considered themselves Catholic. His words tell the reason why. “God is increasingly being driven out of our society…Are we to yield to the pressure of secularization, and become modern by watering down the faith?”

As a senior priest and pastor I share his concern that we are losing our sense of identity as Catholics. For many, being Catholic means “Catholic lite”, just another adjective we use about ourselves like our political party or nationality, that surfaces now and then when needed or convenient, but hardly the core of our daily life and personality.

Allow me to mention a few examples. Then let me offer some suggestions that both you and I can follow to light the fire anew if it is flickering.

Just recently we had our annual Eucharistic Sunday. Even though we had information in the bulletin, on our website, a school broadcast to the homes of all our students, a homily or two mentioning it, response was not significant: some loyal members of the Cathedral Women’s Council were here, a few school families with their children, in all, hardly more than ten or fifteen worshippers at any one of the five hours the Blessed Sacrament was honored.

In years past, we had three whole days of Adoration of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament! When I was young, FORTY HOURS was a highpoint in our year in the parish. Four altar servers were assigned to every half hour in church. Moms and Dads would send the children to church right after supper to save seats for them so they could attend the evening devotions. I can’t imagine that today. As a seminarian at Gannon, we often attended the novena devotions at St. Patrick’s that were so crowded, that services were repeated twice each Monday evening. That was then, but would Catholics attend in those numbers now? And at night??

There was a time when a Catholic person would never pass a church without going in to make a “visit”. Everyone had a medal or scapular on. Men always had a Rosary in their pocket, every Catholic woman had one in her purse. And they were used for prayer, not around our necks for good luck. Week nights we gathered around the radio to pray the Family Rosary broadcast from St. Mark’s Seminary. (Little did I realize that I would be staffing that same program as a seminarian there a few years later.) Meatless Fridays distinguished us from others.

After decades of religious bigotry, we lived our Catholic lives proudly and openly. People knew who the Catholics were. And WE knew who and what we were! Proudly, too.

Today, Sunday is fast becoming just another day. Family worship at Mass, the family Sunday dinner and all the special touches that made the Lord’s Day holy are almost foreign to us. We find Catholics slipping in to the shortest Saturday evening Mass, so they can have Sunday for themselves. Or even more frequently, families lose their parish identity by going anywhere Mass is convenient and over in the shortest time. Just to get it in!

Every Sunday, as I read the paper, I find it discouraging as a pastor to read the wedding page and see young men and women from traditional Catholic families being married at the beach, or at a hotel or resort, in non-Catholic church. I read obituaries of Catholics burying their departed without a prayer or without a Mass of Christian Burial. What is happening? Have we become THAT secularized that our most significant moments in life do not need the Lord?

Are we forfeiting our sense of being truly Catholic by shopping at the malls or stores on Sunday? Do sports dominate our weekends? Do we lose ourselves among the several million others, watching what was once a game for high school kids that has become desperately important, and those who play it skillfully get paid forty more times than the President of the United States? We protect ourselves with busy-ness, grooming and security- blanket electronics. The media have made the trivial important, and the important things of life, trivial. But, are we more at peace with ourselves, secure in our relationships, content with those we love, at home in the world? Are we numb from entertaining ourselves?

So what can we do? Well, think deeply and pray deeply to truly BE WHO WE ARE! Recently the bishops of England and Wales have reintroduced obligatory meatless Fridays. Do we need such external reminders to shape us up again? Perhaps. But, if we really trace our worldliness and restlessness, our fascination with things of sense, down to their roots, maybe we will rightly conclude that only GOD can satisfy us. The revisions in our worship at Mass can call us to think and pray more deeply in our worship. We could be on the edge of new discovery of our life with God IF we get beyond the words, to the MYSTERY OF FAITH.

God is calling us, now, and every day of our lives, to conclude that Jesus was right when he said: “Without me, you can do nothing.” Everything YOU and I can do to lead others to prayer and worship, whether toddlers or senior citizens, is strengthening us all as the Church. So, don’t be too busy to seek out the sacred, to talk about it and use the printed word, the Internet and all the means we have today to discover and share God’s life and love.

With Him, all things are possible. The truth of Christ is ours to embrace and live. We need to invite others to “Come Home” to the Church, but we have to know our way around our Home as well! We are Catholic: convicted, dedicated and alive with the Spirit. It is our LIFE! Let’s not give our life and treasure away to dedicate our energy and time to what is not eternal!



Peace to you, and blessings,

Msgr. William E. Biebel, Rector, St. Peter Cathedral, Erie, Pa.

Please share this with all you know and take a moment to encourage the Monsignor who rightly cares more for the Fullness of Truth than for popular opinion! Drop him a line and tell him so and keep him in your daily prayers!

ST. MARGARET MARY

Being Baptized 'Mary Margaret' ... I always include St. Margaret Mary in my daily prayers :) 

St. Margaret Mary lived in the seventeenth century. She is the famous French nun to whom Jesus showed his Sacred Heart. As a child, she was a happy little girl who loved the nuns at school. But when she was eleven, she became very sick. It was four years before she was well again. Her father had died, and an aunt had moved into their home. This aunt and her husband made Margaret Mary and her mother suffer very much. Almost every day, the teenager would hide in the garden to cry and pray. What hurt her most was seeing her mother get hurt. 

 

Yet Margaret Mary grew to love good times. A few years later, she was considering marriage. Her mother wanted her to marry and so did her relatives. They were worried about her, especially when she brought beggar children into the garden to try to teach them. Margaret Mary hesitated a while, neither marrying nor entering the convent. At last she decided on the convent.

She joined the Visitation sisters and was a kind, humble sister. Often she made others impatient since she was slow and clumsy. But she was dear to Jesus. He began to appear to St. Margaret Mary to show her how much he loves us all. Jesus wanted her to spread devotion to his Sacred Heart. It was a very hard thing to do. Many people thought Margaret Mary had not really seen Jesus at all. Some were angry with her for trying to spread the new devotion. This brought her great suffering. Yet she did her best to carry out the Lord's wish. Jesus blessed her hard work and pain. Today, this wonderful devotion to the Sacred Heart is practiced all over the world.

Our Lord made great promises to St. Margaret Mary for those who are devoted to his most Sacred Heart. Some of these promises are: "I will comfort them in all their afflictions. I will establish peace in their homes. I will bestow abundant blessings on all their undertakings. I will bless every place where a picture of my Heart shall be displayed and honored." The greatest promise Jesus made is this: "My divine Heart shall be the safe refuge in the last moment to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Friday for nine months in a row."

We commemorate her on October 16th.

Proclaim a solemn fast to the assembly…

Proclaim a solemn fast to the assembly…

Dream: Last night I saw a scroll and heard these words: “Proclaim a solemn fast to the assembly. Prepare the way of the Lord. He comes in glory.”
I asked for a Scripture passage this morning and received this passage:


Amos 2: 12-16 But you gave the nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets not to prophesy. Beware, I will crush you into the ground as a wagon crushes when laden with sheaves. Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong man shall not retain his strength; The warrior shall not save his life, nor the bowman stand his ground; The swift of foot shall not escape, nor the horseman save his life. And the most stouthearted of warriors shall flee naked on that day, says the LORD.

I strongly feel that a nine day fast beginning Friday October 14 is what our Lord is asking. Please pray and ask the Lord what sort of fast He is asking from you. We do not need to post here what is being undertaken. That is between us and the Lord. Whatever it is, it should be sustainable for 9 days, and should not interfere with our duties.

Jesus without You we cannot please You. If You have called us to do this, we believe You will provide the grace. We trust in You to accomplish this task in us for Your purpose and to Your glory. Jesus we trust in You. Amen.

I am passing this along because I have personally spoken with this lady on more than one occasion and believe her to be genuine. 

You can follow the Pelianito Blog by clicking HERE.

Mini-Retreat: Fr. Nick Rouch / Angie Amburn

Take the time to listen to these two short talks.... and be blessed by our dear Lord's servants!

Pope Leo's Prophetic Letter Gives us the Plan for TODAY!

How many of us are truly immersed enough in the Faith with a rock solid prayer life to be able to truly STAND FIRM should push come to shove in our society today? Are we too busy with our daily lives to brush aside the words we've heard from our Popes and approved Church visionaries? We are at a very important place in history .. both in the secular world and most certainly in the religious world. The fence will soon be violently shaken. My heart aches for those that still feel they are seated firmly on what flimsy beliefs will most certainly land them on one side or the other. We MUST pray the words of the USA Chaplet:  
"... strengthen the faithful, renew the lukewarm, restore the fallen away and CONVERT THE PROUD."
So nice to plan for things and it's well understandable to want to see children graduate, get married, have families and do all good things that are normal here .. IF we weren't at the time and place that we're AT right now. The lines are being drawn... HAVE been drawn, it remains only for the 'Word' to be given from He Who has earth as His footstool to set the ball in motion.
I do NOT speak of the 'end of the world'. But I DO believe we're poised at the precipice and will have to stand firm for our beliefs very shortly and that it WILL *cost* us ... perhaps even dearly. Are we grounded and rooted enough in our Faith? Do we think that perhaps weekly Mass and YEARLY Confession is ENOUGH to get us through a persecution time? If so, then we do ourselves a grave disservice. We MUST have a strong, steady and secure prayer life.
If we truly love our God, then why not seek after Him as we would an earthly love. I've said it many times before ... we give more time to our hobbies than to He Who gave us life and salvation through the glory and passion of our dear Lord Jesus! And we fully expect to have Jesus jump through any hoop we demand of Him at our beck and call. How do we treat folks who only approach us when they want something from us?
Anyway, I'm not telling folks anything they don't already KNOW ... I'm merely pointing out the OBVIOUS and hoping that folks will begin to take things more seriously because I believe TIME IS of the essence. Perhaps the Illumination is around the corner. Perhaps our own individual end is around the corner ... either way, don't you want to be ready so that it doesn't surprise you like a thief in the night? So take stock people ... trim your wicks, carry extra oil and keep watch ..... just like the little sign in the side view mirror says: "Things are closer than they seem."

Satan Is The Master Of Deceit!

It would be easy if Satan came as he is often portrayed, with horns and a pitchfork. We would naturally flee this ugliness.


Alas, he often comes cloaked in beauty, in sheep’s clothing. He claims to offer us freedom and autonomy from an unreasonable God and Church, liberation from rules and being “told what to do.” He cloaks himself in the false righteousness of being “tolerant” and “not judging others.” He exalts us by telling us we have finally come of age and can disregard the “hang-ups” and “repression” our ancestors had of sex and pleasure. He flatters us by extolling our scientific knowledge and inflates us by equating it with wisdom and moral superiority over our “primitive” fore-bearers. He reassures us by insisting we are merely the victims here, victims of biological urges, bad parenting, economic injustice, that we are not depraved, just deprived. He humors us by making us laugh at sin, making light of it in comedian’s routines, sitcoms, music and otherwise turning sin into a form of entertainment. He anesthetizes the pain of guilt and sin by sending us teachers who tickle our ears and assure us that what we know deep down to be wrong is actually fine, even virtuous. He affirms us by insisting that whenever shortcomings in us have been called to our attention it is simply unfair since other people are surely worse, that self esteem is something owed to us and others who lessen it are unkind. He sings us the lullaby of presumption assuring us that consequences and judgment will not be our lot and with this lullaby we drift off into a moral sleep of indifference and false confidence.
But in the end, there is a wolf under the sheepskin. Satan is ugly. He enslaves, condemns, ridicules and ensnares. His “reassurances” bring pain and grief as the awful effects of sin unwind: hatred, fear, resentments, revenge, suffering, disease, addiction, bondage, strife, divorce, estrangement, war, insurrection, disloyalty, scorn, bitterness, depression, anxiety, depletion, poverty, loss and deep, deep sorrow.
Beware, Satan has many disguises and he seldom presents as he really is. The movie The Passion of the Christ brilliantly presented Satan in the Garden. At first there was almost a strange beauty. But a closer look revealed increasingly hideous details: cold, fixed eyes, sharp and discolored nails, sickly pale skin, suddenly androgynous qualities, and a disgusting maggot crawling in and out of the nose. An audible moan came from the audience in the theatre where I first saw it. Would that, beyond the movie, we could sense this revulsion and clarity as to the evil of Satan and his truest reality.

By: Msgr. Charles Pope- From: The Light Is On For You.org

Archbishop Dolan against O-genda?

About a year ago, I came across a few things about AB Dolan that had me confused and feeling badly. I initially was impressed with an interview I saw shortly after he was made president of the USCCB, but then was shown some info that made gave me pause. However, I am most pleased to learn that he has publicly stood up and is now requesting a response from the government regarding Catholic teaching! We need to keep all Bishops, priests, religious all clergy in daily prayer and please don't forget the PPP!!!!

The EVIL is Everywhere and GROWING ...

He promised us CHANGE WE CAN COUNT ON ... and I think that's the ONLY thing that was TRUTHFUL so far.
He just didn't mention what KIND of CHANGE it was ....

Father Jacob Maurer Explains the Changes in the Liturgy

Father Maurer does a wonderful and concise job in explaining the changes that will take place in November regarding the Mass. I know you'll enjoy his refreshing and informative presentation! :)

Our Lady's House in Ephesus, Turkey

Mary's Last Days Spent Here?

It doesn't get much more dramatic:

At left is a photograph of what investigators first saw upon reaching what is now widely believed (including by the official Church) to be the last home of the Blessed Mother, in Ephesus, Turkey.

It came about through the mystical writings of Anne Catherine Emmerich -- whose diaries contained an extremely detailed description of where Mary spent her last days and led two different teams of searchers to the same spot. (If there is interest, we may lead a pilgrimage here next summer; for time and again, those who visit say they felt a grace there like no other. There is even a replica now of the House of Ephesus in New England.) We have written of this before.

Let's focus on how one team -- led by a Father Eugene Poulin of Smyrna -- located a truly incomparable treasure. 

It doesn't get much more dramatic:

At left is a photograph of what investigators first saw upon reaching what is now widely believed (including by the official Church) to be the last home of the Blessed Mother, in Ephesus, Turkey.

It came about through the mystical writings of Anne Catherine Emmerich -- whose diaries contained an extremely detailed description of where Mary spent her last days and led two different teams of searchers to the same spot. (If there is interest, we may lead a pilgrimage here next summer; for time and again, those who visit say they felt a grace there like no other. There is even a replica now of the House of Ephesus in New England.) We have written of this before.

Let's focus on how one team -- led by a Father Eugene Poulin of Smyrna -- located a truly incomparable treasure.

Fascinating it is to read how this priest-scholar -- initially intensely skeptical of Emmerich, even hostile -- came to put stock in what she had written and with the prayers and prodding of a holy nun named Sister Marie de Mandat-Grancey eventually turned into a champion of the discovery!

The incredible events seemed to start when Father Poulin, superior of the Vincentian monastery where Sister Marie lived, happened on an old book by Emmerich called The Suffering, Passion, and Death of Jesus Christ as he was looking through his bookcase. This is the book that inspired a recent Passion movie and described the Crucifixion in tremendous, excruciating detail -- as seen mystically by Emmerich.

It was not something Father Poulin had or would have read.

As a well-known scholar on the classics, the Vincentian in fact reviled mysticism and derided it when the subject was brought up. According to the new, compelling book, The Life of Sister Marie and Mary's House in Ephesus, Father Poulin felt "revulsion" for the Emmerich work and shoved it aside with contempt.

That's when the extraordinary events began.

For this same evening -- when Father Poulin returned from classes -- Emmerich's book somehow had found its way back on his desk!

He returned it to the shelf.

But the next evening it was there again.

Disturbed (was someone playing a joke?), the scholar now tossed the book across the room to the farthest corner where it remained for an entire week. Somehow, the houseman wasn't picking it up. The priest left it there, strangely content with looking on it like so much litter.

After Mass one day, however, a sudden, inexplicable, and startling desire arose in Father Poulin to take a closer look at The Passion. In fact -- oddly enough -- so strong was the compunction that he felt blood pounding in his veins!

Yet fearful that a student or another priest would walk in on him, Father Poulin resisted this strange urge until finally giving in to read a little and then a lot -- astonished that he couldn't put it down and could not find a single theological error and in fact was finding the mystical rendition from Blessed Emmerich intense and powerful.

Soon -- more remarkably still -- he was touting the revelation to others -- which met with what he feared: the derisive laughter of younger priests who were as skeptical as he had been.

He talked it over with an elder priest who did believe and who recommended another Emmerich book - The Life of the Blessed Virgin.- 

Here is where we get to the crux of this remarkable story.

For in this second book of revelations, Emmerich had focused on Mary and described the location, views, landmarks, terrain, and characteristics of the Blessed Mother's last home not so far from the monastery in Ephesus!

It was virtually a road map to the site on a hillside overlooking that city and one called Samos.

The revelations were exact -- leading a team directed by Father Poulin (who had fallen ill and couldn't go himself) to finding the spot on July 29, 1891.

There was even an artesian well that Emmerich -- who lived in Germany, and certainly had never ventured anywhere nearby -- had also depicted.

A mystery that had endured for centuries was solved. And soon, the site was excavated and parts of the home restored -- such that now it is a major pilgrim spot (especially for Muslims!).

In fact, it was two Turkish Muslims [left] who helped the team search and protected them against brigands.

"He stood still, frozen in astonishment!" says the book of Father Henry Jung, a priest on the expedition.

They wondered over the gorgeous terrain, which seemed like God loved it specially. It was mesmerizing.

Was this where the Blessed Mother was assumed?

As it turns out, the Church has long suspected Ephesus as Mary's final residence and as far back as 431 A.D., an ecumenical council took place in Ephesus, during which Mary was given the title "Mother of God" (Theotokos). The meeting was in the Church of the Virgin Mary, which had been built in the Second Century.

Noteworthy is the fact that back then, a church was only dedicated to a person if he or she died in that place.

Meanwhile, after Father Poulin and the expedition he had sent found the house,  a report was sent to Rome where Pope Leo XIII discontinued for all time indulgence formerly attached to the "tomb" of Mary in Jerusalem and instead now obviously favored Ephesus as the true last place for Mary. His successor, Pope Pius X, even met with Sister Marie.

Fascinating stuff! Not just for the history buff, but those interested in the Blessed Mother and devotion. As one reviewer, Father Benedict Groeschel, himself a skeptical scholar, said, "I found this account of the discovery of the ruins of Ephesus to be absolutely fascinating, and I'm sure many other readers will feel the same way."

[resources: The Life of Sister Marie and Mary's House in Ephesus, The Life of the Blessed Virgin, and  The Suffering, Passion, and Death of Jesus Christ]

from SPIRIT DAILY