The Apparition at Knock Ireland - August 21, 1879
Posted: Saturday, November 21, 2009
by Bob Lord
Journeys of Faith
August 21, 1879 was a rainy day in County Mayo, and particularly in the little village of Knock. The morning had given hope of a fair day; but as the afternoon progressed, the dark rainclouds gathered over the little hamlet. Winds from the east whipped up, darting back and forth, bristling through the meadows and fields. The rains began, and hammered down on the little area.
She chose the side of a church, the village church in Knock. After the rains had started, one Margaret Beirne went over to lock up the church for the night. She noticed a bright light around the back of the church, and looked to see what was there. She saw what she thought were statues of Our Lady, St. Joseph, and a Bishop, standing alongside a new altar, on top of which was a statue of a Lamb with a Cross. Margaret didn't pay too much attention to it; she left the Church, and went home, not saying a word to anyone about it.
Satan must have been whooping it up in Hell. If this girl didn't tell anyone, no one would know about Our Lady's visit, and consequently, no one would come. His plan might have worked. Even the priest's housekeeper, Mary McLoughlin, passed by and noticed the apparition, but also thought they were statues. She went to the Bierne's home for a visit. So far so good for Satan.
But at 8 o'clock or thereabouts, when Mary McLoughlin decided to go home, the older Bierne girl, Mary, decided to walk with her in the rain. So here we have two Marys, walking in the rain past the church again. When they passed the apparition, Mary McLoughlin casually mentioned that the pastor must have bought some new statues in Dublin. But the other Mary, more inquisitive, decided to take a closer look. She jumped back with a start. "They're not statues. They're moving. It's the Blessed Virgin!"The two women didn't know what to do. Mary Bierne ran home to tell her mother and brother.
Rain or no, the people flocked to the church. Fourteen people in all came to witness the gift of Our Lady's presence on that brutal night. Their combined description of what they saw is as follows:
The entire back wall of the church was bathed in a brilliant light, which could be seen from quite a distance away. As they looked at the scene, everything was raised about two feet off the ground. There was an altar, on the top of which stood a Lamb with a Cross. The altar and the Lamb were surrounded by Angels, hovering above.
To the left of the Altar were three figures. On the left was St. Joseph; in the middle was Our Lady; to the right, closest to the Altar was St. John the Evangelist, his right hand raised, a book in his left. Our Lady was life sized. The other two were smaller.
Mary was lovely. She wore a white gown and sash. A veil flowed from the back of her head to her feet. On top of her head, above the veil, was a gold crown. Between the crown and the edge of the veil was a gold rose. She looked up towards heaven in prayer; her hands were raised to her shoulders, pointed inwards. She was almost iridescent.
At first, no one dared go very close to the images. They stood or knelt at a distance in the rain, becoming soaked, but not caring. One of the visionaries, fourteen year old Patrick Hill, gathered up courage to venture near to the apparition. He was able to get close enough to give a good description of what he saw. He could make out Our Lady's eyes, the pupils as well as the iris. He could see the smooth texture of her milky skin. He mentioned that St. Joseph's beard was grey. His head was bent slightly. He also saw lines on the pages of the book that St. John held. He reported that the three figures were full bodied, three dimensional, rather than images projected on the wall. He testified that they were a few feet out from the wall of the Church; but as he got too close, the images moved back, away from him. All the witnesses verified that the three figures moved during the hour and a half that they knelt before them. Patrick Hill also mentioned that he saw the wings of the angels fluttering.
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Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and television hosts on EWTN, Global Catholic television. They are prolific writers about the Catholic faith, especially the Saints for which they have been dubbed "experts on the Saints." For more information about Knock Apparition go to http://www.bobandpennylord.com/yg51.htm
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