The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1876-09-24
APPARITI0N OF THE BLESSED TIRGIN At
MARPLNGEN, PROHINCE OF IREYES.

rected to certain occurrences which hap
pened in the eaEly part of July near the
village of Marpingep, IN the district of st.
| Wendell, province of Treves. The facts as
they have been stated by many impartial
witnesses, including the local clergy, ap-
pear to be as follows On Monday, Bird
July, the day after the Visitation of the
Blessed Virgin, three little girls about
| eight years old, named respectively Susanna
Leist, Catherine Hubertus, and Margaret
KuDz, went in the evening iuto the pine
wood, near the village, to gather whOrtle
| berries. Suddenly Susanna Leist screamed
out and called the two other children to her.
All three then ran home in state of great
fright, declaring that they had seen white
lady. Their parents laughed at them aud
reprOved them for talking SUCH nonsense,
but the children adhered firmly to their
| story. Next day they were taken by their
parents, accompanied by some other grown
up persons, to the place indicated by them.
Full of respect, and certain fear, the
children kuel5 down when they came to
within about thirty PAGES of where they said
| they had seen the apparition. Taey hegan
to recite the Oar Father aud Hail Mary,
and when they had repeated these prayers
three or four times, suddenly Catharlne and
Margaret exclaimed they saw the Lady.
Susanna got up and kuelt in front of the
other two, bat she never sew the appari
ton after tne fret evening. By direction
of their elders the children asked who she
was. The answer was - l am the lmmacu
late Conception The children thea asked
" hat were they to do. The ans @er was:
9 Pray much" Still prompted by their
| elders tne children Inquired what the vis
ion desired The answer was that chapel
should be built on the spot. Tney asked
might sick persons be brought to the place,
and they received an affirmative answer.
The apparition then slowly withdrew from
their sight. The people remained on tie
| spot for considerable time reciting the
Rosary and other prayers. The next after.
| noon a similar scene took place with the
same questions and answers, and Il greater
concourse of people. The parish priest who
| had been absent, returned home that night,
| and next morning after Mass sent for the
children. He examined them very closely
and at great length, but foand their story
most coherent. He dismissed them, saying,
| that the advice to :. pray much" was very
! good one, ard that they would do well to
follow it. From first to last, neither he
nor any of the n.Igh boring clergy expressed
| any opinion pubhcjy on the matter. He
described his own position very clearly.
| Had there been a regularly recognized
episcopal authority in the diocese he would
at once have applied for instructions. But
the See of Treves is vacant, and, on account
of the May Laws, there is no publicly re-
| cognized administrator of the diocese. "1f
| this was from men tho movement would
| soon cease if it came from God He would
Know now To WOTk OuC nlb Will WlCnOQC
me-" Such were his words. But, as soon
as public controversy arose, he did not he's
| itate to express his own private belief in the
| genuineness of the occurrences, and he has
written to the GernaniG an account of
| singular cure which was connected with
them. There was little child, seven and
I g half years old, dying of decline. He had
himself administered the Extreme Unction
to her, and was surprised that she still
lived, she had been reduced to such an ex-
tremity. She heard, somehow, of the ap-
partition, and said, as best she could, several
prayers. She prayed her mother to take
her to the place, and, as other persons also
recommended this, the mother carried her
| in her arms. The mother carried thither
| in her arms the las she thought} dying
child. The next day, returning to her
| house about noon, che was amazed to see
| her little girl entering the house unassisted.
1t appeared that she had arisen unaided,
had dressed herself and gone to the front
of the house by herself. The parish priest,
hearing of her cure came next day, and
found her sitting in a chair, nursing her
| little brother. She was taken by the po
| lice before the Government ofAcSr of the
district who had her examined by the pub
lie medical officer. This gentleman was
we'll acquainted with her former state, and
declared chat he could now find no trace of
! illness about her. Crowds of persons
| flocked to the woods. But there was no
disorder. They recited the Rosary, the
Litanies, and sang hymns. But the liberal
papers of the Rhine province began to no
tice these proceedings, and to speak of
them in a shameful and even blasphemous
manner. They represented the spparition
as " SWindle of the priests" got up to
arouse an Ultramontaue insurrectionary
movement. Under the pretext of danger
to the public peace, company of soldiers
was sent to Marpingen. They found over
l 800 persons assem- bled in the wood all
praying. The captain ordered them to
| dispense, and their movements were has
tened by rather rough treatment. Some
were beaten with the butt ends of the mus
kets, one man received bsyOnet wound.
All assemblages there are now forbidden,
and the soldiers are blleted in the district
around. One of the clergymen of the neigh
borhood, who was an inspector of schools,
| having declined to express his belief that it
was all a "swindle, !" has been dismissed With
! -: &C s,.l 49,