May 12
Mother of God, Hrushiv, Drohobych, Lviv, Ukraine
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In the Galician village of Hrushiv, an icon of the Mother of God hung on
a pear tree, where a healing spring arose. On May 12, 1914, while
mowing fields, twenty-two people saw the Virgin appear near the village
church. Recent devotional sources say she predicted war, the rise of
atheism in Russia, and 80 years of hardship for the Ukraine, which was
still under Soviet rule 72 years later on April 26, 1986, when the
Chernobyl nuclear power plant caught fire. A year and a day later, Marina
Kizyn, 12, saw the Virgin above the chapel of Our Lady of the Pear. As
word spread, people flocked to the site. To overcome the resistance of
local authorities, believers turned to President Gorbachev, who authorized
visits to the shrine. For a month thousands of pilgrims witnessed the
Mother of God emerge from a light that enveloped the church. "Teach
children to pray," she was heard to say. "Teach children to live
in truth. Chernobyl is a sign for the whole world." The Virgin
predicted the independence of the Ukraine (1991) but threatened that
failure to repent and do God's will could result in World War III. The
Catholic diocese holds a pilgrimage to Hrushiv on Mothers Day, the second
Sunday in May. (Information from "Our Lady of Hrushiv: Apparitions of
Warning and Consolation in the Ukraine," Mother of All Peoples,
www.motherofallpeoples.com
and uk.wikipedia.org. Picture from Holy Trinity Cathedral,
Sambir-Drohobych Diocese, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church,
www.katedra.org.ua/visnyk/pdf/2008/10_2008.pdf.) |
Also commemorated this date:
 | Notre Dame de Corsendonck, Oud-Turnhout, Antwerp, Belgium. Oratory
dedicated, 1432. |
| Jungfrau Maria, Obermauerbach, Bayern, Germany (Virgin Mary). Weeping
apparition, 1848. |
| Notre-Dame-de-Fatima, Bissau, Guinée-Bissau |
| Panna Maria Bolestná, Borovnice, Rychnov nad Knežnou, Královéhradecký,
Czech Republic, Homole hill (Sorrowful Virgin Mary). Foundation stone of
church laid, 1692. |
| Nostra Signora Ausiliatrice, Orco Feglino, Savona, Liguria, Italy (Our
Lady the Helper). Festa commemorates apparition. |
| Beata Vergine delle Grazie, Faenza, Ravenna, Emilia Romagna, Italy. Chapel
consecrated, 1420. Festa 2nd Sunday in May. |
| Madonna della Misericordia, Rimini, Emilia Romagna, Italy (Our Lady of
Mercy). Festa commemorates apparition of 1850. |
| Our Lady of Lourdes, Tobetsu, Sapporo, Japan, Our Lady of the Lighthouse
Trappist Monastery. New grotto blessed, 1989. |
| Virgen del Rosario, Talpa de Allende, Jalisco, Mexico. Fiesta commemorates
1923 coronation. |
| Matka Boza Laskawa, Lubaczów, Subcarpathia, Poland (Gracious Mother of
God). Painting crowned, 1776, and again June 19, 1983. |
| Virgen de los Dolores, Alcolea de Tajo, Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain
(Virgin of Sorrows) |
| Nuestra Seńora de Gracia, Biar, Alicante, Valencia, Spain. Pageant of Moros
y Cristianos. |
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