4. Our Lady of Banneux, January 15 – March 2, 1933, in Banneux, Belgium
Also known as Our Lady of the Poor, this apparition was reported by a girl named Mariette Beco, who told her parish priest she saw a lady in white who declared herself to be the “Virgin of the Poor,” and said, “I come to relieve suffering” and “Believe in me and I will believe in you.”
When Mariette was just 12 years old, she saw a vision of a beautiful lady outside of her kitchen window. The lady asked her to plunge her hands into a small spring, telling her the spring was for healing and “for all nations.” Over time the site drew many pilgrims. Today, the small spring yields about 2,000 gallons of water per day with many reports of miraculous healings.
After the apparitions, Mariette lived a private life. In 2008 she made a final statement about her role in the apparitions: “I was no more than a postman who delivers the mail. Once this has been done, the postman is of no importance any more.” Mariette died in 2011 at age 90.
In May 1942, Bishop Louis-Joseph Kerkhofs approved the veneration of Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Poor. In 1947, approval for the apparitions came from the Holy See.
