The Apparitions of Our Lady at Ghiaie di Bonate

1944, Ghiaie di Bonate, Italy

The Gravels of Bonate

Short introduction to the place where Our Lady appeared to the little Adelaide Roncalli

The parish of Ghiaie di Bonate is located in the diocese of Bergamo, about ten kilometers from the capital. It can be reached from Milan and Brescia in about one hour of freeway, exiting at Capriate tollgate and going towards Ponte San Pietro. At the traffic circle of Bonate Sopra, after the gas station, turn right and go down towards Ghiaie di Bonate. Few turns in the streets of the village and you arrive at the place of the apparitions of 1944 where it has been erected, in memory, a chapel.

Ghiaie di Bonate takes its name from the gravelly ground of the Brembo river. It is a hamlet of Bonate Sopra and, for a small part, of Presezzo. Ecclesiastically it has been a parish since 1921, Ghiaie di Bonate was civilly recognized, after many disputes, on March 29, 1944, on the eve of the apparitions. It is the only parish in the diocese dedicated to the Holy Family.

Il Torchio is a sub-fraction of Ghiaie that includes a group of few houses scattered near Brembo, among an expanse of fields and a conifer nursery, dominated by the Isola plateau that served as an amphitheater for the huge crowds that flocked there during the apparitions. In fact, from May 13 to July 31, 1944, more than three million pilgrims arrived in this small village of Bergamo, tides of people who came mostly on foot or by other means, putting their lives in danger because of the continuous bombardments and machine-gun fire.

The Second World War tore Italy with mourning and ruin. People lived in anguish and deprivation of every kind and the dream of peace seemed unattainable. When all seemed lost for Italy and the world, when the Pope risked being deported to Germany, hope was rekindled by a miracle. In this small village unknown to the world, in the late afternoon of May 13, 1944, Our Lady appeared to a 7-year-old girl.

As she had done at Fatima on 13th May 1917 during the First World War, Our Lady chose 13th May again to launch her messages of hope and peace to the world, torn apart by the Second World War.

The apparitions of Ghiaie di Bonate were defined "The epilogue of Fatima".

Adelaide Roncalli

Short biographical introduction of Adelaide Roncalli

In 1944, at Torchio, a suburb of Ghiaie di Bonate Sopra, lived the Roncalli family composed of a son Luigi and seven daughters: Caterina, Vittoria, Maria, Adelaide, Palmina, Annunziata and Romana (and Federica who died at an early age). Father Enrico had renounced the life of a farmer and served as a laborer in a local factory. His mother Anna Gamba, a housewife, had to raise her numerous offspring with painstaking patience.

Adelaide was then seven years old. She was born on April 23, 1937 at 11 a.m. at Torchio and baptized on April 25 by the parish priest, Don Cesare Vitale. She attended the first grade; she was an ordinary child, full of health and liveliness, she liked to play.

Until that afternoon of May 13, 1944, when the Holy Family appeared to her, nothing suggested that her name would cross not only the borders of Italy, but those of Europe.

While the world was burning in the flames of hatred and weapons and the war seemed never to end, Our Lady, mother of unity and queen of peace, chose a young girl from Bonate, Adelaide Roncalli, to launch her messages to the world. She appeared to her for thirteen days in two cycles: the first from 13 to 21 May, the second from 28 to 31 May.

Our Lady predicted to her:

"You will suffer much, but do not cry because afterwards you will come with me to heaven." "In this valley of true sorrows you will be a little martyr..." But Adelaide was too much of a child to immediately assess the gravity of these words. After the apparitions, she was isolated, intimidated, frightened and psychologically tormented, so much so that in the end, on September 15, 1945, someone managed to wrest from her a written retraction that would weigh like a boulder on the process of recognition of the apparitions.

On the 12th July 1946, she denied the retraction she had been dictated, reaffirming in writing the truthfulness of the apparitions, but unfortunately it did not have the hoped for outcome because on the 30th April 1948, the bishop of Bergamo Monsignor Bernareggi issued the decree of "non consta" prohibiting any form of devotion to Our Lady, venerated as appeared at Ghiaie di Bonate.

Moved here and there, against her will and unbeknownst to her parents, opposed, mocked and slandered, Adelaide carried her cross far from home.

When she turned fifteen, the bishop allowed her to enter the Sacramentine Sisters of Bergamo. When the bishop died, someone managed to get the order to make her leave the convent, forcing her to renounce the vocational plan that Mary had manifested for her. This renunciation brought her much suffering and cost her a long illness.

Any adolescent girl would have been destroyed by an event like hers, but Adelaide was strong and recovered. Tired of waiting for the door of the convent to open again, she decided to get married and went to live in Milan where she devoted herself with sacrifice to the care of the sick. Years went by and Adelaide remained closed in the silence imposed on her by her superiors.

Finally, availing herself of the decrees of the Second Vatican Council concerning the right to information, Adelaide felt relieved of the prohibitions that had been imposed on her and decided to solemnly and officially reaffirm, before a notary, the truthfulness of the apparitions.

Now Adelaide Roncalli, the visionary of Ghiaie, is no more. Struck by an incurable disease, she died at three o'clock on Sunday morning, August 24, 2014. She lived in absolute secrecy, far from the spotlight, in obedience to the Church and above all without rancor for those who inflicted pain and great sorrow on her.

The 13 Apparitions of Our Lady

The First Apparition of Our Lady

Saturday 13 May 1944, 18:00

Attendance: Adelaide and some little girls

Vision: The Holy Family

On that late afternoon of May 13, 1944, 7 year old Adelaide Roncalli went to pick elder flowers and daisies along the path that goes down next to the pine forest to bring them in front of an image of Our Lady.

With her, at a certain distance, were her 6-year-old sister Palmina and some of her friends.

From Adelaide's notebook:

'I was going to pick flowers for the Madonna that is halfway up the stairs to my room in my house. I had picked daisies and put them in a wheelbarrow that my father had made. I saw a beautiful elderflower but it was too high up for me to pick. I was admiring it when I saw a golden dot coming down from above and gradually approaching the ground and as it got closer it became larger and larger and in it I saw the presence of a beautiful Lady with the Baby Jesus in her arms and on her left St. Joseph. The three persons were wrapped in three oval circles of light and remained suspended in space not far from the threads of light. The Lady, beautiful and majestic, wore a white dress and a blue mantle; on her right arm she had the Rosary crown composed of white beads; on her bare feet she had two white roses. The dress around her neck had a finish of pearls all the same tied in gold in the form of a necklace. The circles surrounding the three people were luminous with shades of golden light. At first I was afraid and tried to run away, but the Lady called me with a soft voice saying: "Don't run away because I am Our Lady!" So I stopped and looked at her, but with a sense of fear. Our Lady looked at me, then added: "You must be good, obedient, respectful of your neighbor and sincere: pray well and come back to this place for nine evenings always at this time". Our Lady looked at me for a few moments, then slowly moved away, without turning her back on me. I watched until a whitish cloud removed them from my gaze. The Child Jesus and St. Joseph did not speak; they only looked at me with an amiable expression".

Seeing Adelaide in ecstasy, her friends called her and shook her without success, so much so that her sister Palmina, impressed, ran to her mother to tell her that Adelaide had died standing up. Slowly recovering from her ecstasy, Adelaide confided to her friends that she had seen Our Lady, but she did not speak about it in her family, so much so that dinner was held in peace. Her friends did not do the same and so the rumour began to spread around the village.'

The Second Apparition of Our Lady

Sunday, May 14, 1944, 18:00

Attendance: Adelaide, some little girls and a boy

Vision: The Holy Family

From Adelaide's notebook:

'I was at the Oratory with my companions, but about six o'clock I felt a great desire to run to the place where Our Lady had invited me. I left in a hurry with some of my companions; having reached the place, I instinctively looked up and saw two white doves passing by, then higher up I saw the luminous point approaching and outlining clearly and majestically the figure of the Holy Family.

At first they smiled at me, then Our Lady repeated to me what she had said yesterday: "You must be good, obedient, sincere and pray well, respectful towards your neighbor. Between your fourteenth and fifteenth year, you will become a Sacramentine Sister. You will suffer a lot, but don't cry, because afterwards you will come with me to Heaven!" Then she slowly walked away and disappeared as she had the night before.

I felt such joy in my heart for Our Lady's brief words, and the memory of her sweet presence was clear and precise in my mind. I returned with my companions towards the oratory; half way there we met a good boy who questioned me. When I said that I had seen Our Lady, he, anxious, said to me: "Try to go and see if she appears to you again and ask her if I can be a priest by consecrating myself to her." I hurriedly returned to the place and looked up into the sky in the hope that Our Lady would return. In fact, after a few minutes, the beautiful presence of Our Lady appeared again, to whom I expressed the desire of Candido, who was present at her new visit. With a soft, maternal voice, she answered me: "Yes, he will become a missionary priest according to my Sacred Heart, when the war is over." Having said this, she slowly disappeared.

At the end of the vision, I felt the boy pull my apron from me and, anxious, he asked me what Our Lady had answered. When I repeated Our Lady's words to him, he happily ran to tell his mother. I returned home with my companions and in my heart I felt a great joy. Before leaving, Our Lady told me to come back for another seven evenings.

Adelaide did not take long to experience the truth of the second prophecy. In fact, that evening, in the family, she was harshly reproached. Father A. Tentori writes that in this apparition Our Lady confirmed Candido's vocation "to whom she smiled" but then Adelaide gave a little cry and hid her face in her hands, without wanting to explain why. She probably knew of the suffering that this vocation would have cost her friend. In the meantime, the news of the apparitions crossed the borders of Ghiaie di Bonate.'

The Third Apparition of Our Lady

Monday, May 15, 1944, 18:00

Attendance: Adelaide, 2 friends and about one hundred people

Vision: The Holy Family (brighter than usual)

From Adelaide's notebook:

'Shortly before six o'clock, I arrived at the place of the apparitions with my companions: Itala Corna and Giulia Marcolini. It took me a long time to reach the place because the road was crowded. The luminous point preceded by the two little doves appeared and slowly approached manifesting the Holy Family brighter than usual. The bright blue eyes of the Baby Jesus in this apparition attracted my attention in a special way. The little dress that covered him down to his feet was a smooth, shirt-like pink color sprinkled with little gold stars. Our Lady wore a light blue dress with a very long white veil coming down from her head. Little stars formed a halo around Our Lady's face; on her feet were the two roses and between her clasped hands was the rosary.

Many people had advised me to tell Our Lady to heal their children and to ask her when peace would come. I told Our Lady everything and she answered: "Tell them that if they want their children healed they must do penance, pray a lot and avoid certain sins. If the men do penance, the war will end in two months, otherwise in less than two years." She recited about ten of the rosary with me, then slowly they went away until they disappeared.

From the tides of crowds that came afterwards, it was believed that they had done all that prayer and penance that Our Lady had requested and it was thought that the war would end within two months. Instead, two months after that 15 May, on Thursday 20 July, there was the attack on Hitler that caused the beginning of the decline of Germany and its subsequent defeat. The war still lasted until the summer of 1945, with the gradual cessation of hostilities. Our Lady predicted exactly: "a little less than two years".'

The Fourth Apparition of Our Lady

Tuesday, May 16, 1944, 18:00

Attendance: About 150 people

Vision: The Holy Family

In the afternoon Adelaide went to the oratory where she was questioned by Sister Concetta about the apparitions. Adelaide revealed, among other things, that Our Lady's arrival was always preceded by the flight of two little white birds and that the Virgin spoke to her in Bergamo dialect. The little girl returned home in time but had to insist a lot so that she could go to the 18:00 appointment with Our Lady.

From Adelaide's notebook:

'In this apparition, in order to be punctual at my time, I had to insist a lot with the people who crowded my house because they all insisted on making me believe that it was five o'clock while I felt in my heart that it was the time given to me by Our Lady. At my insistence to let me go, a man took me in his arms and took me to the place of the apparitions. As on the other evenings, the bright spot preceded by the little doves appeared and Our Lady with the Child Jesus and St. Joseph manifested themselves again. Their clothes were the same as the previous day.

Our Lady smiled at me and then said to me with a sorrowful face: "So many mothers have their children in misfortune because of their serious sins; let them stop sinning and the children will be healed." I asked for an external sign to satisfy the people's desire. She answered me: "That too will come in due time. Pray for the poor sinners who need the children's prayers." So saying, she went away and disappeared.'

The Fifth Apparition of Our Lady

Wednesday, May 17, 1944, 18:00

Attendance: About 3000 people

Vision: The Blessed Virgin with eight little angels

That day was the last time Adelaide attended the elementary school of Ghiaie di Bonate. The teacher questioned her about the apparitions and Adelaide's story was convincing. On her return home, Adelaide was led to her room by her mother who, crying, asked her the truth about the apparitions. Adelaide confirmed.

From Adelaide's notebook:

'At the usual time I went to the place of the apparitions. The two pigeons preceded the bright spot and Our Lady appeared dressed in red with a green mantle which had a long train. Around the three circles of light there were eight little angels dressed alternately in blue and pink, all below Our Lady's elbows, in a semicircle. As soon as I saw Our Lady, she immediately spoke to me and confided to me a secret to be revealed to the Bishop and the Pope with these words: "Tell the Bishop and the Pope the secret that I confided to you... I recommend you to do what I tell you, but do not tell anyone else." Then she slowly disappeared.'

Three days later, on May 20, Adelaide was taken to the bishop to reveal the secret to him. What was so important in the secret that the bishop, towards the middle of June 1944, went expressly to Gandino, where the girl was, to have it repeated to him?

Adelaide was accompanied to Rome in 1949 and received in private audience by Pope Pius XII to whom she confided the secret that Our Lady had revealed to her on May 17, 1944.

The Sixth Apparition of Our Lady

Thursday, May 18, 1944, 18:00
Feast of the Ascension

Attendance: About 7000 people

Vision: The Blessed Virgin with eight little angels

The crowd grew rapidly at Ghiaie di Bonate. Everybody wanted to see the little girl and there was great concern for her safety. A Roman sergeant helped the small group to reach the place of the apparitions.

From Adelaide's notebook:

'During the oratory I was thinking about Our Lady and around five o'clock I went to have a snack in order to be on time to go to the place of the apparitions. Our Lady's visit was preceded by the two pigeons. The Virgin was dressed in red with a green mantle, still surrounded by little angels like yesterday.

Our Lady smiled at me and then repeated three times these words: "Prayer and penance" . Then she added: "Pray for the poor, most obstinate sinners who are dying at this moment and who are piercing my Heart."

Many people had recommended that I ask Our Lady which prayer she liked best. I expressed this wish to her and she answered: "The prayer I like best is the Hail Mary." Having said this, Our Lady slowly disappeared.'

The Seventh Apparition of Our Lady

Friday, May 19, 1944, 18:00

Attendance: About 10,000 people

Vision: The Holy Family

On that day, they brought to the place of the apparitions the cards of the faithful with their supplications to Our Lady. There was a large crowd and Adelaide arrived at the place with much difficulty. From that evening on, a doctor, Dr. Eliana Maggi, was always present, close to the little girl.

From Adelaide's notebook:

'Like all the other evenings I went to my place where a granite stone had been brought on which I climbed during the apparitions. I saw the bright spot and in it the presence of the Holy Family. Our Lady was wearing a veil and a blue dress. A white sash encircled her hips; she had roses on her feet and a crown in her hands. The Baby Jesus was still dressed in pink with golden stars and his little hands joined together. His face was serene, almost smiling. St. Joseph was serene but not smiling; he was dressed in brown, from his shoulders descended a piece of brown cloth in the shape of a cloak and in his right hand he held a stick with a flowering lily. The little angels were still there.

Our Lady looked at me smiling, but I was the first to speak and I told her the desire of many with these words: "Our Lady, the people have told me to ask you if their sick children should really be brought here to be healed.

With a heavenly voice She answered me: "No, it is not necessary for everyone to come here, those who can come will come and according to their sacrifices they will be healed or will remain sick, but they must not commit any more serious sins." I begged her to perform some miracle so that people would believe her words. She answered me: "They will come too, many will be converted and I will be recognized by the Church." Then she added seriously: "Meditate on these words every day of your life, take courage in all your sufferings. You will see me again at the hour of your death, I will keep you under my mantle and carry you to heaven." '

The Eighth Apparition of Our Lady

Saturday, May 20, 1944, 18:00

Attendance: About 30,000 people

Vision: The Holy Family

Adelaide, accompanied by the parish priest don Cesare Vitali and by her cousin Maria, went to Bergamo to see the bishop to tell him the secret she had received from Our Lady. The cousin told the bishop about the announcement given by Adelaide of a miracle that would happen at the end of the first cycle of apparitions.

That evening, at Ghiaie, there was a large crowd waiting for Adelaide.

From Adelaide's notebook:

'Like all the other evenings I went to the stone to wait for the dear Lady. The Holy Family appeared again and Our Lady told me: "Tomorrow will be the last time I'll talk to you and then I'll let you think well about what I told you for seven days. Try to understand it well because when you are older you will need it a lot if you want to be all mine. After these seven days I will come back four more times." Her voice was so harmonious and beautiful that no matter how hard I tried to imitate it, I never succeeded.

As at Fatima, also at Ghiaie there were celestial phenomena, never observed before.

Dr. Eliana Maggi testified in a sworn deposition of January 16, 1946 before the Bishop's Commission: "That Saturday was a rainy day. At the beginning of the apparition a ray of sunlight came over the child's head. I raised my eyes and saw a cross-shaped gash in the sky and a shower of gold and silver dots, for a minute or two, and everyone cried out for a miracle."

Don Luigi Cortesi wrote about the solar phenomena of that Saturday night:

"Some noticed a strange beam of light, which intensely illuminated the child and reverberated on the surrounding faces. Others saw the sun in the form of a cross; others saw the solar disk spinning dizzily in a circle no larger than half a meter. In the lower layers of the atmosphere, they saw showers of golden stars, little yellow clouds in the shape of doughnuts, so dense and so close that some tried to grasp them with their hands. On the hands and faces of the bystanders the most varied colors were degrading, with the prevalence of yellow; phosphorescent hands were seen, globes of light in the form of hosts...'

The Ninth Apparition of Our Lady

Sunday, May 21, 1944, 18:00

Attendance: About 200,000 people

Vision: The Holy Family

That Sunday's apparition was the last of the first cycle. Since the morning a human tide poured in Ghiaie di Bonate. A solid enclosure was prepared around the place of the apparitions and in the afternoon some willing men placed several sick people there. During the apparition, Adelaide was subjected to numerous tests by the doctors present.

From Adelaide's notebook:

This apparition, too, was preceded by pigeons, and at the bright spot the Holy Family manifested itself, dressed as yesterday in the midst of a church. Towards the main door there was: a grayish-colored donkey, a white sheep, a dog with white fur with brown spots, a horse of the usual brown color. All four beasts were kneeling and moving their mouths as if they were praying. All of a sudden the horse got up and, passing close to Our Lady's shoulders, went out of the open door and walked along the only road that led to a field of lilies, but he didn't have time to trample on as many as he wanted because St. Joseph followed him and took him back. As soon as he saw St. Joseph, the horse tried to hide near the wall that surrounded the field of lilies. Here he let himself be taken with docility and accompanied by St. Joseph, he returned to the church where he knelt down and resumed his prayer.

That day I explained this fact only by saying that the horse was a bad person who wanted to destroy the good ones. Now I can explain better the feelings produced in me by that vision. In the horse I saw a proud and evil person greedy for dominance, who abandoned the prayer and wanted to destroy the lilies of that beautiful field trampling and destroying secretly their freshness and simple whiteness.

It should be noted that while the horse was slaughtering in that field it manifested a sense of malice because it was trying not to be seen. When the horse saw St. Joseph moving to track him down, he abandoned the stealthy damage and tried to hide near the wall of the field. When St. Joseph approached him, he looked at him with a sweet reproachful look and led him to the house of prayer. While the horse did the damage the other animals did not interrupt the prayer.

The four animals represent four indispensable virtues to form a Holy Family. The horse or leader who must not abandon prayer because away from it is capable only of disorder and ruin. Repudiate patience, fidelity, meekness and silence familiar depicted in the symbolic beasts. In this vision no one spoke and slowly everything disappeared.

N. B. The peculiar spots of the dog's hair are figure of the family fidelity so corrupted. The open door of the temple is a figure of the freedom that God gives to every creature."

That evening impressive solar phenomena took place at Ghiaie di Bonate and in Lombardy.

Many were the testimonies of the people who were on the spot and in the nearby towns. Towards six o'clock, the sun came out of the clouds, turned dizzily on itself projecting in every direction beams of yellow, green, red, blue, violet light that colored the clouds, the fields, the trees and the crowd of people. After a few minutes the sun stopped to resume immediately with the same phenomena. Many people noticed that the disk had become white as a host, the clouds seemed to lower on the people. Some observed in the sky a rosary wreath, others a majestic figure of a Lady with a trailing mantle. Others, from afar, saw the face of Our Lady outlined in the sun. From Bergamo many witnesses observed the sun becoming pale and giving off all the colors of the iris it threw in every direction and noticed a big band of yellow light of an intense brightness descending from the top of the sky perpendicularly on Ghiaie.

The Tenth Apparition of Our Lady

Sunday, May 28, 1944, 18:00

Attendance: About 300,000 people

Vision: The Blessed Virgin with two saints at her sides

Adelaide spent the week in fruitful retreat, in Bergamo, with the Ursuline Sisters to prepare herself for her First Communion. Many pilgrims, animated by great faith, arrived at Ghiaie di Bonate. Word of miraculous healings had spread. It was Pentecost. Adelaide received her First Communion and was taken back to Bergamo by the Sisters. She returned to the place of the apparitions in the late afternoon.

From Adelaide's notebook:

'On this day I made my First Communion. As in the other evenings, I was taken to the place of the apparitions and the bright spot appeared again showing Our Lady with the little angels and two saints at her sides. Our Lady said to me: "Pray for the obstinate sinners who make my heart suffer because they do not think about death. Pray also for the Holy Father who is going through bad times. He is mistreated by many and many make attempts on his life. I will protect him and he will not leave the Vatican. Peace will not be long in coming, but my heart yearns for that world peace in which all love each other as brothers. Only in this way will the Pope have less to suffer."

Our Lady held in her hands two black pigeons which symbolize the union that spouses must have in order to form holy families under Our Lady's watchful gaze. It still teaches that there can be no holy family without living confidently in Our Lady's maternal hands.

Our Lady did not reveal to me the name of those two Saints she had at her side. Only by internal inspiration did I have a clear intuition of their names: St. Matthew and St. Judas. The name Judas has a sad memory for me because, even if unintentionally, I betrayed Our Lady. In this apparition I see the exquisite charity of Our Lady who, by showing me Holy Judas, wanted to warn me and make me cautious in the trials I would have encountered in order to affirm her maternal and sure word which unfortunately I was unable to sustain. In my heart I feel the weight of my big mistake, but even though I imitated Judas the traitor, I still want to sanctify myself following the example of Holy Judas by being an apostle and martyr for the love of Jesus and Our Lady. Saint Matthew inspires in my heart confidence of salvation because he too, a sinner, followed Jesus and became an apostle of His name.

The two Saints wore purple with a brown cloak. Our Lady wore red with a green mantle; on her forehead was a crown-shaped diadem studded with small luminous pearls of different colors. Before going away, she turned her gaze to the two Saints, then slowly disappeared.'

The phenomenon of the sun was repeated and was seen not only at Ghiaie but also in places very far from each other.

From the parish bulletin of Tavernola dated June 1944, we read: "At 6 p.m. on the dot there was a decrease of sunlight accompanied by a flash like a sudden lightning, distinctly observed first by some bowls players. Looking at the sun they saw green, then bright red, then golden yellow and moreover it was spinning on itself dizzily. At that spectacle people poured into the streets...". It was later learned, based on revelations by SS General Karl Wolf in Italy, that the Pope was in serious danger of deportation and that Rome risked becoming a second Stalingrad.

The Eleventh Apparition of Our Lady

Monday, May 29, 1944, 18:32

Attendance: About 300,000 people

Vision: The Blessed Virgin with the little angels

Also on that Monday, a flood of people came to the place of the apparitions. The flow of sick and infirm people was so impressive at Ghiaie di Bonate that it was necessary to organize a special service of volunteers, nurses, doctors and ambulances. There were so many miraculous healings in the field that the Curia of Bergamo established a special office for the ritual investigations.

From Adelaide's notebook:

'Also in this apparition Our Lady appeared with the little angels, dressed in red with a green mantle and her manifestation was preceded by the two pigeons and the luminous point. In her hands she still had the two pigeons with the dark feather and on her arm the rosary beads.

Our Lady smiled at me and said: "The sick who want to be healed must have more confidence and sanctify their suffering if they want to gain heaven. If they do not do this, they will have no reward and will be severely chastised. I hope that all those who will know my word will make every effort to earn heaven. Those who will suffer without complaint will obtain from me and my Son whatever they ask for. Pray much for those whose souls are sick; my Son Jesus died on the cross to save them. Many do not understand these words of mine and for this I suffer."

As Our Lady brought her hand to her mouth to send me a kiss with her forefinger and thumb joined together, the two little doves fluttered around her and accompanied Our Lady as she slowly walked away.'

The Twelfth Apparition of Our Lady

Tuesday, May 30, 1944, 18:50

Attendance: About 250,000 people

Vision: The Blessed Virgin with the little angels

That day the sultriness was terrible. In addition to the heat and fatigue, it was hard to bear the impact of the crowd that was pressing fearfully on the fence.

From Adelaide's notebook:

'In this apparition Our Lady appeared to me dressed in pink with a white veil. She did not have the dark pigeons in her hands and around Her there were only the little angels.

With a smile that was more than maternal, she said to me: "Dear child, you are all mine, but although you are dear to my heart, tomorrow I shall leave you in this valley of tears and pain. You will see me again at the hour of your death and wrapped in my mantle I will take you to heaven. With you I will also take those who understand you and suffer."

She blessed and went away more quickly than other evenings.'

The Thirteenth Apparition of Our Lady

Wednesday, May 31, 1944, 20:00

Attendance: About 350,000 people

Vision: The Holy Family

The influx of pilgrims from all over continued uninterruptedly throughout the night, so much so that the authorities were very concerned about public order. It is estimated that as many as 90,000 people arrived from Piedmont, many on foot. That afternoon the sun was blazing and the crowd was huge. Around 6:30 p.m., Adelaide was carried by a commissioner to the place of the apparitions. Adelaide felt violent pains in her abdomen. The doctors consulted each other. In spite of her suffering, no one could persuade her to go home. Then, suddenly, she got to her feet with difficulty and began to pray. After some time, she said resolutely, "Now she's coming!" She let out a deep sigh and her eyes became clear and radiant. The Holy Family was there.

From Adelaide's notebook:

'Our Lady on this day appeared at eight o'clock. She was dressed as in the first apparition. She smiled but it was not her beautiful smile as on the other evenings, but her voice was gentle.

She said to me: "Dear child, I am sorry to have to leave you, but my hour has passed, do not be dismayed if you do not see me for a while. Think about what I have told you; at the hour of your death I will come again. In this valley of true sorrows, you will be a little martyr. Do not be discouraged, I wish for my triumph soon. Pray for the Pope and tell him to hurry because I want to be considerate for everyone in this place. Whatever is asked of me I will intercede with my Son. I will be your reward if your martyrdom is cheerful. These words of mine will be a comfort to you in your trial. Endure everything with patience that you will come with me to Paradise. Those who will voluntarily make you suffer will not come to heaven unless they have first repaired and repented deeply. Be cheerful, we will see each other again, little martyr."

I felt a sweet and gentle kiss settle on my forehead, then, like other evenings, she disappeared.

N. B. Every visit of Our Lady was preceded by the two white doves. The Virgin always had white roses at her feet.'

Also on May 31st the solar phenomenon was observed both at Ghiaie and in other places. Many healings took place also on that day.

Our Lady to Edson Glauber

On June 11, 1997, the Blessed Mother cited to Edson and his mother the apparitions of the Holy Family in Ghiaie de Bonate in northern Italy during the 1940s of which Edson was initially totally unaware. She said:

“Dear children, when I appeared in Ghiaie di Bonate with Jesus and St. Joseph, I wanted to show you that later on the whole world should have a great love to the Most Chaste Heart of St. Joseph and to the Holy Family, because Satan would attack the families very profoundly in this end of times, destroying them. But I come again, bringing the graces of God, Our Lord, to grant them to all the families most in need of Divine protection.”

Devotion to the Most Chaste Heart of St Joseph

 
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