MARIAN APPARITIONS

Marian apparitions refer to visions of the Virgin Mary, sometimes accompanied by messages that are experienced almost exclusively by Catholics.

There have been over 20,000 Marian apparitions reported through history, and probably countless more that have not been formally reported.

The following is a list of major 20th century apparitions viewed by multiple persons and investigated by the Church in the Americas alone. The number worldwide is much greater.

 
MARIAN APPARITION AT CLEARWATER, FLORIDA

HISTORY

1991 - Rita Ring, a devout Catholic and mathematics instructor at the Universit of Cincinnati, began receiving "private messages from Jesus and Mary. A group of five other women also reported Mary appeared to them in a field in Indiana.

1992-1996 - One of the woman visionaries ("The Batavia Visionary") and a Catholic priest, Father Edward Carter reported the appearance of the Virgin Mary and messages from Jesus.

1994 - Carter founded the Shepherd's of Christ Ministry to pray for priests, urge priests to abandon modernist tendencies, and revitalize the church. He invited Rita Ring to coordinate Shepherd's of Christ activities.

December 17, 1996 - A customer of the Seminole Finance Company in Clearwater, Florida noticed a rainbow-like image that on the two-story glass panels comprising the exterior of the building. She notified the local media and crowds gathered within hours to witness the “Christmas miracle.”

Some members of the Ohio-based Shepherds of Christ Ministries relocated to Florida. Among them was Rita Ring.

Two days after the initial sighting of the image of Mary, Rita Ring, who stated that she had received private revelations previously, reported that Mary had authenticated the identity of the image to her.

Local media picked up the story. During December, visitation was estimated at 80,000 daily, and at five hundred thousand over the next two months. Within a few months visitation had decreased to about 200 per day.

1997 - The building was temporarily defaced by chemicals that gradually washed off. Pilgrims referred to this process as the image "healing itself."

March 1, 2004 - The image was irreparably damaged when an assailant shattered the three topmost window panes containing the image's head. The Shepherds of Christ Ministries retained the Mary Image Building, and Rita Ring continued to receive messages from the Virgin and Jesus However, the permanent destruction of the apparition greatly diminished visitation to the Clearwater site.

Messages from Mary continue. Transcripts of the messages have been posted on the Shepherds of Christ website as well as printed in the books published by the organization."

Total visitation to the site has been estimated at 1,500,000

MYTH

Ring reported that Mary was communicating messages monthly.

Ring reported a series of messages:
• Warning that people had made money a god and turned away from Jesus.
• Stressing God's anger with human sinfulness and the potential for chastisement by fire (connecting this wrath to Florida's wildfires)
• Prophesying an imminent endtime.

Mary requested that messages be widely disseminated.

The messages Rita received were discerned theologically and morally by Father Carter.

RITUALS

A provisional shrine was constructed at the apparition immediately after the initial sighting of the image.

The worship site contains benches, a donations box, candles, rosaries, photographs, flowers, candles, a donation box, and prayer requests.

A large crucifix was later added.

Visitors to the site commonly pray and leave offerings to the Virgin, such as candles, flowers, fruit, and beads.

Mary's requests for pilgrims, as reported by Ring, include prayer, a daily recitation of the Ten Commandments at the site, recitation of the rosary, and an observance of the First Saturday devotion.


ORGANIZATION

The Seminole Finance Company was owned by Michael Krizmanich, a devout Catholic.

He sold the business to Ugly Duckling Car Sales Inc.

The extremely large number of pilgrims to the site had a negative impact on the Ugly Duckling's sales, and the company ultimately decided to lease the building to the Shepherds of Christ Ministries.

The Shepherds subsequently purchased the building, renamed it the “ Mary Image Building,” and converted the interior into a shrine.

CONTROVERSIES

The source of the image has been disputed. The image apparently had been on the building for some time, and has been attributed to discharge from a combination of large palm trees in front of the building, spray from a watering system, and sunlight.

The Shepherds of Christ have sought to avoid tension with the Catholic Church by seeking permission before creating a chapel at the site and acknowledging Church authority in evaluating private revelations.

The Catholic diocese of St. Petersburg has disavowed any connection to Shepherds of Christ and has called the image a "naturally explained phenomenon."

There has been no formal investigation of the apparitional claims by the Catholic Church.