WHY OUR LADY
19TH CENTURY -1866 - OUR LADY OF FILIPPSDORF
FILIPPSDORF, CZECH REPUBLIC
OTHER TITLE: Our Lady Help of Christians
VISIONARY(S): Magdalene Kade (31)
NUMBER OF APPARITIONS: 1
FIRST APPARITION: January 13, 1866
LAST APPARITION: January 13, 1866
APPROVED: 1866
FEAST DAY: January 13th
“My daughter, now you are healed”.
SUMMARY
This apparition of Our Lady is reminiscent of her apparition at Rome, Italy, in 1830, where Our Lady only appeared once causing a miraculous event to take place; the conversion of Marie Alphonse Ratisbonne. Our Lady spoke no words but overwhelmed Alphonse with her beauty and majesty and the result was his conversion from an anti-Catholic Jew to a Catholic priest. Of course, the Miraculous Medal also played a role in the conversion of Alphonse.
The miracle here at Filippsdorf was the healing of Magdalene Kade when Our Lady spoke only once saying “My daughter, now you are healed”.
In both of these singular and brief apparitions, Our Lady displayed the Wisdom, Power, and Merciful Tenderness conferred to her by the Adorable Trinity (Three Hail Mary’s Devotion).
BEFORE THE APPARITIONS
Magdalene Kade was born in the year 1835. She suffered for many years, and even could not speak, from a series of very serious illnesses. Being an orphan, she lived with her 24-year-old brother Joseph, with his wife Cecilia and their five children.
THE APPARITIONS
On January 13, 1866 at two in the morning, Mary Magdalene was in bed and could not speak due to extreme weakness. A close friend watched her. The patient paused to contemplate the portrait of Our Lady of Sorrows on the wall opposite the bed. At four o’clock in the morning, Magdalene suddenly called her friend and said, excitedly, “Look at that shine! Look at that beauty.” The friend looked but saw nothing. Magdalene was the only privileged one to see the splendor of a lady dressed in white, with a golden tiara in her hair, close to the bed. Magdalene trembled and knew that she had received a visit from the Blessed Virgin Mary! The Madonna moved her lips softly and said, “My daughter, now you are healed!” And then she disappeared. The patient was able to quickly get up and find that she was completely healed.
AFTER THE APPARITION
Other miracles following the Apparition
Thereafter, many miraculous events were experienced. On September 13, 1866, at Kathenhof, a mother sadly wrapped the legs of her child for amputation in the linen cloth that was laid at the feet of Our Lady in Filippsdorf. The child felt a strong sensation of heat and after three days he was completely cured. This child later in life became a missionary priest in the Congregation of Divine Word in the Netherlands. The chaplain Father Francis Storch said he recorded eleven sets of miraculous healings and graces received through the intercession of the Virgin Mary venerated at Filippsdorf.
Church, Convent, and Basilica
In the period between 1870 and 1885 a neo-Romanesque church was built. In the year 1884, the first stone of the convent of the Redemptorists was laid and they took custody of the church and the care of pilgrims. In 1885, the church was elevated to minor basilica by Pope Leo XIII, who officially consecrated it and dedicated to Mary, “Help of Christians.” This shrine is still an important place of pilgrimage.
Approval
In 1866, Augustin Pavel Wahala, the Bishop of Litomen initiated a commission to examine the miraculous event. He recognized the healing and supernatural character of the events.
Feast Day
The important Feast day of Our Lady Help of Christians is 13th January when a Mass is concelebrated in Nordboehmische Lourdes (North Bohemian Lourdes) and to a lesser extent on the 13th of each month by bishops from the Czech Republic and Germany.
SOURCES
https://www.facebook.com/SalveMaryj/photos/a.229792657180575/229792670513907/?type=3&theater
www.therealpresence.org/ Apparition of the Virgin Mary in Filipov