Fortean Times

STRANGE CONTINENT

BAD YEAR FOR BVM

Due to the Covid pandemic, crowds can no longer assemble at Marian apparition sites. Mirjana Dragicevic-Soldo, one of the Medjugorje (Bosnia Herzegovina) visionaries, was visited by the Virgin on 18 March 2020 and learned that she would no longer receive monthly visits. Until then, the Blessed Virgin Mary had appeared to her on the second day of every month since 1987. And on 13 October, instead of the usual crowd of over 100,000 devotees, only 4,500 people assembled in Fatima, Portugal, on the anniversary of the Sun miracle there in 1917. katholisch.de, 19 Mar; katholisches.info, 14 Oct 2020.

OUR LADY OF THE LAY-BY

In addition to apparitions that draw huge crowds, there are always the more private BVM visits – often not acknowledged by the Church, and sometimes farcical. At Ansbach, Bavaria, a 70cm (28in) statue of the Blessed Virgin with the baby Jesus in her arms, mounted.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Fortean Times

Fortean Times11 min read
Appreciating Esoteric Symbolism
Examining the Nature of a Belief in Tarot Simon Kenny Iff Books 2023 Pb, 248pp, £17.99, ISBN 9781803413921 Johannes Fiebig (ed) Taschen 2023 Hb, 444pp, £100, ISBN 9783836586429 Titan Books 2023 78 cards plus guide, £24.99, ISBN 9781803367217 The most
Fortean Times3 min read
Strange Deaths
A 35-year-old woman driving at night along State Road 50 in Brooksville, Florida, stopped to see if she could help when she spotted a car that had crashed into the central reservation. As she investigated the wrecked GMC Sierra, its driver jumped int
Fortean Times4 min readCrime & Violence
Db Cooper Found?
On 24 November 1971, a man boarded Northwest Orient Flight 305 from Portland to Seattle, carrying what he later told flight attendants was a suitcase bomb. Once airborne, he threatened to detonate it if they did not follow his instructions. He allowe

Related Books & Audiobooks