August 21, 1879 was a rainy day in County Mayo, and
particularly in the little village of Knock. The morning
had given hope of a fair day; but as the afternoon
progressed, the dark rainclouds gathered over the little
hamlet. Winds from the east whipped up, darting back and
forth, bristling through the meadows and fields. The rains
began, and hammered down on the little area.

We believe the preparations made in Heaven for this
glorious day, 6 days after the Feast of the Assumption,
were to give honor and recognition to the faithful children
of Ireland. Mary must have looked down on this land from up
above and decided that the poorest, most deprived area she
could find was the windswept, rock-filled land of Knock. We
have to think that the howling wind and black rain clouds
were Satan's way of trying to prevent the visit from
happening. By stirring up the weather, thus making it so
miserable, no one would be able to go out to see Her. We
can be sure he was having a fit, in anticipation of Our
Lady's visit to earth. She has always been his greatest
enemy. He goes into a rage at the mere mention of her name.

She chose the side of a church, the village church in
Knock. After the rains had started, one Margaret Beirne
went over to lock up the church for the night. She noticed
a bright light around the back of the church, and looked to
see what was there. She saw what she thought were statues
of Our Lady, St. Joseph, and a Bishop, standing alongside a
new altar, on top of which was a statue of a Lamb with a
Cross. Margaret didn't pay too much attention to it; she
left the Church, and went home, not saying a word to anyone
about it.

Satan must have been whooping it up in Hell. If this girl
didn't tell anyone, no one would know about Our Lady's
visit, and consequently, no one would come. His plan might
have worked. Even the priest's housekeeper, Mary
McLoughlin, passed by and noticed the apparition, but also
thought they were statues. She went to the Bierne's home
for a visit. So far so good for Satan.

But at 8 o'clock or thereabouts, when Mary McLoughlin
decided to go home, the older Bierne girl, Mary, decided to
walk with her in the rain. So here we have two Marys,
walking in the rain past the church again. When they passed
the apparition, Mary McLoughlin casually mentioned that the
pastor must have bought some new statues in Dublin. But the
other Mary, more inquisitive, decided to take a closer
look. She jumped back with a start. "They're not statues.
They're moving. It's the Blessed Virgin!"The two women
didn't know what to do. Mary Bierne ran home to tell her
mother and brother.

Rain or no, the people flocked to the church. Fourteen
people in all came to witness the gift of Our Lady's
presence on that brutal night. Their combined description
of what they saw is as follows:

The entire back wall of the church was bathed in a
brilliant light, which could be seen from quite a distance
away. As they looked at the scene, everything was raised
about two feet off the ground. There was an altar, on the
top of which stood a Lamb with a Cross. The altar and the
Lamb were surrounded by Angels, hovering above.

To the left of the Altar were three figures. On the left
was St. Joseph; in the middle was Our Lady; to the right,
closest to the Altar was St. John the Evangelist, his right
hand raised, a book in his left. Our Lady was life sized.
The other two were smaller.

Mary was lovely. She wore a white gown and sash. A veil
flowed from the back of her head to her feet. On top of her
head, above the veil, was a gold crown. Between the crown
and the edge of the veil was a gold rose. She looked up
towards heaven in prayer; her hands were raised to her
shoulders, pointed inwards. She was almost iridescent.

At first, no one dared go very close to the images. They
stood or knelt at a distance in the rain, becoming soaked,
but not caring. One of the visionaries, fourteen year old
Patrick Hill, gathered up courage to venture near to the
apparition. He was able to get close enough to give a good
description of what he saw. He could make out Our Lady's
eyes, the pupils as well as the iris. He could see the
smooth texture of her milky skin. He mentioned that St.
Joseph's beard was grey. His head was bent slightly. He
also saw lines on the pages of the book that St. John held.
He reported that the three figures were full bodied, three
dimensional, rather than images projected on the wall. He
testified that they were a few feet out from the wall of
the Church; but as he got too close, the images moved back,
away from him. All the witnesses verified that the three
figures moved during the hour and a half that they knelt
before them. Patrick Hill also mentioned that he saw the
wings of the angels fluttering.

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Bob and Penny Lord are renowned Catholic authors and
television hosts on EWTN, Global Catholic television. They
are prolific writers about the Catholic faith, especially
the Saints for which they have been dubbed "experts on the
Saints." For more information about Knock Apparition go to
http://www.bobandpennylord.com/yg51.htm

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