Church cautious on S African Virgin vision claims

MarieT · Post by **MarieT** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:35 pm

Church cautious on S African Virgin vision claims

Seventeen-year-old South African girl Francesca Zackey is claiming to have received visions of Our Lady surrounded by bouquets of roses and pictures of the crucified Christ but church authorities remain cautious.

PR Inside reports that hundreds of people of all religious persuasions are flocking to be blessed by the girl claims.

Sightings like this are rare in South Africa, where only 6 per cent of the population is Catholic. Johannesburg Archbishop Buti Tlhagale was not in his office Monday to respond to Zackey's claims.

Zackey's parents have converted the front room of their house in Benoni, a small town east of Johannesburg, into a prayer room.

The sideboard buffet has been turned into a shrine, fronted by a child-sized statue of Mary surrounded by bouquets of roses and pictures of a crucified Jesus.

"She's always been a different child, very bold," said Bridget Zackey, the girl's mother, who had a blue string of rosary beads wrapped around her right hand. She said the visions seemed to come at an opportune time for her daughter who has just finished school and was going through a transitional period in her life. "I think this is her calling."

The teenager said she first saw the Virgin Mary on 7 May interrupting the family's evening meal.

"My brother-in-law asked for an encyclopedia, and as I was replacing the book back, I just smelt the strongest fumes of roses and it just hit me, and I fell to my knees and I started crying the tears of joy," she said.

Zackey said she called her family to the bookshelf and they also smelled roses. Then she said she was compelled by the "Holy Spirit" to go to her bedroom where she saw the Virgin Mary sitting on the right side of her bed.

"She had ice blue eyes, brown hair, long brown hair, and an ice blue cloak. Her hands were open, there was light coming out of her hands," Zackey said.

Zackey said at first she was scared by the visions, but "then the Holy Spirit took over" and gave her strength.

In her visions, the mother of Jesus Christ called on the teenager to write a book documenting her visions and start a youth prayer group.

"She said to me that she wants people to pray with their hearts. She said: 'I want you to open your house for seven days and I want you to put statues where I have been"'.

Zackey said she had had about 20 visions of the Virgin and each site is marked with candles, idols of Mary and roses.

The South African Independent Online adds that Fr Barney McAleer confirmed yesterday that the church would investigate the claims but said this would be done in the same manner that other revelations of this kind were handled by the church.

"This kind of thing can take years," he said.

According to McAleer, the Catholic church "is used to these sorts of things, they happen all around the world".

He referred to the claims made by Zackey as the experience of a private revelation or message, which could be described as a manifestation similar to those reported by other religions.

"But the church is cautious. We do not encourage or discourage what is happening," he said, referring to reports that thousands had flocked to visit Zackey at her home, where a front room had been converted into a prayer room where she receives visitors.

http://www.cathnews.com/news/706/64.php

marie

Post by **Denise** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:40 pm

And if you are keeping up with this, the bishop has been totally silent on the matter. Smart bishop!

KevinSymonds · Post by **KevinSymonds** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 6:40 am

I had reserves about this right from the get go.

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_ ... 357C426713

Post by **Denise** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 8:26 am

Sounds hokey to me. I see there is a "book" involved. cha-ching cha-ching!

MarieT · Post by **MarieT** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 8:24 pm

yikes.....didnt like the sound of it either.

marie :S

KevinSymonds · Post by **KevinSymonds** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 10:05 am

http://www.citizen.co.za/index/article. ... 41601,1,22

Woman blinded trying to see Virgin Mary: Report

JOHANNESBURG - A Catholic woman may have been blinded for life after she tried to emulate a Benoni girl who claims to have seen the Virgin Mary by gazing at the sun.
The Star reported on Tuesday that eye doctor Percy Amoils said Amal Nassif’s eyes had been severely damaged.
Nassif, 37, said at least four other people had also damaged their eyes by gazing at the sun.
The 17-year old girl, who claims to have repeatedly seen the Virgin Mary, told The Star Nassif’s problem was not her fault. – Sapa.

Last updated
19/06/2007 16:10:28

Post by **Denise** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 10:59 am

Johnna · Post by **Johnna** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:04 am

*shakes head...*

KevinSymonds · Post by **KevinSymonds** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 9:44 am

http://iafrica.com/news/sa/113105.htm

JOHANNESBURG
SA churches doubt Virgin Mary claim

Wed, 20 Jun 2007

The SA Council of Churches (SACC) on Tuesday said it doubted claims by an East Rand teenager that she had repeatedly seen the Virgin Mary.

"I doubt it very much... We know that people in desperate situations search for answers from God. The God that we know reveals himself in a meaningful manner," said SACC general secretary Eddie Makue.

"Has this girl seen the Virgin Mary before? How did she know what she looks like?"

Francesca Zackey (17), from Benoni, claimed she had repeatedly seen the Virgin Mary.

A number of devout Christians had visited her home for blessings.

Blind faith

On Tuesday, the Star newspaper reported that a woman had damaged her eyes after she gazed at the sun, hoping the Virgin Mary would appear.

Amal Nassif (37) visited Zackey in Benoni. Nassif was told to look at the sun, and if she had faith, the Virgin Mary would appear.

Nassif stared at the sun for about a minute and lost her sight.

"I can't see anything. There is a large dark blind spot," she was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

Nassif said at least four people had damaged their eyes in the same way.

Makue condemned the incident.

"It is disturbing when the vulnerability of people's faith is exploited in a way that leads to any form of abuse." Makue said.

Google lists some 350 000 entries for Virgin Mary sightings.

The most famous claim came from the village of Lourdes in France, where a peasant girl, Bernadette Soubirous, claimed in 1858 that she had seen Jesus's mother 18 times. The village has since become a global attraction for pilgrims.

Soubirous was beatified in 1925 and canonised in 1933 by Pope Pius XI.
Sapa

JeniR · Post by **JeniR** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 10:22 am

That is so very sad. It makes me so sad that people will strive so hard after the Virgin Mary that they forget who she is pointing too. How sad.

KevinSymonds · Post by **KevinSymonds** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 9:12 am

http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/News/Artic ... ?id=497827

Virgin Mary visionary ‘gagged’ by church
Published:Jun 21, 2007

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BENONI teenager Francesca Zackey, who claims to receive visits from the Virgin Mary, continues to bless the faithful despite warnings from the church.

Zackey has come under fire for allegedly instructing the devout to look into the sun to see the Virgin Mary.

The 17-year-old has been inundated by people seeking prayer and healing since she claimed to have started seeing visions of the Virgin Mary some weeks ago.

These visions are the subject of an investigation by the Catholic Church.

Francesca was “happy”, her mother Perit said late yesterday afternoon.

She said her daughter was not home and that she had stopped granting media interviews.

It is understood that Zackey has been “gagged” by the church.

“She is carrying on with her prayers,” said her mother, who refused to even come to the gate of the family’s home in Benoni.

Security guards at the boomed entrances to the suburb were still directing motorists to the house.

— Sapa

Post by **Denise** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 9:37 am

Ahhhhhhh, good ole BAD disobedience.

JeniR · Post by **JeniR** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 11:36 am

Oh, so she was telling them to look at the sun??? Yet she lied and said that it was not her fault they looked at the sun? Yet another HUGE red flag.

KevinSymonds · Post by **KevinSymonds** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:06 pm

This one isn't even getting out of the gate before it damns itself.

I'll bet she read something on Fatima when Lucia said to everyone at the beginning of the sun miracle, "look at the sun!"

MarieT · Post by **MarieT** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 9:20 pm

mercy....those poor people who lost their sight.....this is tragic news

marie