From; Perpetual Rosary for the World A Miracle in an African Parish In Issia, Ivory Coast, in the region known as the “Cocoa Loop,” a missionary just arrived at a struggling parish. The year was 1979. Faced with insurmountable difficulties, the missionary asked for the prayers of a French nun who bore the stigmata, and she simply replied, “Your parish will thrive the day the Virgin Mary finds her place there.” And from that day on, a series of extraordinary events unfolded… The First Step That Brings a Flood of Graces The missionary was Father Paul Pageaud of the African Missions, and he immediately realized that the Virgin Mary must have a place as Mother in his parish. So he spent 14 months making preparations, and on February 11, 1981, the parish was solemnly consecrated to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. The consecration was carried out in turn by the children, the youth, the parents, and finally the pastor. And from that moment on, everything took off: adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the renewal of the parish, the zeal of the catechists, and then the surge of vocations! Conversions multiplied… A Hill for the Blessed Virgin Three years later, during a priests’ retreat in Lourdes, Father Pageaud was inspired to erect a statue of the Virgin Mary on Issia Hill. At the same time, the Sisters of Our Lady of Calvary in Issia received the same inspiration. Upon his return, Father Pageaud spoke to his bishop about it, and the bishop confided that for the past two years, he had wanted to establish a pilgrimage site on Issia Hill. Together they went to this picturesque hill, and the bishop declared, “This will be the site of the diocesan pilgrimage to the Virgin Mary.” Then he asked the missionary priest, “What name should we give to this Virgin?” In prayer, the priest received a vision of the Virgin holding the Child Jesus, whose pierced Heart frees the chained from their bonds. “She shall be Our Lady of Deliverance!” Crowds come to Jesus through Her! The first pilgrimage, with 1,000 people, took place on the Feast of the Sacred Heart in 1990. Many buildings and lodging facilities were constructed to accommodate the pilgrims. The stigmatized nun had said, “When the statue is installed, the miracles will begin.” Our Lady of Deliverance was erected in November 1990. She represents Father Pageaud’s vision: a chained man stands at the feet of the Virgin Mary, looking with trust toward the pierced Heart of the Child Jesus whom Mary holds in her arms. And Jesus breaks his chains, which symbolize everything that binds us: fears, grudges, jealousy, addictions, transgressions… The Promised Wonders begin The pilgrimages grow larger and larger each year: in 2013, 25,000 pilgrims came to pray to Our Lady of Deliverance! They came from all over Côte d’Ivoire, as well as from neighboring countries! There was then a genuine surge in vocations, and a seminary was opened in Issia, followed by a second one, to train many priests. Supernatural phenomena occurred: the sun danced in the sky, as at Fatima, before the eyes of thousands of people, sometimes appearing orange or even blue. Not everyone saw this phenomenon, but the vast majority did. Numerous conversions took place; families were reconciled; Muslims asked to be baptized; people were delivered from fetishism and other forms of witchcraft… Mary’s presence was strongly felt. The Prophecied Spring Father Tardif had prophesied in 1987 at Issia: “I want to dig a spring here where my people will come to quench their thirst. ” This spring was uncovered four years later, within the rock. And its living water has worked miracles. Here are two examples among many others: A woman had been suffering from a bone tumor in her foot for 11 years, and the doctors could do nothing but watch as the tumor spread. Then the woman attended two retreats at Issia, and when she later had another X-ray at the hospital, the tumor had disappeared and the bone had healed. A man, whose father is Muslim and whose mother is Christian, came to Our Lady of Deliverance and took some water from the spring to take home with him. Upon his return, he climbed down into his well, which was 16 meters deep and had once supplied water to the entire neighborhood but had been dry for two years. The man prayed and poured the water from the spring at Issia into his well. The next day, his well was full of water! This caused quite a stir in the neighborhood, which was a Muslim neighborhood. Upon hearing this, a Muslim father, whose child had been paralyzed in one foot since birth, decided to come and pray to Our Lady of Deliverance as well. He brought back some water, which he gave his child to drink and used to wash him. The child was healed, and the doctor who had been treating him noted that his paralyzed foot—which had been shorter than the other—had returned to its normal size! The Blessed Virgin herself appeared! * A total of 1,087 children came to the Shrine for a night of prayer during World Mission Day in 2010. The night was spent in processions, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and prayers for healing. Accompanied by priests from the diocese, the children then attended Mass early the next morning. And then, after Mass, the sun began to spin in the sky, just as it had done before. But the children saw even more: they saw the sun split in two, and the Virgin emerge from it, holding the Child Jesus in her arms. Hundreds of children saw her. She was dressed in blue, with a white veil and a yellow sash. She smiled at them and waved to them. The Virgin Mary then came down the hill, and a group of children rushed toward her, climbing the slope to reach her. But she disappeared… Most of the children who saw the Virgin Mary were 10 years old or younger, along with a few who were older than 10. But there were also a small number of children under 10 who did not see her. When they returned home, some mothers were very surprised to see their children praying to the Blessed Virgin, even though this was not their usual habit… Muslims claimed to have had the same vision of the Virgin, as did Protestants, several of whom converted to Catholicism. When we give the Virgin Mary a true place in our lives, as in the parish of Issia, then the streams of grace begin to flow… Prayer for Healing (Father Émilien Tardif) Lord Jesus, may the love of Your heart fill me. Teach me to remember that I came into this world because You desired me and because You love me infinitely. Be present in my life from the very beginning, when I was conceived, until this very day. Heal me of every wound that has affected my heart, my feelings, my memory, my imagination, my intellect, and my will. Free my being from every bond, every chain that makes me a slave to evil. Through Your Holy Spirit, I want to live freely and joyfully in Your service and in the service of my brothers and sisters. Jesus, for the glory of the Father and through the hands of Mary, I give myself entirely to You—body, soul, and spirit. Thank You, Jesus, for creating me. Amen.
How beautiful. It reminds me that Mary is a human being as we are. She is a pilgrim, has her own favourites and travels the World settling for a while were she wills. May she make her home in our Parish and in our hearts.
