Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Poor in Banneux |
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One of the main places of Marian devotion in Belgium. It was here that the Virgin Mary appeared to eleven-year-old Mariette Beco eight times. She always presented herself as the Mother of the Poor and asked for a chapel to be built at the site of the apparitions.
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In 1949, the Vatican recognized the apparitions in Banneux. Pope John Paul II ended his pilgrimage to the Benelux countries here. In the sanctuary he presided over a Holy Mass concelebrated by 500 priests, attended by approximately 100,000 faithful. Hundreds of thousands of people make pilgrimages to Banneux throughout the year. Some of them come here to confide in the Virgin Mary about their suffering, pain and desires. In several places around the sanctuary there are plaques on which the faithful, in many languages, express their gratitude and thanks to the Mother of God for healings.
Eight apparitions of the Virgin Mary
The apparitions took place from January 15 to March 2, 1933. During these visits, Our Lady asked Mariette to build a chapel at the site of the apparitions. At the spring to which she led the girl, she spoke, dip your hands in the water, this source is reserved for me. She persuaded also about the importance of prayer. In the same year, the inhabitants built the Chapel of Apparitions in this place, which, along with the spring located right at the entrance to the sanctuary, is the most important place in Banneux. In the sanctuary, which is surrounded by a landscape park, the following structures were built: the Chapel of the Mission, the Church of the Virgin of the Poor, the Chapel of St. Michael the Archangel, the Chapel of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the Stations of the Cross, the Konrad Adenauer bell tower, and many thanksgiving chapels.
