Sanctuary of Our Lady of Beauraing
Visited every year by thousands of pilgrims, this small town in the heart of Famenne, in the province of Namur, owes its fame to the apparitions of the Virgin Mary. From November 29, 1932, to January 3, 1933, She appeared to the five children of Beauraing 33 times. Fernande, Gilberte and Albert of the Voisin family, and Andrée and Gilberte of the Degeimbre family described Our Lady as a Beautiful Lady who gave them a message, asking in particular for a chapel and for them to pray a lot and go on pilgrimages. She also promised the conversion of sinners.
In 1943, permission was granted by the Church authorities to worship the Virgin Mary, and in 1949 the Vatican officially recognized the supernatural character of the apparitions. The sanctuary was built in the place where the Virgin Mary appeared to the children. In 1947, a votive chapel was built, designed by the architect Claes of Beauraing. Then the Rosary Crypt and the Upper Church were built. In 1985, Pope John Paul II visited the sanctuary, celebrating Mass and meeting people who had witnessed the apparitions. A statue of the Virgin Mary was erected at the site of the apparitions, making it a focal point for pilgrims. In 2013, the Vatican raised the sanctuary church to the rank of minor basilica.
