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Marian Apparition Site in Slovakia Granted Nihil Obstat

A new Marian Apparition has recently been granted a Nihil Obstat by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. According to the new guidelines for Vatican approval in the case of evaluating the authenticity of apparitions, the Nihil Obstat does not declare that the apparition was “supernatural”, but only that devotion surrounding these apparitions is not considered contrary to the faith.

These lesser-known apparitions occurred on Mount Zvir in northwestern Slovakia in a small town called Litmanova from 1990 – 1995. In August 1990, three young children, Ivetka, Katka (12), and Mitko (9), were walking through the woods when they began praying for Our Lady’s protection. They then saw a beautiful lady and recognized her as the Virgin Mary. She was wearing a white dress, a blue cloak, a veil, a crown and holding a Rosary.

The children shared what had happened with their families who did not believe them at first. The two girls, Ivetka and Katka, returned to the site of the apparition and once again saw Our Lady. Ivetka heard Our Lady say, “Dear children, I am the Immaculate Purity. God has sent me to your world, to your times with messages as never before in history. Please pray, children.”

Over the next five years, Our Lady continued to appear to the two girls and give them heavenly messages, emphasizing a call for the faithful to pray the Rosary. She repeatedly presented herself as “happy” and called the faithful to prayer and recognize that God loves them unconditionally. On August 6, 1995, Our Lady told the girls that there would be no further apparitions, but that she would always remain present on Mount Zvir.

In a letter from the Vatican regarding the apparitions, Cardinal Prefect Fernandez, acknowledges that some of the messages contain “ambiguities and unclear aspects”. However, some believe that this may be due to the visionaries own internal interpretations. The dicastery has asked that the “ambiguous statements” in these messages not be published so that the faithful will not be confused.

The local clergy have attested that many miracles and spiritual fruit have come forth because of these apparitions. The Archbishop of Presov who requested that the Nihil Obstat be granted states, “…the sincere and profound confessions in that place are countless and there is no lack of conversions as well.” During one apparition, Our Lady is said to have blessed a spring, and this spring has allegedly resulted in many miracles. These claims are still being investigated by the local diocese.

This apparition site has become an important pilgrimage site for Slovakian Catholics. The diocese in which these apparitions took place is populated by Catholics primarily of the Byzantine rite. It is expected that the Vatican’s Nihil Obstat will result in an increased number of pilgrims visiting this site.

If you are interested in organizing a Pilgrimage to the site of this new Marian Apparition, please contact our team by emailing: groups@206tours.com

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