Torchbearer For The Queen

A Holy Christmas

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As we approach Christmas let us keep in mind the words of Our Lady.

"It is the wish of my Son that fathers and mothers strive to imitate me and my chaste spouse in our holy life at Nazareth. We practiced the simple virtues of family life, Jesus our son being the center of all our activity. The Holy Trinity dwelt with us in a manner far surpassing anything that can ever be imagined. For ours was the earthly paradise where once again God walked among men."

"As in our little home no sin was to be found, so it is the wish of the heart of my Son and my Immaculate Heart that sin should, as far as possible, be unheard of in the homes of our children."

"The Divine Trinity will dwell in your midst only of you are faithful in practicing the virtues of our life at Nazareth. The you also my children, you also will become another paradise. God will then walk among you and you will have peace."

"I need your help to bring peace into the world. Do not disappoint me."

Copywrite The Contemplative Sisters of The Indwelling Trinity

Hope for America

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Sister Mary Ephrem (Mildred Neuzil)
08/02/1916
01/10/2000

Sister Mary Ephrem writes to her Spiritual director Fr. Leibold concerning the composition of this prayer:... "On October 5, 1956, I felt suddenly urged to write a prayer to Our Lady, Patroness of our land. I knelt by the little table in my room, and as I did Our Lady came to me. She stood at my right side very close to me. Though I did not hear any words, the thoughts came into my mind one after the other, and I wrote without stopping until the prayer was finished. The Our Lady disappeared."

Prayer to Our Lady of America, Patroness of our Land
Written at the behest of Our Lady, October 5, 1956 by Sister Mary Ephrem (Mildred Neuzil)

Oh Immaculate Mother, Queen of our country, open our hearts, our homes, and our land to the coming of Jesus, your Divine Son. With Him, reign over us, O heavenly Lady, so pure and so bright with the radiance of Gods light shining in and about you. Be our leader against the powers of evil set upon wresting the world of souls, redeemed at such a great cost by the sufferings of your Son and of yourself, in union with Him, from that same Savior, Who loves us with infinite charity.

We gather about you, O chaste and holy Mother, Virgin Immaculate, Patroness of our beloved Land, determined to fight under your banner of holy purity against the wickedness that would make all the world an abyss of evil, without God and without your loving maternal care.

We consecrate our hearts, our homes, our Land to your Most Pure Heart, O great Queen, that the kingdom of your Son, our Redeemer and our God, may be firmly established in us.

We ask no special sign of you, sweet Mother, for we believe in your great love for us, and we place in you our entire confidence. We promise to honor you by faith, love, and the purity of our lives according to your desire.

Reign over us, then, O Virgin Immaculate, with your Son Jesus Christ. May His Divine Heart and your most chaste Heart be ever enthroned and glorified among us. Use us, your children of America, as your instruments of peace among men and nations. Work your miracle of grace in us, so that we may be a glory to the Blessed Trinity, Who created, redeemed, and sanctifies us.

May your valiant spouse, St. Joseph, with the holy Angels and Saints, assist you and us in "renewing the face of the earth." Then when our work is over, come, Holy Immaculate Mother, and as our Victorious Queen, lead us to the eternal kingdom, where your Son reigns forever as King.

Amen
(200 days)

Nihil Obstat: Daniel Pilarczyk, S.T.D.
Imprimatur: +Paul F. Leibold, V.G.
Cincinnati, Jan. 25, 1963

Our Lady of America

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On the evening of the feast of the Most Holy Rosary, October 7, 1957, Our Lady again appeared. Her hands were clasped in an
attitude of prayer. Her look was serious, though her countenance retained its usual deep serenity. Hanging from her right hand
was a blue rosary of a glass-like quality, I was conscious of the fact that what she was about to say to me was not only very grave but of the utmost importance. Our Lady reiterated in a similar manner her first warnings:

"My beloved daughter, what I am about to tell you concerns in a particular way my children in America. Unless they do penance
by mortification and self-denial and thus reform their lives, God will visit them with punishments hitherto unknown to them.
"My child, there will be peace, as has been promised, but not until my children are purified and cleansed from defilement, and
clothed thus with the white garment of grace, are made ready to receive this peace, so long promised and so long held back because of the sins of men.

"My dear children, either you will do as I desire and reform your lives, or God Himself will need to cleanse you in the fires of
untold punishment. You must be prepared to receive His great gift of peace. If you will not prepare yourselves, God will Himself be forced to do so in His justice and mercy.

“Making the rosary a family prayer is very pleasing to me. I ask that all families strive to do so. But be careful to say it with great
devotion, meditating on each mystery and striving to imitate in your daily lives the virtues depicted therein. Live the mysteries of the rosary as I lived them, and it will become a chain binding you to me forever. They who are found in the circle of my rosary will never be lost. I myself will lead them at death to the throne of my Son, to be eternally united to Him.

'"Write these words upon your hearts, my dear children, because of the compassion I have for you in my Immaculate Heart. Oh,
if you knew the punishments I am holding back from you by my pleading and intercession on your behalf!
"Will you do as I wish at last, my children?''

Lifting High The Torch

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Archbishop Raymond L Burke now the Prefect of the Apostolic signatura, was asked to review the status of Our Lady of America and to give his canonical opinion as to whether this devotion is worthy of belief. After a period of years studying Our Lady's messages and the archival letters written between Sr. Mary Ephrem and her spiritual director Archbishop Paul Leibold, Archbishop Burke had this to say

Regarding Our Lady of America
Most Reverend Raymond L. Burke
Archbishop of St. Louis

In a letter to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Burke, then the Ordinary of St. Louis, Missouri, now Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, revealed the results of his review of the history and canonical status of devotion to Our Lady of America. See the original letter.

May 31, 2007 — Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

To the Bishops of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:

Dear brothers in Christ,

The devotion to Our Lady of America has its source in private revelations to Sister Mary Ephrem (baptized Mildred) Neuzil, who was born in 1916 and was professed, in 1933, in the Congregation of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, which has its generalate in Dayton, Ohio. She later became part of a contemplative branch of the same congregation. The contemplative branch was located at Our Lady of the Nativity Convent at New Riegel, Ohio. After the suppression of the contemplative branch in 1979, the Sisters who were members took up residence in Seneca County, Ohio. From the time of the suppression, Sister Mary Ephrem used her baptismal name, Sister Mary Mildred Neuzil. Sister Mary Ephrem (Mary Mildred) died in 2000. One of the Sisters survives and continues to live in Seneca County, Ohio.

Having reviewed the correspondence between Sister Mary Ephrem and her spiritual director of many years, Monsignor Paul F. Leibold, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, who later became the Bishop of Evansville and, then, Archbishop of Cincinnati, it is clear that the devotion, as proposed by Sister Mary Ephrem, received his approbation. In addition to the correspondence by which Monsignor Leibold declared the approval of the devotion, he also carried out the first of Our Lady of America's requests, made through Sister Mary Ephrem, namely, he had a medal struck with the image of Our Lady of America on one side and the coat of arms of the Christian family on the other.

The coat of arms symbolically represents the substance of the private revelation received by Sister Mary Ephrem, namely, the Indwelling of the Holy Trinity in the Christian home, which is the source of life and unity in the family. The coat of arms points to the purity and selflessness of love in the family, because of the Indwelling of the Holy Trinity, the model of which is the Mother of God, under her title of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of our nation. In a particular way, Our Lady of America expressed her desire that the United States of America, through her intercession, be devoted to the purity of love. She identified herself to Sister Mary Ephrem as "Our Lady of America, The Immaculate Virgin." In the consecration of our nation to our Blessed Mother, made in 1959 at the National Shrine and renewed, in our name, by Bishop David Ricken on November 11, 2006, the Saturday before the November meeting of our Conference of Bishops, our Blessed Mother is addressed as "Immaculate Virgin."

The contents of the private revelation received by Sister Mary Ephrem were published in a booklet, first in 1960, and, again, in 1971. Both of these editions were published with the Imprimatur of Archbishop Leibold. A final edition, with some new contents, was published in 1989. The new contents were added at the direction of Father Edmund Morman, S.V.D., the last chaplain of Our Lady of the Nativity Convent at New Riegel. Father Morman was sadly killed in an automobile accident on February 17, 1986.

As Archbishop of Cincinnati, Archbishop Leibold commissioned a wooden plaque with the image of Our Lady of America, which he gave to the cloister at New Riegel, at which it was displayed for many years in a public area. He had the wooden plaque created for the specific purpose of its use in processions at the New Riegel convent.

Archbishop Leibold also authorized the Weberding Woodcarving Shop at Batesville, Indiana, to carve a statue of Our Lady of America. The statue was carved for Our Lady of the Nativity Convent at New Riegel, Ohio, at which public devotions to Our Lady of America were regularly celebrated.

Other bishops have permitted the public display of a statue of Our Lady of America for devotion. For instance, the late Bishop William G. Connare of Greensburg permitted a statue to be displayed at the Carmel of the Assumption at Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Also, a statue of Our Lady of America was carried in procession in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., on several occasions by the Apostolatus Uniti and other groups. On May 31, 2006, a statue of Our Lady of America was enthroned at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, Alabama, by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate. The statue which was enthroned at Hanceville is the very same statue which Bishop Connare authorized for public devotion at Latrobe.

A specific request of Our Lady of America was that her statue be placed in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. There is a providential connection between Sister Mary Ephrem and the late Archbishop Bishop John Francis Noll of the Diocese of Fort Wayne, who is celebrated as the Apostle of the National Shrine. The principal apparitions of Our Lady of America to Sister Mary Ephrem took place in the chapel of the Precious Blood Sisters Convent in Kneipp Springs Sanitorium, near Rome City, Indiana. Archbishop Bishop Noll, who died in 1956, maintained a summer residence at the Sanitorium, within a few hundred feet of the place of the apparitions. While the National Shrine is the largest shrine in the world at which there was not a previous apparition, the private revelation to Sister Mary Ephrem very much confirms the mission of the National Shrine.

The prayer attached to the devotion also received the imprimatur of the then Monsignor Leibold, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Archbishop Leibold was Sister Mary Ephrem's spiritual director from the time that he was Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati until he died in1972. Archbishop Leibold was always clear that the approved devotion had its origin in private revelation received by Sister Mary Ephrem over many years.

What can be concluded canonically is that the devotion was both approved by Archbishop Leibold and, what is more, was actively promoted by him. In addition, over the years, other Bishops have approved the devotion and have participated in public devotion to the Mother of God, under the title of Our Lady of America.

Although the devotion to Our Lady of America has remained constant over the years, in recent years the devotion has spread very much and has been embraced by many with special fervor. Seemingly, as has been suggested by Father Peter Damian Mary Fehlner, F.I., in his homily of August 5, 2006, at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, the moral crisis of our time, which demands a new teaching and living of the virtue of purity, has found an especially fitting response of loving care from the Mother of God in her message to Sister Mary Ephrem.

Some have raised with me the canonical question regarding the status of Our Lady of the Nativity Convent in Seneca County, Ohio, which has been the residence of any remaining member of the suppressed contemplative branch of the Congregation of Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus. In response, I observe that the canonical question has no bearing on the devotion or its approbation.

As one deeply devoted to fostering the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe in our nation, I have wondered about the relationship of the devotion to Our Lady of America to the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Archbishop Leibold, in fact, raised the question with Sister Mary Ephrem. Sister Mary Ephrem responded that Our Lady of Guadalupe is Empress of all the Americas, whereas "Our Lady of America, The Immaculate Virgin," is the patroness of our nation, the United States of America. The two devotions are, in fact, completely harmonious. As our late and most beloved Pope John Paul II reminded us, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of America and Star of the New Evangelization, draws all of the nations of America into unity in carrying out the new evangelization. Our Lady of America calls the people of our nation to the new evangelization through a renewed dedication to purity in love.

I hope that the above may be of some help to you in responding to questions regarding the devotion to Our Lady of America.

May the Immaculate Virgin intercede for the intentions of our dioceses and our nation. With fraternal gratitude and esteem, I remain

Yours devotedly in Christ,
(Most Rev.) Raymond L. Burke Archbishop of Saint Louis.

Bishop Richard J Garcia of Monterey California told CNS,

"Our Lady of Guadalupe is important for all the Americas but to have Our Lady of America and the Immaculate Conception as a special patroness for our nation will bring about the peace we so yearn for (and) a resolution to many social issues," including euthanasia and abortion, California Bishop Richard J. Garcia told CNS.
"The Blessed Mother is so important to all of us Roman Catholics, and Christian people in particular, and, specifically for our country, for peace within our land; and the intercession of our Blessed Mother is so important on many issues that affect us morally and socially," Bishop Garcia said.

"Marian devotions, including those to Our Lady of America, also can lead the faithful to really listen to Christ's message that all must be "bearers of the Gospel and bring about Christ's love," he said.

On October 13, 1956 Our Lady appeared to Sr. Mary Ephrem." She was very beautiful and smiled in her heavenly way. She was dressed in the same manner as I first saw her, except her Immaculate Heart did not appear. Instead of the lily,she held with both hands a small replica of the finished Shrine of the Immaculate Conception."

"This is my shrine,my daughter, I am very pleased with it. Tell my children I thank them. Let them finish it quickly and make it a place of pilgrimage. It will be a place of wonders. I promise this.."

She requested a statue be made according to her likeness and placed, after being solemnly carried in procession, in the Shrine of The Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. She wishes to be honored there in a special way as Our Lady of America, the Immaculate Virgin.

Our Lady of America's 53rd Anniversary

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In the fall of 1956 I was sent to help out at one of our larger institutions. It was at this place that the official visits of Our Lady began, and the special mission entrusted to me revealed.
The following is the account of these visits as it was written at that time:

On the eve of the feast of the North American Martyrs, September 25, 1956, as I was making the Holy Hour from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. I was conscious of the distinct and special feeling of the presence of Our Lady. She stood by my side and spoke to me. I felt, rather than saw her, though I did see a part of her white gown and a small portion of her blue sash. I was under the impression that she came as Our Lady of Lourdes, and she herself confirmed this. Our Lady promised that greater miracles than those granted at Lourdes and Fatima would be granted here in America, the United Stares in particular, if we would do as she desires.

These are the words she spoke to me at this time:

"I am pleased, my child, with the love and honor my children in America give to me, especially through my glorious and unique
privilege of the Immaculate Conception. I promise to reward their love by working through the power of my Son's Heart and
my Immaculate Heart miracles of grace among them. I do not promise miracles of the body, but of the soul."

Our lady emphasized this very much. She is anxiously concerned about our inner life.

She continued:

"For it is mainly through these miracles of grace that the Holy Trinity is glorified among men and nations. Let
America continue and grow in its love for me, and I in return, in union with the Heart of my Son, promise to work wonders in
her. My child, I desire that this be known."

The next morning, the feast of the North American Martyrs, Mass had just been concluded and the Community thanksgiving was almost over. There were a few minutes left when suddenly Our Lady appeared before me, enveloped in a soft glow of light. I knew with unmistakable certainty that it was she, though she did not speak immediately. What I noticed was the smile on Our Lady's beautiful countenance and the lily she held in her right hand. She wore a white veil reaching almost to the waist and a mantle and robe of pure white with not a single decoration of any kind. An oblong-shaped clasp or brooch held the ends of the mantle together at the top. It was all gold, as was the high and brilliant crown which she wore. Her hair and her eyes seemed of medium brown. Her feet were bare, but these I did not always see, as they were sometimes covered by the moving clouds on which Our Lady stood. She continued to smile. Then I saw her heart appear, encircled with red roses, the symbol of suffering as it was revealed to me, and sending forth flames of fire. With her left hand Our Lady seemed to be holding up slightly the upper part of her mantle, so that her Immaculate Heart could be seen. Then solemnly and distinctly,in
calm yet majestic tones, I heard these words:

"I am Our Lady of America. I desire that my children honor me, especially by the purity of their lives."

She was very beautiful and her smile held me. But I became conscious of the fact that the other Sisters were leaving the chapel, and I, too, had to go as obedience directed me. I said to Our Lady, "Please forgive me, Mother, but I do have to go now or my work will not get finished." Our Lady understood, but she did not leave me. When I entered my room, she was there waiting for me. Then I noticed the green color of the lily stem in her hand and the white sash or belt which she wore around her waist. It seemed to be made of the same material as the robe. It was narrow, very narrow, and no ends of it could be seen at all. As I had to hurry about my tasks, I could not give Our Lady all the attention I longed to, but every now and then I would direct a glance of love toward her. Our Lady stood there smiling as I had seen her in the chapel. All that day I was conscious of Our Lady's presence in a very special manner, in a way that was distinctly new to me.

On the afternoon of the same day, during the last half of the Holy Hour between 4:00 and 5:00, the Immaculate Virgin spoke to me at length in these words:

“My child, I entrust you with this message that you must make known to my children in America. I wish it to be the country
dedicated to my purity. The wonders I will work will be the wonders of the Soul. They must have faith and believe firmly in my love for them. I desire that they be the children of my Pure Heart. I desire, through my children of America, to further the cause of faith and purity among peoples and nations. Let them come to me with confidence and simplicity, and I, their Mother, will teach them to become pure like to my Heart that their own hearts may be more pleasing to the Heart of my Son."

Our Blessed Mother called herself Our Lady of America in response to the love and desire that reached out for this special title in the hearts of her children in America. This title was the sign of her pleasure at the confidence our land places in her and as a reward for its staunch and childlike devotion to her. Her children longed for this personal visit of Our Lady, whether consciously or otherwise, and in her kindness and mercy she responded far beyond all expectations. Though she came in this manner as a token of her love for us, nevertheless Our Lady of America welcomes her children of all nations to her feet, for there will be found true peace. So she has given me to understand, and such are her desires as she revealed them to me,

Our Lady's Shrine

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Following is the account of Our Lady's next visit, which occurred on October 13, 1956:

Today the Holy Virgin appeared to me as I was working in my room. Our Lady was very beautiful, and she was again smiling in
her heavenly way. She was dressed in the same manner as when I first saw her, except that her Immaculate Heart did not appear.
Instead of the lily, she held with both hands a small replica of the finished Shrine of The Immaculate Conception. She then began to speak. Her presence overwhelmed me with its holiness. I was compelled to stop my work, for it was impossible to go on. I then knelt down and wrote Our Lady's words as she desired:

"This is my shrine, my daughter. I am very pleased with it. Tell my children I thank them. Let them finish it quickly and make it a place of pilgrimage. It will be a place of wonders. I promise this, I will bless all those who, either by prayers, labor, or material aid, help to erect this shrine."
Diary of Our Lady of America

Our Lady of America's Medal

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In regard to the medal that Our Lady requested to be made, I was told that as long as it bore the form of a shield, the medal itself
could be of any shape desired. Around the image of Our Lady, as she appeared September 26, 1956, these words are to be en-
graved: "By thy Holy and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, deliver us from evil." 'Those who wear the medal with great faith
and fervent devotion to Our Lady will receive the grace of intense purity of heart and the particular love of the Holy Virgin and
her Divine Son. Sinners will receive the grace of repentance and the spiritual strength to live as true children of Mary. As in life,
so in death, this blessed medal will be as a shield to protect them against the evil spirits, and St. Michael himself will be at their
side to allay their fears at the final hour.
The Coat-of-Arms Our Lady had inspired some years previously. I did not know at the time for what purpose it was to be used,
and Our Lady did not enlighten me on it until much later.
As mentioned before, Our Lady also requested a picture or statue of herself as she appeared on September 26, 1956, to be honored and venerated in every Christian Home. DIARY OF OUR LADY OF AMERICA page 25-26

Archbishop Paul Leibold was faithful to Our Lady's request. He had the medal struck and even paid for the expense so as to assist in fulfilling Our Lady's wishes.
Sister Mary Ephrem secured the devotion to Our Lady of America by Last Will and Testament to Sr.Joseph Therese, the sole surviving sister of The Contemplative Sisters of The Indwelling Trinity

The Our Lady of America Center located in Fostoria Ohio is the authentic source for all devotional materials concerning Our Lady of America.
WHY? Because those were the wishes of Sr.Mary Ephrem.

To order devotionals and a history of Our Lady of America please visit the new official website

www.ourladyofamerica.com

Torchbearer's Prayer

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Now will I recall God's works; what I have seen, I will describe. At God's word were his works brought into being; they do his will as he has ordained for them.
As the rising sun is clear to all, so the glory of the LORD fills all his works;
Yet even God's holy ones must fail in recounting the wonders of the LORD, Though God has given these, his hosts, the strength to stand firm before his glory.
He plumbs the depths and penetrates the heart; their innermost being he understands. The Most High possesses all knowledge, and sees from of old the things that are to come:
He makes known the past and the future, and reveals the deepest secrets.
No understanding does he lack; no single thing escapes him.
Perennial is his almighty wisdom; he is from all eternity one and the same,
With nothing added, nothing taken away; no need of a counselor for him!
How beautiful are all his works! even to the spark and the fleeting vision!
The universe lives and abides forever; to meet each need, each creature is preserved.
All of them differ, one from another, yet none of them has he made in vain, For each in turn, as it comes, is good; can one ever see enough of their splendor.

Sirach 42:15-25
Our Lady of America before God's Glory intercede for us!

Words of Wisdom

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Rev. A.J. Geraci. perhaps saw Archbishop Leibold for the last time publicly before his death. In a sermon given May 4th 2008 he says" Not too long ago, back in 1972, I witnessed the last ceremony of the late Archbishop, Paul Leibold. It was a large graduation ceremony at Xavier University, Cincinnati. I was there to receive my first M.A., a Master's in History. The not too old archbishop was looking desperately tired and did not participate in the distribution of diplomas, but rather retreated to a chair to the back of the stage. His posture, his composure, his physical carriage, his tiredness all communicated a message that the world could carry on without him. Remarkably the archbishop, a native of Dayton, with many Leibold cousins still around, had accomplished a post Vatican Council Diocesan Synod for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati; all nineteen counties were involved. It was as if, on the stage, he was saying, not only to the students and Jesuit instructors, but to the whole diocese, you have a plan for the future, now follow it, and you will not be needing this archbishop to help you.

That night, Archbishop Paul Leibold died of several massive strokes. In a short poem to his niece that he had recently written, he described the span of human life to be like that of the "spring tulips whose beauty lasts only a while and then are gone, back to the earth, back to God." Life is a short span of time, like spring tulips that never seem to last long enough. It was almost a poetic commentary on the end of his life. Somehow it seems he knew he was leaving us. He did. But this young Archbishop left us with a plan and that plan has been used, cited, referred to, now, for thirty-six years."

The Queen City

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Cincinnati, fondly called The Queen City, has a history rich in Catholic tradition. Up to 1829 there was practically no immigration to the West. In after years the fertility and wealth of the country lying between the Eastern mountains and the Mississippi directed thither the tide of incoming Europeans. The Irish famine of 1848, and political disturbances in Germany about the same time, sent large numbers of Irish and Germans to America. Friends had preceded them, and glowing accounts of the agricultural possibilities of Ohio attracted many to the Ohio Valley. Steamboat facilities after 1830 and railroads after 1838 contributed largely to increase the population. The Civil War did not retard materially the progress of religion.
The hills and valleys of Cincinnati, along with the Ohio River that curves it way thru, reminded the brave new German inhabitants of their native homeland, Bavaria.The city would become the largest destination for those settling in America.

They wasted no time in the building of churches. Bringing from their homeland all the wealth and talent of spiritual artistry. Some of the most treasured churches in the country were dedicated to God and His Mother. Gothic and Romanesque structures graced the inland city and their spirals soared high. Treasured works of art embellished these places of worship and reflected the love the new America had for God.

One of the most cherished is The Immaculata
Built in 1859 just before the American Civil War for the German congregation in the city's Mt. Adams neighborhood. Archbishop John Baptist Purcell decided to build the church while praying during a severe storm at sea. He promised God that if he survived, he would build a vigil church dedicated to The Mother of God under her title Immaculata,on the city's highest point. The church has served since 1860 as a pilgrimage church, where on Good Friday the faithful ascend eighty-nine steps from the level of the river to the front door of the church. First wooden steps were put up, and then in 1911, the city of Cincinnati helped the church build concrete steps.

It is from this hill that The Immaculata keeps watch over her children. Archbishop Leibold called it The Holy Hill. What prayers have been answered in this pilgrim shrine dedicated the Our Lady's Immaculate Conception. Perhaps in advance Our Lady of America prepared Cincinnati to invoke her intercession for our country and one day she would respond to the love that was shown to Her here. For high above the main alter hangs a famous painting of The Immaculataby Johann Schmitt.

There is a scroll that stretches the canvas. Written in German it is a request made to The Virgin by Her petitioners, it reads
O Maria, ohne Suende empfangen, bitte fuer die Bekehrung dieses Landes, Amerika.
(Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for the conversion of this country, America.)

For The United States consecrated to Her Immaculate Conception it is prophetic.
A theme that would be repeated decades later to Sr. Mary Ephrem.

Wise Torchbearer

2009-01-25T12:06:00.000-08:00

Today January 25th the church celebrates the The Conversion of St.Paul The Apostle.
Archbishop Paul Leibold, Sister Mary Ephrem's spiritual director, had considered St. Paul to be his patron saint. In may of his letters to Sr. Millie, Archbishop Leibold would instruct and encourage her with St.Paul's writings.
In one such letter he encourages her to be pliable in Our Lord"s hands. As a potter molds the clay to form his work. To allow Our Lord to mold her into His beautiful work of art.

For Archbishop Leibold the conversion of St.Paul would also be connected to his work with Our Lady of America. It is on January 25th 1963 that the Imprimatur is given to specific prayers written by Sr.Millie. Perhaps in Archbishop Leibolds discernment he recognizes the great need of spiritual conversion our country and our world needs. A experience powerful like Saint Paul's, one that would bring us to our knees.

This is our prayer. For our eyes to be opened.
For St.Paul it would take a great spiritual miracle to turn his heart from sin to his creator.
And so it is with us. Let us learn from this great saint.
Do not forget that Our Lady has promised spiritual miracles greater than those granted at Lourdes or Fatima if we do as she asks. It will have to be a grace powerful like St.Paul's to turn us from the path we are headed.
May Our Lady of America, The Immaculate Virgin intercede for us.

Our Mother of Mercy

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Decades before the church would call the first Sunday after Easter Divine Mercy Sunday, Our Lady shows herself to Sister Mary Ephrem as Our Mother of Mercy on the second Sunday after Easter in the year of 1957. Perhaps one day the church will honor our Mother's mercy the Sunday following Her Son's.

In a May 5, 1957 letter, Sr. Mildred Marie Neuzil speaks of Our Lady of America’s appearance to her as “Mother of Mercy.”

Our Lady showed herself to me today as the Mother of Mercy. With her arms extended, her blue mantle affording a safe refuge for the sinner, she said,

“I am the Mother of Mercy. Under my mantle I will hide my children. The justice of God will not reach them if they seek refuge beneath the protection of my mercy. My Son gives to me all those souls who come to me with confidence, calling upon my aid. Their salvation is in my hands. I will obtain for them the necessary graces to save their souls.

“Come to me, poor suffering and frightened ones. I am your Mother. Never will I forsake you. Only come to me with a wholehearted and loving trust. Place your souls into my keeping. I am that faithful Mother who never forsakes her children. Honor me by your confidence and love. This I desire and ask of you, my poor children. Do not deny the wishes of your Mother.”

Our Lady of America Newsletter

2008-12-07T20:37:00.000-08:00

The Our Lady of America Center issued the first newsletter on the eve of The Feast of The Immaculate Conception.
Now more than ever our country needs Our Lady. Let us pray that God's will be done.

The above photo shows a group of seminarians praying in the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, located in the crypt chapel at Holy Cross Church atop Mount Adams, the highest point of Cincinnati. Archbishop Leibold fondly referred to Mt.Adams as "The Holy Hill"

May She Rest In Peace

2008-12-02T21:51:00.000-08:00

Archbishop Paul Leibold's brother's wife Theresa (Martin) Leibold passed away on Nov.4th 2008, at the age of 74. She was born July 14th,1934 in Dayton Ohio. It was there that she met and married her teenage sweetheart, Jerome P. Leibold.
They were married for 54 years. I had the honor to speak with her and discuss Our Lady of America. Theresa worked often for the late archbishop. It was a privilege for her to serve him. Whenever there was a event she was the official hostess. Archbishop Leibold trusted Theresa with the letters that Sister Mildred would write. She recalled how the archbishop would guard those letters. He trusted her to file them and encouraged her to read them saying,"you know she sees the Blessed Mother" Archbishop Leibold had a great love for Our Lady. Theresa understood this. It would be Theresa who would find the archbishop as he collapsed due to a aneurysm. "The whole time we were in the ambulance he just held his arms out. Gazing beyond us at someone we couldn't see. Wanting so to embrace whomever was waiting for him." Let us pray that Theresa rest in peace and that she enjoys the presence of Our Lady and all the saints. Theresa's obituary can be read at http://www.legacy.com/Dayton/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=119765726

The Angel Of Peace

2008-11-27T20:22:00.000-08:00

The next incident took place in the fall of the year 1954, when I was stationed at a different house of the Congregation. I do not remember the exact date, as I did not intend ever saying anything about it. I was sitting in the room next to the kitchen with the intention of saying some of my prayers. Almost at the very moment I began to pray, I saw an Angel. I knew this immediately, although the apparition did not reveal itself as such until later. I saw the Angel standing before me towards the left. He was dressed in a white robe or garment, which was perfectly plain and perfectly white. The whiteness of his robe stood out against the darkness about him. It was like a light in the midst of darkness. He was holding a green palm and a drawn sword in his left hand, the tips of both palm and sword resting against his left shoulder. I saw all this at a glance. The Angel said to me, "Receive the palm of victory.” I became suspicious. I could not think of any victory of mine that deserved such a reward. Besides, it sounded a bit like flattery to me. I have always been wary of words of praise; they put me on my guard. Why was the palm not given to someone else more deserving of it than I? So I shook my head and resolutely went back to my prayers. But the Angel would not go. He spoke again, "You do not believe me. Will you accept the cross?" For me this struck more nearly home. I said, "Yes, I will accept the cross." To this he replied, "Then you will accept the palm and the sword. With the sword the saints conquered themselves, the world, and the devil. I am the Angel of Peace. I come to those whose hearts are attuned to the Voice of God. To such as these I remain a perpetual light through blinding darkness. I was sent by Him Who said, 'I am the Light of the world.' "

Later it was made known to me that the Angel of Peace was St. Michael.
Our Lady of America diary page 7

Photo courtesy of Harrison Richardswise

Our Lady's Beloved Son

2008-11-24T19:09:00.000-08:00

The Catholic Telegraph,reports on the instalation of Archbishop Paul Leibold.

1969: “Installation ceremonies Oct. 2 in St. Peter in Chains Cathedral will make Dayton-born Archbishop Paul F. Leibold the seventh Ordinary of the Cincinnati archdiocese. Ordained in 1940, he was consecrated Auxiliary Bishop of Cincinnati June 17, 1958, and installed as Bishop of Evansville, Ind, June 15, 1966. Announcement of his appointment to the Cincinnati see was made July 23. Pope Paul VI, who gave him his appointment, has described the consecration of a bishop as ‘a source of grace, a gift of God, a spiritual treasure, a higher sanctification. It is not just a transmission of liturgical, teaching and juridical power, but a perfection conferred upon the one consecrated, who before sanctifying others is himself sanctified.’ ” (See related story, The Catholic Telegraph, October 2, 1969)

Archbishop Paul Leibold was Sister Mary Ephrem's spiritual director until his untimely death in 1972. Sister Mary Ephrem prophesied that Monsignor Leibold would be elevated to Archbishop. This of course came to pass.

He was able to fulfill many of Our Lady's requests. One of them was to have a medal cast as requested by Our Lady.

Those who wear the medal with great faith and fervent devotion to Our Lady will receive the grace of intense purity of heart and the particular love of the Holy Virgin and her Divine Son. Sinners will receive the grace of repentance and the spiritual strength to live as true children of Mary. This blessed medal will be as a sheild to protect them against the evil spirits, and St. Michael himself will be at their side to allay their fears at the final hour.
*as reported by Sister Mary Ephrem, page 26 Our Lady of America

A Vision of Light

2008-11-18T18:17:00.000-08:00

Tall, immensely so, a figure enveloped in light, brilliant, whiter than white, a circle of what looked like stars about the head. Eyes, too, shinning with the same inner light, could not make out any color. In its right hand it held a gigantic sword tipped with a searing white flame. In the left hand were held bolts of lighting that pierced all the environs of the universe. On the right shoulder of this extraordinary being perched a pure, white dove. From the right shoulder down to the waist towards the left side was a sort of medium wide band on which was printed, Power of God. At first the letters revealed themselves in black. Then when I recognized what the letters were they changed to such a color of gold light I could barely make them out.

Addressing me as 'My sister", this glorious being explained who it was:

"I am the Angel Sultra, sent by the Almighty whose faithful servant I am, to help the people of God in their hour of need. I have been appointed guardian, protector and defender of the United States of America whose people honor and love the Immaculate Virgin, the Queen of Angels and have dedicated their land to Her.

If the people of this land carry out faithfully the instructions and pleadings of the Lord Jesus and the Virgin Mother then they will be following me to the hour of peace. With this sword of the Divine white flame of Love and the lighting bolts of His infinite Justice God will strike down his enemies and heal the repented sinner. This nation and all who follow in the pursuit of peace will know the protection of God and the destruction of those who fight and seek to destroy them through the evil powers of the infernal spirits of darkness and hate.

Follow me, people of God, brothers and sisters, as our Queen paves the way and the peace of the Lord will reign once more upon the earth."

August 22,1981
Diary of Our Lady of America ,page 41

The History of Our Lady of America

2008-11-08T15:41:00.000-08:00

What is God’s plan for the role of Our Lady of America in the redemption of mankind and the renewing of the face of the earth in these troubled times?

The story of Our Lady of America truly began on May 10, 1846 when one Archbishop and 22 US Bishops met in Baltimore, MD, the first Catholic diocese in the US, for the 6th Provincial Council of Baltimore. On that date they petitioned Rome to have the Blessed Virgin, under the title of the Immaculate Conception, named as Patroness of these United States, 28 at the time. In 1847 that petition was granted by Pope Pius IX and Mary, under the title of her Immaculate Conception, became Patroness of the US.

It was not until eight years later, on December 8, 1854, that Pope Pius IX would define the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in his Apostolic Constitution, Ineffabilis Deus. Less than four years later, on the feast of the Annunciation, March 25, 1858, Our Lady would confirm that dogma by identifying herself to Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France, as “I am the Immaculate Conception,” that singular privilege that flows from her Divine Maternity announced by the Angel Gabriel.

Moved by the great devotion to Mary of Bishop John Carroll, the first Catholic bishop of these United States who had placed this young Nation under Mary’s protection, Bishop Thomas J. Shahan, rector of Washington, DC’s Catholic University of America, presented his hope for a national shrine to Mary to Pope Pius X in 1913. The Pope was so enthusiastic about the shrine that he made a personal contribution of $400. Later in 1913 the University actually donated the land so the effort toward construction of the shrine could begin.

Father Bernard McKenna of Philadelphia assisted Bishop Shahan and was made the first director of the National Shrine in 1915.

Archbishop Giovanni Vincenzo Bonzano, the Apostolic Delegate, blessed the site on May 16, 1920, honoring the first American prelate Archbishop John Carroll, who is the Father of the American Hierarchy, by wearing his vestments and using the “Carroll Altar” for the celebration. On September 23 of that year, James Cardinal Gibbons of the archdiocese of Baltimore laid the cornerstone. The lower crypt church was completed in 1926 but the Great Depression and World War II halted work on the Upper Church until 1953. The Marian Year of 1954 ushered in a huge campaign for donations from America’s Catholics. Washington’s Archbishop Patrick O’Boyle, assisted by Archbishop John Noll of Fort Wayne, IN, brought the Upper Church to completion and America’s Patronal Church, a magnificent hymn to Mary in stone, was dedicated on November 20, 1959. The body of Bishop Thomas J. Shahan is entombed in that great Upper Church to revere him as the Founder of this National Shrine of America’s Catholics. In 1990 Pope John Paul II, the first Pope to visit the United States, raised this Shrine to the level of a Basilica. This beautiful Act of Consecration to Our Blessed Mother was written by Bishop Thomas Grady for the dedication ceremony of the Shrine. It is such an appropriate prayer for our times and touches on the message of Our Lady of America, with its emphasis on the Blessed Trinity and the Christian Family, even though Bishop Shahan would most likely not have heard about the message of Our Lady of America at that time.

Act of Consecration to Our Blessed Mother

Most Holy Trinity: Our Father in Heaven, who chose Mary as the fairest of your daughters; Holy Spirit, who chose Mary as your spouse; God the Son, who chose Mary as your Mother; in union with Mary, we adore your majesty and acknowledge your supreme, eternal dominion and authority.

Most Holy Trinity, we put the United States of America into the hands of Mary Immaculate in order that she may present the country to you. Through her we wish to thank you for the great resources of this land and for the freedom which has been its heritage. Through the intercession of Mary, have mercy on the Catholic Church in America. Grant us peace. Have mercy on our President and on all the officers of our government. Grant us a fruitful economy born of justice and charity. Have mercy on capital and industry and labor. Protect the family life of the nation. Guard the innocence of our children. Grant the precious gift of many religious vocations. Through the intercession of our Mother, have mercy on the sick, the poor, the tempted, sinners – on all who are in need.

Mary, Immaculate Virgin, our Mother, Patroness of our land, we praise you and honor you and give ourselves to you. Protect us from every harm. Pray for us, that acting always according to your will and the Will of your Divine Son, we may live and die pleasing to God.

Imprimatur: Patrick A. O’Boyle, Archbishop of Washington

The following story expresses Our Lady’s gratitude to the American Church for this honor and promises Her special help and protection for these United States of America. It is the story of a Mother’s love for her children, especially her children in America, and her mandate from heaven that we in America, in particular, help her renew the face of the earth by assisting her in bringing America, and the whole world, back to Faith and Purity. She herself says she comes to America as a last resort.

August 2, 1916: The birth of a chosen “little one”

On this day Mildred Marie Neuzil was the first American born child of Austrian parents John and Anna (Smerda) Neuzil. She was born in Brooklyn, NY, baptized at Most Holy Trinity Church there, and shortly after moved to Cleveland, Ohio. In Austria her father had been a gardener to Johann Strauss. In America he became a homebuilder.

September 12, 1930: Sister enters religious life

At age 14, Mildred Neuzil entered the active religious congregation of the Sisters of the Precious Blood, a papal community. (Maria Stein or Dayton?)

August 15, 1933: Sister takes first vows

At age 17, Mildred made her first vows as a professed religious and received the name Sister Mary Ephrem, a name that means “doubly fruitful.” She carried out her duties, mostly in domestic work and as a kindergarten teacher. Her first mission activity included multiple diocesan jurisdictions in Washington, DC where she remained until 1937 when she was sent to the Chancery in Cincinnati, Ohio.

(Editor’s Note: There are no accidents with God. Sister began her religious service in Washington, DC where her mission from heaven would center its message. From there Sister is sent to Cincinnati where God would give her a holy man, priest, and later bishop, to guide her.)

1938: Sister begins to have mystical experiences

Just five years after her First Profession of vows, Sister Mary Ephrem began to have mystical experiences which, in her simplicity, she thought were common to all religious, so she paid no undue attention to them.

August 15, 1939:

Sister Mary Ephrem takes perpetual vows with the Congregation of the Sisters of the Precious Blood and lived out those vows until the day she died.

1940s: Sanctification of the Christian family

Sister began to share these experiences with her confessor who cautioned her of an overactive imagination. These locutions with Jesus included special espousal with Him and an understanding that her mission was to converge on the sanctification of the Christian family.

1947: Sister’s mission work

In this year Sister Mary Ephrem was sent for the first time to help at Kneipp Springs, Rome City, IN and also that year at Denver, CO. Sister had met Reverend Paul Leibold previously and he had become her spiritual director since 1940. Rev. Leibold, familiar with the mystical prayer life of Sister Mary Ephrem, which included locutions from our Lord, began to instruct Sister to write down her experiences in a diary. These mystical experiences were preserved and later became the basis of the published booklet, “Our Lady of America” Diary.

Sister Mary Ephrem (Mildred Marie) Neuzil was blessed to have Rev. Paul Leibold as her spiritual director for 32 years, from 1940 – 1972 when he died. In 1958 he was promoted to Auxiliary Bishop of Cincinnati, Ohio, and in 1966 he became the Bishop of Evansville, Indiana. On October 2, 1969 he was made Archbishop of Cincinnati. He was always careful to protect her hidden life. What an extraordinary grace to have a bishop for one’s spiritual director, a bishop still remembered as a very holy man whenever his name is mentioned, even so long after his death.

1948: Messages become more pressing

While stationed in North Dakota the messages became more pressing. Sister began to write them down more diligently. Various priests found nothing adverse to faith or morals in the messages which indicated a theological understanding that exceeded what Sister could have learned from her courses.

1949: New mission work

Sister was stationed at St. Mark’s in Cincinnati, Ohio until 1953 when she went to Ottawa, Ohio.

1954: Messages become a program of special devotion to Mary (L)

Sister is sent to Arizona. As these visits (Locutions-L) take on the nature of a specific program of special devotion to Mary, Sister is convinced of Our Lady’s command to propagate this particular devotion to her as Our Lady of America. Sister Mary Ephrem’s words regarding this mission:

Our Lord often spoke (Locutions - L) to me in the past and already in the early 1940’s it was made known to me interiorly that my mission was to converge towards the sanctification of the family. I was not further enlightened at that time as to how this was to be accomplished. In the year 1954, however, Our Lord addressed the following words to me:

May 22, 1954: Our Lords words. (L)

My little white dove, if the world is dying, it is because it will not let Me give it life. I am the resurrection and the life, and unless souls seek their life in Me, they will find only death and destruction.

They fear man-made destroyers of life, yet destruction is in themselves. Man destroys himself through the evil that is in himself.

Implements of war kill only that which is without. Man kills that within himself which none but he can kill.

God is light, man is darkness, and unless he comes into the light, he will be forever darkness. The Voice of My Heart is the Voice of Mercy. If man will not listen, there is no more I can do, for he ties My hands.

May 29, 1954: Our Lords words. (L)

My Heart beats with compassion for the sorrows of man. Oh how gladly would I help him bear the weight of his terrible cross, fashioned, for the most part, by his own guilt! But Alas, he will have none of My help. So I am forced to stand by the side of the road and watch him struggle hopelessly in his agony.

O man, what have I done to you that you should refuse My aid.

My little white dove, do you know what I find most lacking in the world today? It is FAITH. There are so few souls that believe in Me and My love. They profess their belief and their love, but they do not live this belief. Their hearts are cold, for without faith there can be no love. Pray and sacrifice yourself, My Child, that faith may once again find entrance into the hearts of men.

July 11, 1954: Our Lords words. (L)

My daughter, I am not loved in the homes of men. And because I am not loved, the Divine Trinity refuses to dwell therein.

Children are not taught to love Me, because those who have charge over them have no time or patience to do so.

My Heart grieves over My children in the world. Their hearts are being driven farther and farther away from Me. They will not even listen to My Mother, because they have never been taught to listen.

I am a Beggar for love, but how few give to Me the means by which to satisfy My divine hunger. I hunger for the love of My own, and receive only the crumbs no other would accept.

My Father is angry. If My children will not listen to My Heart, which is a Voice of mercy and instruction, punishment will come swiftly and none shall be able to stay it. The pleadings of My Heart have held back the divine justice about to descend on an ungrateful and sinful generation.

Woe to parents who set a bad example to their children! Terrible will be their judgment. I will demand a strict accounting of every soul entrusted to their care.

Woe to Children who disobey and show disrespect towards their parents! ‘Honor thy father and thy mother’, on this shall they be judged most severely.

July 12-14, 1954: Our Lords words. (L)

Blessed are the homes that honor My Name and the Name of My Father.

Blessed are the homes where I am loved, for there the Holy Trinity dwells. Blessed are the parents and children who have made a home for God in their hearts. Little secretary of My Heart, write these instructions for the sanctification of My people.

My Father’s house is a house of prayer, and you have made it a den of thieves.

My children, every home and every soul is My Father’s house, for He made them and they are His, but many of them are no longer sanctified by His Presence. Thieves have entered in and stolen from Him His temples of prayer. It is you My children, who have let them in. If, My children, you will cleanse your temples, My Father will return and We will come and make our abode with you.

Return, My people, for My Heart hungers and thirsts for your love. If you will not return, the just anger of My Father will descend upon you. What would you – My love or My Father’s anger? Choose, and as you choose, so shall it be done. I will not force your free will, for that is yours to use as you desire.

Fall of 1954: Apparition of St. Michael, Angel of Peace

As a preparation for her mission, Sister is graced with an appearance of St. Michael, the Angel of Peace, who offered her a sword (to conquer the world, the self and the devil), a palm (for victory) and a cross (for the suffering she would be asked to endure in union with Jesus’ passion).

As Sister was suspicious of the offer of a palm of victory, for she could think of no victory of hers deserving of such a reward, St. Michael then asked her, “Will you accept the cross?” She replied, “Yes, I will accept the cross.” To this St. Michael then said:

“Then you will accept the palm and the sword. With the sword the saints conquered themselves, the world and the devil. I am the Angel of Peace, I come to those whose hearts are attuned to the Voice of God. To such as these I remain a perpetual light through blinding darkness. I was sent by Him who said, “I am the Light of the world.”

November 8, 1954: Our Lady’s words on the Family (L)

It is the wish of my Son that fathers and mothers strive to imitate me and my chaste spouse in our holy life at Nazareth. We practiced the simple virtues of family life, Jesus our Son being the center of all our love and activity. The Holy Trinity dwelt with us in a manner far surpassing anything that can ever be imagined, for ours was the earthly paradise, where once again God walked among men.

As in our little home no sin was to be found, so it is the wish of the Heart of my Son and my Immaculate Heart that sin should, as far as possible, be unheard of in the homes of our children.

The Divine Trinity will dwell in your midst only if you are faithful in practicing the virtues of our life at Nazareth. Then, you also, my children, will become another paradise. God will then walk among you and you will have peace.

I need your help to bring peace into the world. Do not disappoint me.

November 20, 1955: Apparition of St. Gabriel, Angel of Purity

I knelt down and asked him, “Who are you?” He replied, “I am the Angel Gabriel. I have come to tell you that Our Lord is pleased with your effort to do good. He asks that you go to His Mother and learn great purity of heart.”

Following the visits of these two archangels, the apparitions of Our Lady herself began and the favor and the responsibility to her children in America was made very clear.

1956: Second assignment to Kneipp Springs

In 1956 Sister was stationed in three different locations, in Ligonier, Rome City and Collegeville in Indiana. It was in the Fall of 1956 that Sister was sent to Kneipp Springs, Rome City, for the second time. The first visits of Our Lady of America began here.

In an interview with Sister Mary Ephrem, E. Michael Jones, editor of Fidelity magazine, writes in the December 1983 issue about the days before the first apparitions occurred there in Rome City:

“Sister Mildred had just recently been transferred to the water cure staffed by her order of nuns in Indiana to wait on tables, but had not been happy about the move. When she got to her room, she felt, as she said later, ‘like jumping out of the window.’ She left her room that night and went to the chapel, but the feeling did not leave her. ‘It seemed to me,’ she said, ‘like I was in a ring of evil. I couldn’t get out of it, and it was telling me to get out of there.’ One night she awoke with the sense that something was perched on her pillow a little behind her head. Before she could discern just what it was, she felt it grab her face across the eyes and pull down on them. ‘Like this,’ she said and made a motion which implied that whatever it was had claws. She found no marks on her face afterward though. The next day she went to her superior and asked to be transferred back to Ligonier. She could have gone if she had found someone to wait on tables in her stead, but couldn’t and so didn’t, and as a result had her first encounter with the Blessed Mother instead.”

September 25, 1956: Eve of the feast of the North American martyrs, Our Lady appears as Our Lady of Lourdes (A-L)

“During evening holy hour, Our Lady came as Our Lady of Lourdes, though I felt Her presence more than seeing her. She promised that greater miracles than those granted at Lourdes and Fatima would be granted here in America, the United States in particular, if we would do as she desires.”

I am pleased, my children, with the love and honor my children in America give to me, especially through my glorious and unique privilege of the Immaculate Conception. I promise to reward their love by working through the power of my Son’s Heart and my Immaculate Heart, miracles of grace among them. I do not promise miracles of the body, but of the soul.

For it is mainly through these miracles of grace that the Holy Trinity is glorified among men and nations. Let America continue and grow in its love for me, and I in return, in union with the Heart of my Son, promise to work wonders in her. My child, I desire that this be known.

Our Lady emphasized her anxious concern about our inner lives.

September 26, 1956: Our Lady appears twice under the new image of Our Lady of America (A)

After Mass the next morning, the feast of the North American Martyrs, Our Lady appeared to Sister, enveloped in a soft glow of light. Sister says:

I knew with full certainty that it was She, though She did not speak immediately. What I noticed was the smile on Our Lady’s beautiful countenance and the lily She held in her right hand. She wore a white veil reaching almost to the waist and a mantle and robe of pure white with not a single decoration of any kind. I noticed the green color of the lily stem in Her hand and the white sash or belt which She wore around Her waist. It seemed to be made of the same material as the robe. It was narrow, very narrow, and no ends of it could be seen at all. An oblong-shaped clasp or brooch held the ends of the mantle together at the top. It was all gold, as was the high and brilliant crown which She wore. Her hair and eyes seemed of medium brown. Her feet were bare, but these I did not always see, as they were sometimes covered by the moving clouds on which Our Lady stood. She continued to smile. Then I saw Her heart appear, encircled with red roses, the symbol of suffering as it was revealed to me, and sending forth flames of fire. With Her left hand Our Lady seemed to be holding up slightly the upper part of Her mantle, so that her Immaculate Heart could be seen. Then solemnly and distinctly, in calm and majestic tones, I heard these words:

“I am Our Lady of America. I desire that my children honor me, especially by the purity of their lives.”

She was very beautiful and her smile held me. Throughout my work of the day, I was conscious of our Lady’s presence in a very special manner, in a way distinctly new to me. That afternoon, during the last half of the Holy Hour, the Immaculate Virgin spoke to me at length in these words:

My child, I entrust YOU with this message that you must make known to my children in America. I wish it to be the country dedicated to my purity. The wonders I will work will be the wonders of the soul. They must have faith and believe firmly in my love for them. I desire that they be the children of my Pure Heart. I desire, through my children of America, to further the cause of faith and purity among peoples and nations. Let them come to me with confidence and simplicity, and I, their Mother, will teach them to become pure like to my Heart that their own hearts may be more pleasing to the Heart of my Son.

After this date I saw Our Lady frequently Sister said.

September 27, 1956: Our Lady’s apparition holding the world in her hands as She wept over it

Our Lady again appeared to me while I was at prayer. She held the world in Her hands. From Her eyes tears were flowing upon it, as though She longed to cleanse it from its guilt. It was then that I heard these words filled with sorrow and longing:

Behold, O my children, the tears of your Mother! Shall I weep in vain? Assuage the sorrow of my Heart over the ingratitude of sinful men by the love and chasteness of your lives. Will you do this for me, beloved children, or will you allow your Mother to weep in vain? I come to you, O Children of America, as a last resort. I plead with you to listen to my voice. Cleanse your souls in the Precious Blood of My Son. Live in His Heart, and take me in that I may teach you to live in great purity of heart which is so pleasing to God. Be my army of chaste soldiers, ready to fight to the death to preserve the purity of your souls. I am the Immaculate One, Patroness of your land. Be my faithful children as I have been your faithful Mother.

These are my words, O my daughter. Make them known to my children. I desire to make the whole of America my shrine by making every heart accessible to the love of my Son.

October 1956: Locutions with St. Joseph (L)

It is true, my daughter, that immediately after my conception, I was, through the future merits of Jesus and because of my exceptional role of future Virgin-Father, cleansed from the stain of original sin.

I was from that moment confirmed in grace and never had the slightest stain on my soul. This is my unique privilege among men. My pure heart also was from the first moment of existence inflamed with love for God. Immediately, at the moment when my soul was cleansed from original sin, grace was infused into it in such abundance that, excluding my holy spouse, I surpassed the holi ness of the highest angel in the angelic choir. My heart suffered with the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

Mine was a silent suffering, for it was my special vocation to hide and shield, as long as God willed, the Virgin Mother and Son from the malice and hatred of men.

The most painful of my sorrows was that I knew beforehand of their passion, yet would not be there to console them. Their future suffering was ever present to me and became my daily cross. I became, in union with my holy spouse, co-redemptor of the human race. Through compassion for the sufferings of Jesus and Mary, I cooperated, as no other, in the salvation of the world.

October 5, 1956: Our Lady places the words of the Prayer to the Immaculate Conception in Sister’s mind (L)

On December 5, 1956, I felt suddenly urged to write a prayer to Our Lady, Patroness of our land. I knelt by the little table in my room, and as I did so Our Lady came to me. She stood at my right side very close to me. Though I did not hear any words, the thoughts came into my mind one after the other, and I wrote without stopping until the prayer was finished.

[This Prayer is found on Pg. 47 of the Our Lady of America booklet.]

October 13, 1956: Our Lady’s appearance highlighting her desire for the National Basilica in Washington, DC

Our Lady appeared to Sister Mary Ephrem in the same manner as she did on the feast of the North American martyrs, except that her Immaculate Heart did not appear. Instead of the lily, she held with both hands a small replica of the finished Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Sister was overwhelmed with Our Lady’s beautiful smile and heavenly way, her holiness. She then knelt down and wrote Our Lady’s words as she desired:

This is my shrine, my daughter. I am very pleased with it. Tell my children I thank them. Let them finish it quickly and make it a place of pilgrimage. It will be a place of wonders. I promise this. I will bless all those who, either by prayers, labor, or material aid, help to erect this shrine.

Our Lady often emphasized her desire that the shrine in Washington D.C. be made a place of special pilgrimage.

The Shrine was completed and dedicated three years later on November 20, 1959.

November 15, 1956: Our Lady teaches Sister a powerful ejaculation and asks for the drawing of her image as Our Lady of America (L)

This morning Our Lady taught me this little prayer: “By thy Holy and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, deliver us from evil.”

“Our Lady then asked me to draw a picture of her first appearance. She also requested a statue made according to this likeness and placed, after being solemnly carried in proces sion, in the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. She wishes to be honored there in a special way as Our Lady of America, the Immaculate Virgin.”

(Editor’s Note: Sister Mildred explains in her letters that this does not detract from devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, who is Empress of all the Americas. America is its own nation and since Our Lady is giving America a special mandate to lead the world toward peace and purity, she is giving it a special favor as well to fulfill its mission).

1957 – 1958: Warnings! The hour grows late!

Sisters says Our Lady’s warnings came to her again and again. “The hour grows late,” Our Lady said. “My Son’s patience will not last forever. Help me hold back His anger which is about to descend on sinful and ungrateful men.”

To my spiritual director I was asked to send this message: “Hurry, my son, for the time is short but the punishment will be long, and for many, forever.”

Tell the Bishops of the United States, my loyal sons, of my desires and how I wish them to be carried out. Through him who is head over you, make known the longings of my Immaculate Heart to establish the reign of my Divine Son in the hearts of men and thus save them from the scourge of heaven, both now and hereafter.

Our Lady addressed Sister, speaking sadly but hopefully:

My daughter, will my children in America listen to my pleadings and console my Immaculate Heart? Will my loyal sons carry out my desires and thus help me bring the peace of Christ once again to mankind? … Do not forget your poor Mother, who weeps over the loss of so many of her children.

February 3, 1957: Our Lady speaks on true peace and love (L)

Our Lady declares that peace must come from within, that to make our hearts more pleasing to her Son we must go to her, His Mother. She asks for a reform of life as proof of our love for her. She says “The Holy Trinity looks down with infinite delight upon such souls and makes them Its heaven upon earth.”

March, 1957: Our Lady pleads… (L)

O my sweet child, when will my desires be realized’? … O my little one, daughter of my Pure Heart, you must pray with greater fervor and offer yourself with greater love to the Heart of my Son.

April, 1957: Our Lady continues her warning. (L)

My sweet child, unless my children reform their lives, they will suffer great persecution. If man himself will not take upon himself the penance necessary to atone for his sins and those of others, God in his justice will have to send upon him punishment necessary to atone for his transgressions.

May 8, 1957: Archangel Michael appears again

Do not delay or the time of grace will pass and with it the peace you seek. … My little sister, the message is a dear one, there is no doubt. Make it known, do not hesitate. I, Michael, have spoken.

July 1, 1957: Our Lady of Nativity Cloister is established (See Note 5)

At the urging of Archbishop Karl J. Alter, the Precious Blood Sisters’ Chapter of 1954 voted to establish a cloister within its active community, an effort Sister Mary Florecita Bidart had worked toward for 20 years. In December of 1954, Bishop George J. Rehring gave permission for the cloister to be established in the Our Lady of Nativity Convent in New Riegel, Ohio, the Toledo diocese. The cloister gate was closed in the ceremony presided over by Bishop Rehring on July 1, 1957, the feast of the Most Precious Blood, establishing it as a truly Benedictine papal enclosure. At that time the cloister consisted of Sr. Mary Florecita Bidart, Foundress, and Sister Mary Leo (Louise) Voisard. The cloister was completely self supporting, mainly with its printing press. By April 1, 1965, the sisters had obtained canonical approval for their Constitution and by September of that year, the Holy See granted permission to erect a Novitiate within the Cloister, allowing women to enter from outside the active congregation in order to increase their membership.

August 5, 1957: Feast of Our Lady of Snows and the Divine Indwelling (A-L)

Our Lady spoke on the great gift of the Divine Indwelling, sanctification from within. This is what she means by reformation and renewal.

As Our Lady spoke this, she seemed at the time to be deeply occupied. Though the serenity of her countenance never left her, she spoke with a gravity that made her words all the more solemn. She seemed anxious to impress me with some idea of the greatness of this gift of God to us, namely, His Divine Presence within our souls through sanctifying grace.

(Editor’s Note: The Catholic Church teaches that the fathomless mystery we call God has revealed Himself to humankind as a Trinity of Persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The mystery of the Trinity is the central doctrine of Catholic faith. Upon it are based all other teachings of the Church. Pg. 19, HANDBOOK FOR TODAY’S CATHOLIC, quoting the CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, paragraphs 238 – 267.)

August 22, 1957: Feast of the Immaculate Heart (L)

Our Lady intensifies her plea for a reform of life.

“What I ask, have asked, and will continue to ask is reformation of life. There must be sanctification from within”.

She tells Sister to “go to the Bishop. Tell him of the desires of my Heart. He will help you.”

September, 16-27, 1957: Our Lady’s admonition to priests to live lives of penance and self-denial, upholding the sanctity and dignity of their calling. (L)

My dear daughter, sweet child, write my words carefully, because they are of the utmost importance. I address them to my beloved sons, the priests, dedicated to the most intense and extraordinary imitation of my Son in the perfect carrying on of His Eternal Priesthood.

Beloved sons, so cherished and greatly blessed among the sons of men, be careful to uphold the sanctity and dignity of your calling. Let the faithful see in you the favored and especially loved imitators of the Son of God. Be modest in your dress and speech as becomes those of so exalted a vocation. The apparel and manners of a man of the world is not for you, who, though living in the world, must not take on its ways.

Dear sons, I ask you to practice self-denial and penance in a special manner, because it is you who must lead my children in the way of peace. Yet this peace will come only by way of the sword, the flaming sword of love. If, therefore, you love my Son and wish to honor me, heed my admonition and be the first to give the example of a life of penance and self-denial. …

I am pleased, dearly beloved sons, by the honor and love you have until now accorded me. Will you now go further and honor me yet more by taking my words to your hearts and doing what I ask?

October 7, 1957: Feast of the Holy Rosary and special message to her children in America (A & L)

My beloved daughter, what I am about to tell you concerns in a particular way my children of America. Unless they do penance by mortification and self-denial and thus reform their lives, God will visit them with punishments hitherto unknown to them. My child, there will be peace, but not until my children are purified and cleansed from defilement and are made ready to receive this peace.

November 22-23, 1957: Mary appears as Our Lady, the Immaculate Tabernacle of the Indwelling God

Our Lady appeared, standing on a globe, her right foot resting on a crescent moon, the left on the snout of a small fire breathing dragon. She was dressed all in white and her hair could be seen through her transparent veil which was long enough to half envelope the globe. The veil was held about her head by a wreath of white roses, and a white rose rested on each foot. On her breast, the Triangle and the Eye, the symbol of the Divine Indwelling, could be visibly seen. A strong beam of light shown from the Divine Presence within Our Lady onto the globe at her feet. Then halfway around the figure of Our Lady above her head appeared a scroll on which were written in letters of gold the words: “All the glory of the King’s daughter is within.” Though it did not appear that her lips moved, I heard these words quite plainly: I am Our Lady of the Divine Indwelling, handmaid of Him Who dwells within.

February 11, 1958: Our Lady renews the Fatima promise

My Immaculate Heart will win in the end, and the Spirit of Christ will dwell in the hearts of men. Those in whom this Spirit is not found will be condemned to eternal hell-fire.

Our Lady tells Sister that nothing is accomplished without pain and bids her prepare to suffer much because suffering completes the work of divine grace in the soul.

Our Lady also spoke of her particular interest in the youth of our nation and called on them to be leaders in this movement of renewal on the face of the earth, sharing with her army of chaste soldiers the title “Torchbearers of the Queen.”

“They must be prepared with the knowledge of the Divine Indwelling. It is to the youth of America that she is holding out this challenge.”

Our Lady promised that the statue in the National Basilica would be a special safeguard for our country and that a picture or statue in the home would bring protection to that home. The medal with the image of Our Lady of America on the front and the Coat-of-Arms of the Christian Family on the back would be a shield against evil for those who wear it with devotion and they would receive the grace of intense purity of heart and a great love for Mary and her Son.

“America, the United States in particular is being given the tremendous, yet privileged, opportunity to lead all nations in a spiritual renewal never before so necessary, so important, so vital. ”

[For details on the medal, see Appendix, pg. 47 of the booklet.]

March 18, 19, 1958: St. Joseph appears on his feast day and speaks on spiritual fatherhood

St. Joseph spoke of his spiritual fatherhood, of his great privilege in being chosen to be the Virgin-Father of Jesus, and of his perfect obedience to the Divine Will. He spoke of his special protection of the Holy Father and of the Church.

Fathers must come to me, small one, to learn obedience to authority: to the Church always, as the mouthpiece of God, and to the laws of the country in which they live, insofar as these do not go against God and their neighbors.

Mine was perfect obedience to the Divine Will, as it was shown and made known to me by the Jewish law and religion. To be careless in this is most displeasing to God and will be severely punished in the next world.

Fatherhood is from God, and it must take once again its rightful place among men.

My special protection of the Holy Father and the Church should be made known to him. God wishes to make this known to him that he may receive thereby renewed consolation and encouragement. During the war, little daughter, it was I who saved him from death at the hands of his enemies.

(Editor’s Note: Late in World War II, Hitler issued a direct order to the chief of the German SS in Rome to assassinate Pope Pius XII. The SS officer chose not to carry it out.)

March 30, 1958: St. Joseph asks to be honored on the First Wednesday of each month

Jesus and Mary desire that my pure heart, so long hidden and unknown, be now honored in a special way. Let my children honor my most pure heart in a special manner on the First Wednesday of the month by reciting the Joyful Mysteries of the rosary in memory of my life with Jesus and Mary and the love I bore them, the sorrow I suffered with them. Let them receive Holy Communion in union with the love with which I received the Savior for the first time, and each time I held Him in my arms. Those who honor me in this way will be consoled by my presence at their death and I myself will conduct them safely into the presence of Jesus and Mary.

As St. Joseph had promised, Jesus and Mary also came on March 30: Jesus as a boy about fifteen or sixteen years old. He spoke of the sanctification of the family and other matters. St. Joseph and Our Lady also spoke to me concerning the same subject and also about the Divine Indwelling.

May 1958: Sister Mary Ephrem enters Our Lady of Nativity Cloister to live a hidden life (A) (See Note 5)

Several weeks after I had entered the Cloister in New Riegel, OH and was overwhelmed with a sense of frustration and heaviness of heart, Our Lady suddenly appeared to me and said:

“Do not be afraid. I will keep my promise. Everything will be all right. Do not fear.”

These words consoled me very much, and I went to prayer with a peaceful heart.

(Editor’s Note: Bishop Leibold advised Sr. Mary Ephrem to enter the cloister and to live a hidden life.)

February 23, 1959: Placed the message in the hands of the bishops (A)

Nine months before the National Shrine was finished, Our Lady admonished Sister “to work on the message as soon as possible so that it might be placed in the hands of the Bishops who would be responsible for its fulfillment. In a very serious manner Our Lady warned me that I must not delay any longer to do this as the time is now.”

(Editor’s Note: Sister worked closely with Bishop Leibold and the bishops of the Toledo and Cincinnati dioceses.)

July 18, 1959: Jesus laments over His priests and religious (L)

Oh, the pride of souls! How they resist My grace! O My priests, My religious, what would I not do for you if you would only let me! I come daily laden with graces which you daily refuse. What am I to say to you, my best beloved? How long will you resist My love? It is from you I expect everything, and you give Me but the husks of your affections. How long will I bear with you, O My chosen ones? How long will you spurn My approaches?

My little white dove, it was this ingratitude on the part of My priests and My religious that caused Me so much sorrow in My passion. Oh, how they resist My grace! How they fight against My love! So fearful are they that I will deprive them of their tawdry trinkets that they turn their backs lest they see the reproach in My eyes.

September, 1959: Pope John XXIII’s letter, given from Rome to the American Faithful on the dedication of the National Shrine

It was an extremely gratifying and enduring joy that filled our hearts on receipt of news…that a shrine is to be dedicated to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God. There now rises up to heaven a shrine, high and massive, wondrously bright within…The Virgin Mother of God is our Mother, our Queen, the sure way by which we approach most speedily to Jesus Christ, Who was given to us by her. But a temple built of stones is of little significance unless there arises a temple mystically erected within our minds. Therefore…let an altar of the Most Blessed Virgin be set up in the heart of each one of the faithful; let families, held together by the sanctity of marriage, by mutual love, by moral integrity and a common spiritual life, reproduce her virtues and be fortified by her protection.

November 20, 1959: Dedication of the completed Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC

(Editor’s Note: This Shrine is truly the Church of the American people and is under the authority of all the US Bishops. It is the largest Catholic Church in the US, the largest in all of North and South America, and the 8th largest Catholic Church in the world. Its many chapels depict the rich cultural heritage of our Nation. In recent years the Hall of American Saints, honoring St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, and Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, has been added, attesting to the fruitfulness of the seed of Faith planted by our North American martyrs. The Shrine, with its splendid dome, is the spiritual capital of the Church in America and complements the dome of the National Capitol, the seat of our American government.)

(Also see notes on the National Shrine at the beginning of this piece.)

December 20, 1959: Our Lady laments our ingratitude (A)

O my child, tell your spiritual father [Bishop Leibold] that I come again to warn and to plead.

See I weep, but my children show me no compassion. They behold the sword in my heart but will make no move to withdraw it. I give them love; they give me only ingratitude. Weep, then, dear child, weep with your Mother over the sins of men. Intercede with me before the throne of mercy, for sin is overwhelming the world and punishment is not far away.

(Editors Note: Except on a few occasions, as when she showed herself as Our Lady of the Divine Indwelling, Our Lady always came to Sr. Mary Ephrem in the manner in which she appeared on September 26, 1956, namely, as Our Lady of America.)

February 2, 1960: Bishop Leibold compiles the messages (handwritten/then typed), “not for official publication, but only as a private diary”* (*words of Bishop Leibold)

(Note: The Archbishop to whom the messages were first given passed away and Bishop Leibold succeeded him.)

Bishop Paul F. Leibold, V.G. of the Cincinnati Archdiocese where the Sisters of the Precious Blood’s motherhouse is located, personally compiled the Diary “without direct references” to specific places in which apparitions or spiritual messages had occurred. He wrote the foreword and had Sister “type” the messages as a “private diary,” author anonymous. To protect Sister Mary Ephrem’s identity and hidden life, she remained unnamed. In the Diary Sister is referred to as “a religious Sister,” the “Little White Dove,” or “this Sister.” This Diary existed in handwritten and/or typewritten form only at this time and was given only to some of the sisters internally and the necessary religious superiors and Church officials, not to the public.

1960’s: Sister Monica Schrott’s effort with the National Basilica extends over two decades

Sister Monica Schrott, OCD, a cloistered Carmelite nun in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, met Sister Mary Ephrem Neuzil in the 1960s and they became pen pals. In her own personal handwriting, Sister Monica kept a copy of Sister Mary Ephrem’s writings on Our Lady of America.

From her cloister, Sister Monica personally launched a 20 year mission of correspondence with the National Shrine directors to place there a white statue of Our Lady of America that she had made by Archangelo Cascieri of Boston, MA. Sister Monica also worked closely with Bishop Leibold, Sister Mary Ephrem, Bishop Connare of Pitttsburgh, PA, and Msgr. Michael McDonough, the director of the National Shrine in Washington. DC, on the enthronement of a statue of Our Lady of America in the National Basilica as Our Lady had requested in 1956.

(Editor’s Note: The “Latrobe” statue made by Sr. Monica resided with the Carmelites of the Assumption in Latrobe, PA until the Mother Prioress personally drove the statue and Sister Monica’s writings to Fostoria, Ohio to be kept with the Archives at the Our Lady of America Center there. This was in 2005 shortly before Sister Monica’s death.)

April 4, 1960: Our Lady’s message to the Archbishop regarding the medal. (A)

Tell His Grace, my beloved son, that it is through the medal that he will receive the sign for which he asks. I ask him to have the medal struck and distributed everywhere and he will receive not only the one sign for which he has asked but so many, so many that he will have cause to be greatly astonished.

My child, God works often through little and humble things and such instruments should never be despised but accepted and used with love and gratitude. It will be through the medal that God’s Will will be manifested and glorified and my desires carried out to the very end.

I place my confidence in my faithfu1 sons, the Bishops, who will not fail to take up my cause and make it bear much fruit for sanctification among so many and countless souls.

Send this word then to my beloved son, the Archbishop, and have no fear sweet child for I will keep my promise for I am the ever faithful Virgin.

As Sister Mary Ephrem hesitated because of certain doubts and fears concerning the reception of this message, Our Lady appeared in the early morning hours of April 6, 1960 to gently reproach her for her lack of confidence. Our Lady told her not to delay in sending the bishop the words she had written. Our Lady said,

“My children must know my desires. If my desires are not fulfilled much suffering will come to this Land.”

(Editors Note: The prior Archbishop passed away and Bishop Leibold succeeded him and carried out Our Lady’s request).

May 1, 1961: Bishop Leibold puts his imprimatur on Sister Mary Ephrem’s sketch of the medal.

(Editor’s Note: In response to “May Day” celebrations for workers by the Communists, Pope Pius XII had instituted the feast of St. Joseph, the Worker, on May 1, 1955. Surely it was his expression of gratitude for St. Joseph’s protection during the War! Bishop Leibold chose this day to approve the medal, our shield against evil.)

Bishop Leibold then had the medal struck and personally paid for all medals until his death in 1972. He designed the prayer pamphlet to go with the medal. It contained the Prayer to the Immaculate Conception and the Prayer to the Indwelling Most Holy Trinity, as well as the magnificent explanation of the medal itself.

(See Pgs. 47-48 of the Diary for this pamphlet information.)

May 22, 1962: Bishop George Rehring of the Toledo diocese favors distribution of the medal by Bishop Leibold

Sister Mary Florecita Bidart, foundress of the Our Lady of Nativity Cloister, wrote to Mother Aquinas of the Sisters of the Precious Blood informing her that Bishop Rehring was in favor of distributing the medal that symbolized so well the doctrine of the Divine Indwelling of the Most Holy Trinity, lived out so perfectly in the Holy Family, model for every family on earth and source of all true holiness. He gave suggestions for the promotion of the devotion.

Mother Mary Aquinas wrote Sister Florecita on August 31, 1961:

I was very happy to hear that Bishop Leibold will go ahead with the medal himself. It is a great relief to me to know that it is being made, and we hope it eventually will be circulated. I have great confidence in the message of our Blessed Lady.

January 25, 1963: Imprimatur on the Prayer to the Indwelling Trinity

Paul F. Leibold, V.G. of Cincinnati, OH gave his Imprimatur and Daniel Palarczyk, S.T.D., his Nihil Obstat to the Prayer to the Indwelling Most Holy Trinity.

July 1, 1963: Archbishop Leibold writes regarding the devotion

First I received the leaflets on our Lady of America. I will gradually drop them around places as the opportunity presents itself. I still think of it as a private devotion and await our Lady’s action to make the seeds you are planting grow and, as it were, cause a spontaneous demand for the object of devotion, rather than engaging in any high pressure pushing of it.

(Note: Archbishop Leibold was never in favor of sensationalism, but wanted this devotion to grow slowly and deeply.)

June 18, 1970: Archbishop Leibold writes Msgr. McDonough at the National Shrine

The Archbishop wrote Msgr. McDonough regarding Sr. Monica Schrott’s request to place a statue of Our Lady of America in the National Shrine in Washington, D.C. Instead of the statue at that time, a small plaque was placed outside offices at the Shrine the following year. At this time Msgr. McDonough traveled to New Riegel, OH to meet with Sr. Mary Ephrem personally.

September 3, 1971: Archbishop Leibold makes wooden plaques

Archbishop Leibold made a series of wooden plaques of Our Lady of America. One hung in the Our Lady of the Nativity Convent in New Riegel and was used in processions at the convent. Another hung in his Chancery office in the Cincinnati, OH diocese. Later one was presented to the National Shrine by pilgrims from New Riegel, OH.

In a letter to William Weberding of Weberding Woodworking Shop, the Archbishop made a proposal for the construction of a wooden or marble statue for an outdoor Shrine to Our Lady of America at the New Riegel Convent. He had a patron’s offer of $2000 for the statue which would aid in serving public devotions to Our Lady of America at the Convent where they were regularly celebrated.

He also had 3 petite ivory statues made in India. Just before his death, Archbishop Leibold arranged a meeting with Luigi Riamondi, the Apostolic Delegate from Washington, DC, Msgr. Boffa, and his personal secretary, Fr. Francis Lammeier, to present a small ivory statuette to the Holy See and the Catholic Church. Posthumously, this statuette was presented to the Apostolic Delegate in August 1972 and is presumed to be in the Vatican Museum.

November 9, 1971:

The Diary is again copied on mimeograph as typed pages, still not for official publication or distribution, but only for internal use

February 22, 1972: Our Lady’s image in the home

When a picture or statue of myself as Our Lady of America is placed in the home and honored there, then will my Son bless His people with peace. Believe in me, dear child, believe in me, my love will never fail you.

June 1, 1972: Archbishop Paul F. Leibold dies suddenly

Before his death, Archbishop Leibold of Cincinnati, OH had determined to build a large outdoor Shrine to Our Lady of America at the New Riegel, OH cloister property. His letters indicate he would have officially approved this message had he lived long enough to do so. Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk succeeded Archbishop Leibold in the Cincinnati archdiocese.

Paul F. Leibold was born on December 22, 1914 in Dayton, OH. He was educated at the Marianists’ Chaminade High School and the University of Dayton. On May 18, 1940 he was ordained at St. Peter’s in Chains Cathedral in Cincinnati, OH. He was made Auxiliary Bishop in Cincinnati on April 10, 1958, Titular Bishop of Trebenna on June 17, 1958, Bishop of Evansville, IN on April 4, 1966 and Archbishop of Cincinnati on July 23, 1969 where he served his people well until his sudden, untimely death on June 1, 1972. The Archbishop was greatly loved and revered by his flock as evidenced by the overflowing crowd that attended his funeral. He is buried in Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Cincinnati.

Thousands attend Archbishop Leibold’s funeral Mass.

The Archbishop’s personal secretary, Father Francis G. Lammeier, wrote Sister Mary Ephrem on August 13, 1972:

“With things as busy as they are, I still do not have time to think. I still am not fully aware that the Archbishop died. I am no dreamer; I know he is dead and is enjoying his reward, but I just can not realize it or be aware of it. I still think often, he will come in the office or I will see him and he will give me that quiet and peaceful smile. I think of him so often. I said many times, I was privileged to be associated with him. He kept a tremendous schedule. If I had been Secretary and Master of Ceremonies with any other Bishop with this schedule, I would have been out of my tree. But with him, it was indeed a pleasure. Often I got tired and certainly he did, but there was no pressure of any kind. He was the kindly, understanding and humble priest. He did not stand on dignity or position but was just himself. He was the Archbishop and I most assuredly respected him for his position, but he was also a dear friend.”

In August Father Lammeier sent the plaque of Our Lady of America that hung in the Cincinnati Chancery and a large collection of letters/ personal spiritual writings of the Archbishop’s to Sister Mary Ephrem for safe keeping and to be organized for future investigation and publication. He confirmed how deeply the Archbishop believed in this message and expressed his willingness to speak to any bishop in this regard. No bishop to date (2008) has ever gone to this living source of information or to the remaining sister who has all the original documentation and personal history of Sr. Mary Ephrem. Some of the secondary sources that have been relied on in the public media have often been misleading.

December 12, 1977: Separation

The Contemplative Sisters inform Sister Charmaine, President of the active group, and her Council of their desire to separate (See Note 5)

“For the past twenty-one years we, the Contemplative Sisters, have attempted to live our monastic, contemplative way of life within the Congregation of the Sisters of the Precious Blood. Through the years it has become progressively more difficult for us to live out our way of life from within the framework of policies and norms intended for the entire Congregation. The difficulties we have encountered along the way have brought us to question whether or not we are trying to do an impossible thing; namely, to live one way of life from within another way of life. From our experience we have realized the need on our part for a greater independence in decision-making areas such as government, finances, formation, administration, membership. It has become increasingly clear to us that, if we are to continue to live out our calling to a contemplative way of life in the manner we deem most suitable to its realization, then we must proceed toward greater autonomy. It is with this in mind that we have drawn up this petition for separation from the Congregation of the Sisters of the Precious Blood.”

(Editor’s note: This letter was signed by the 7 contemplative sisters: Sister Florecita Bidart, Sister Mary Ephrem (Mildred Marie) Neuzil, Sister Mary Louise Voisard, Sister Mary Joseph Therese Fuller, Sister Virginia Manss, Sister Mildred Elaine Becker and Sister Shirley Wishoski.)

January 5, 1978: Separation Confirmed

The Contemplative Sisters confirm their request for a complete break from the active Congregation to Sister Charmaine and her Council

“In our continued attempt to deal with you openly and honestly about this matter, we wish to convey to you that we do not see further negotiation for a greater autonomy within the Congregation as being a viable alternative to the total separation we propose. It is our determination that the time in our history has come for a complete break from the Congregation and that, in and through all the circumstances and events which surround our lives, it is the Spirit Who moves us in this direction.”

(This letter was again signed by the 7 Contemplative Sisters.)

February 9, 1978: Separation sent to Rome

The request for separation is sent to Pope Paul VI with a request to start a new Religious Institute and to retain their religious vows

“We, the Contemplative Sisters of the Precious Blood, submit this petition for separation from the Congregation of the Sisters of the Precious Blood, and ask to begin a new Diocesan Religious Institute that is Contemplative and has the structure of an autonomous religious house. We also ask of Your Holiness that we be permitted to retain our religious vows.”

(This letter was also signed by the 7 Contemplative Sisters.)

March 1, 1978:

The Contemplative Sisters wrote Most Rev. Richard Ackerman of the Covington, KY diocese

They informed him that the Community Council of the Sisters of the Precious Blood had notified the local Ordinaries of both the Cincinnati and Toledo dioceses of their request for separation. The Community Council also forwarded the Sisters’ request for separation to the Sacred Congregation for Religious in Rome. Bishop Ackerman had previously offered to suggest names of bishops who might be willing to accept a contemplative community in their dioceses if the Sisters would not be allowed to remain in New Riegel or the Toledo diocese.

April 3, 1979: Death of Sr. Mary Florecita Bidart, Foundress of the Cloister

After years of faithfully serving the Sisters of the Precious Blood, Sister Florecita died at age 74. Those who knew her have no doubt that they had lived with a saint! In “We Lived with a Saint,” written by Sister Mary Ephrem and Sister Joseph Therese, it states:

In December of 1977, the Officials from Dayton, OH came to New Riegel with orders for Sister Mary Florecita along with Sister Joseph Therese to leave the monastery the next morning. (Later we found out from the Officials in Rome the Superiors in Dayton did not have the authority to do what they did to us.) Without a hearing, Sister Mary Florecita was judged and condemned.

(The question remains: Was proper Canonical due process ever given to these Sisters by the active group or by the Toledo diocese to whom they went for help.)

The Contemplative Sisters requested an extension so they could decide what to do. Sister Mary Ephrem met with the sisters and concluded they must separate if they wished to preserve their contemplative way of life. That resolve was stated in the letter to Sister Charmaine dated December 12, 1977, and finalized in a second letter to her on January 5, 1978, and then made in the request to Pope Paul VI on February 9, 1978 when they asked for complete separation from the active congregation while retaining their religious vows.

Although everything Sister Florecita had worked for was destroyed by the policies of the active group, Sister’s faith and trust in the Lord did not waiver and she accepted rejection and unjust treatment in the spirit of her Suffering Lord. According to “We Lived with a Saint,” Sister Florecita was even called a failure by the Bishop of the Toledo diocese just two months before her death because he believed the untrue stories he had been told. (See Note 5)

(Editor’s Note: Jean-Baptiste Chautard wrote in The Soul of the Apostolate: “It is a terrible misfortune when there is not to be found one really interior soul among all those at the head of important Catholic projects. Then it seems as though the supernatural had undergone an eclipse, and the power of God were in chains. And the saints teach us that, when this happens, a whole nation may fall into a decline, and Providence will seem to have given men a free hand to do all the harm they desire.”)

A week before Sister Florecita’s death, the Officials once again came from Dayton and this was the final blow received. Sister suffered a massive heart attack. She was fully conscious to the end, received the Church’s Last Rites and died in the arms of her sisters, Sister Mildred Marie Neuzil and Sister Joseph Therese, at Mercy Hospital, Tiffin, OH at 2:20 a.m. on April 3, 1979.

Although Sister Florecita never, never felt any bitterness, she asked that her body NOT be returned to Dayton or New Riegel but that she be buried in St. Mary’s cemetery in Tiffin, Ohio. Sister Florecita told us as she told many that her link with the Congregation of the Sisters of the Precious Blood was severed and her work must continue outside the Congregation and away from New Riegel.

Fr. Basil Heiser at the Sacred Congregation for Religious in Rome had assured the contemplative sisters that their papers were processed and had been sent out. (It is not clear today who got those papers and why they were never forwarded to the Contemplative Sisters.) With all the trials, two sisters returned to lay life and two to the active group. Sister Florecita referred to herself, Sister Mary Ephrem and Sister Joseph Therese, the three faithful to their way of life in spite of the trials, as “the little Trinity.”

In the years just prior to Sister Florecita’s death, numerous priests and sisters who had studied the contemplative lifestyle of the Sisters at Our Lady of Nativity Cloister had advised them to separate from the active group. Even Archbishop McNicholas, who helped get the cloister started, warned the contemplative group, “Because your Congregation has always been too geared toward activity, I doubt if the Sisters of the Precious Blood will ever understand and appreciate a Contemplative Group.” He even warned them to expect problems down the road. Now separation was forced upon them. Sr. Mary Ephrem finished a new Rule of Life for the Contemplatives of the Indwelling Most Holy Trinity begun by Sister Mary Florecita. It had been submitted to Rome for approval, along with the request to separate from the active community of the Sisters of the Precious Blood while retaining their religious vows.

December 31, 1979: The Sisters of the Precious Blood sell the Our Lady of Nativity Convent and property

Just months after Sister Florecita’s death, the convent building and 2 acre property was sold to local businessman, Herman Clouse, for $150,000. The Seneca County Courthouse shows this land contract being signed on January 31, 1980 and only finalized in 1994. When Mother Aquinas originally gave Sister Florecita part of the convent for the cloister, it was on the condition that she find the donations herself to renovate the dilapidated building and be totally self-supporting. Receipts show that Sister Florecita had put $800,000 worth of renovations into the convent and even added a whole new wing of bedrooms. After years of service to the active community and after all the money they themselves had raised for the convent, being financially independent of the active group, nothing was given to these contemplative sisters when it was sold. In fact part of the property (15 acres) was given away for $1.00 and only taxes ($12,000) was paid for all this land. (This deed of sale seems illegal.)

Instead, they were put out to fend for themselves, not at all like the just division of property and charitable treatment afforded the Precious Blood Sisters by the Precious Blood Fathers in 1878 when the Church decreed male congregations holding common property with female congregations should separate. The history of the Sisters of the Precious Blood, Not With Silver or Gold, page 233, describes the fair way the Fathers handled that separation with the Sisters.

Additionally, a 15 acre property along the Sandusky River in Tiffin, OH, 1020 West County Road 6, was given exclusively to the Contemplative Sisters by Father Charles Edward Coughlin from Michigan, so they could build a new monastery or retreat for themselves. When the active group heard of this deed, they asked to see it and then sold it rapidly in a closed market deal. The current owners are Kenneth and Marie Schroth. Attorneys Marley and Marley from Fostoria, convinced this property, given by the priest precisely and only to the cloister, which was a separate papal enclosure and should have the right of separate ownership, had begun proceedings to protect it for the Contemplative Sisters by incorporating them when it was sold before this could be done.

As for the Our Lady of Nativity Convent in New Riegel, Mr. Clouse renamed it the Holy Family Center and Fr. Edmund Morman, a retired SVD priest, remained on to conduct retreats and workshops in the area. He would direct Sister Mary Ephrem after the death of Archbishop Leibold. The cloistered sisters, without support from the active community until their new Rule was officially approved, and with everything they had worked for taken from them, were given a place to live in Fostoria, OH by friends and benefactors. Since their printing press had been taken by the active group, the Sisters began to support themselves by raising Champion Labrador Retrievers and German Shepherds to be used in forestry, police and drug work. They continued their quiet, hidden existence in imitation of the Holy Family, while performing works of charity and mercy in the area.

(See the letter following, written in August of 1981 by Sister Mary Ephrem to Sister Zita of the Marist Sisters in Massachusetts, regarding this forced separation and the trials the remaining sisters endured.)

August 14, 1980: Non-acceptance of the Message

Our Lady tells Sister,

Beloved daughter, you are not being accepted because you are a small one. But in the end all will come as I desire. Those who oppose you will receive light to understand.

November 22, 1980: Leadership of the United States

It is the United States that is to lead the world to peace….If, however, the United States is faithful to this mandate from heaven and yet fails in the pursuit of peace because the rest of the world will not accept or cooperate then the United States will not be burdened with the punishment about to fall.

February 11, 1981: The shortness of time and a terrible purification about to fall upon all nations

Sister Mary Ephrem speaks of the shortness of time allotted to us to pray and make the necessary sacrifices to bring about world peace. There is an urgency about Our Lady’s warnings of a terrible purification that is about to fall upon all nations. She advises us to pray the family rosary with as many family members present as possible, and to pray the prayer to the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the United States, once or more a day because the Forces of Evil are enveloping the world.

Our Lady warns their hatred is now particularly focused on the United States because of the Divine Mandate given it to lead the world to peace.

April and July, 1981: Special warnings from Our Lady and Our Lord on the insidiousness of evil

“Dear child, evil is so insidious that it often passes for good. The simple and pure of heart alone can detect the difference. Many good works and many a good person or persons are thwarted and destroyed by apparently good people who are manipulated by the powers of evil because they do not possess that finer sense of being able to detect a false spirit from a true one.

Many unnatural acts are being committed in the name of love. This evil is being disguised and tolerated as an intrinsic right like any other. Even some of My priests and consecrated virgins are being caught up into this web of evil, not realizing its terrible consequences.

My dearest one, many false doctrines are being taught and for many the true Christ is never made known ….Seek Me for I only am truth, I only am the Christ.

August, 1981: Sister Mary Ephrem writes Sister Mary Zita regarding the loss of the monastery

“Yes, Sister, we were forced out of our monastery through jealousy and lack of understanding. The Superiors did not seem to appreciate or try to understand our contemplative vocation. According to them, ours was a wasted life. I’m just afraid, dear Sister, that prayer, real prayer, has taken a back seat in the lives of quite a few priests and nuns. Everything else seems to be considered of greater importance. That is where the powers of evil are wreaking their havoc. They are influencing even many good people by appearing as angels of light. This is where the great danger is. Two of our group left the Order. The other two went back into the active life of the Order and the three of us, including our dear Foundress, asked for an extended leave so as to be able to continue our contemplative life. In the meantime, our dear Foundress passed away, a heart attack brought on by shock and grief. She was a saint. The two of us remained with her until she passed away.

We are striving to continue our contemplative way of life amid pain and hardship. I was told years back that I would have much to suffer, and I was asked if I would be willing and would accept all this suffering to give Him, our Lord, for souls. My answer was “Yes” as proof of my love for Him. Dear Sister, never did I realize what would be asked of me or what I would have to face, but I do not regret any of it, as I love Him so much.”

August 22, 1981: Angel Sultra and Archangel Sardus appear

The Angel Sultra, Power of God, is the guardian and protector of the US. The Archangel Sardus, Strength of God, is the guardian and protector of America.

1981: Later messages after Archbishop Leibold’s death are printed at the direction of Fr. Edmund Morman, Sister’s new spiritual director

This is the first that the messages are put in booklet form and published with a printer, with the later messages added as an addendum. It is the first publication of the complete Diary of Our Lady of America’s messages and is only available through Sister Joseph Therese of the Our Lady of America Center in Fostoria, OH. Fr. Morman had worked closely with Pauline Cavanaugh in Southern California in having this Diary fully copyrighted with the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. This was created and posted in 1984 according to the Library of Congress records, with copyright also listed in 1989. Prior to the new copyright law of 1987, the typed copies of the Diary were protected by Ohio State Common Law. The Diary was re-copyrighted in 1993 with copyright posted when a new image, done by Mrs. Donna Mae Halsted of California, exact to Sr. Mary Ephrem’s vision and personally approved by her, was used on the cover and on holy cards, giving the Diary and prayer cards protection against all infringements and especially against all distortion and contamination of the devotionals.

1983: Sister Mildred describes the betrayal she felt from the active group’s forced closing of the cloister

In his December 1983 article in Fidelity magazine, E. Michael Jones writes about his interview with Sister Mary Ephrem (Mildred) Neuzil and the forcing of the contemplative sisters out of their monastery.

“As part of the specious renewal of religious life in this country, one based oftentimes on a willful misunderstanding of the Second Vatican Council, and as a result of internal dissension within the order, the Sisters of the Precious Blood terminated their cloister. Sister Mildred, because she chose to remain in the contemplative life, was forced to leave her order along with one other nun and the foundress of the order, who was in her seventies at the time. The foundress has since died and now Sister Mildred and her fellow sister lead the contemplative life in a house across from a nearby Union Carbide plant. They are now attempting to breed dogs as a way of supporting themselves. Sister Mildred still feels betrayed and considers her anger a sign of her own spiritual imperfection.

“You’d think having the visions would make a difference,” she said as I drove her away from the former cloister, “but they don’t. The anger is fading, but the pain will always be with me.” Pg. 6, Fidelity, Dec. 1983.

February 17, 1986: Death of Fr. Edmund Morman, SVD

Father died in an automobile accident on Presidents Day, February 17. He had a great love for our presidents and it is said that he carried pictures of his favorite presidents in his wallet. The Holy Family Renewal Center where the Our Lady of Nativity Convent used to be is renamed the Rev. Edmund Morman Hall in memory of this beloved priest and tireless advocate for Our Lady of America and Sr. Mary Ephrem. In June of 2001 the building, except the new Cloister addition, was destroyed by fire. The remainder of the building was razed in the summer of 2003. That original convent/cloister site called the “Cradle of the Community” for the Precious Blood sisters was declared an historical site by the Ohio Historical Society and dedicated as such on October 14, 2007.

Father Morman’s letter to Most. Rev. John A. Donovan of the Toledo diocese, dated March 17, 1980, describes the solace he had given the contemplative sisters in their time of great trial before, during and after their separation from the active group.

“I was present and was able to counsel and comfort the Sisters here during their time of terrible trial, and at the death of Sister Florecita. Now on December 31, 1979 the convent was sold and all the Sisters remaining left, among them Sister M. Leandra who had taken care of Bishop George G. Rehring until he retired.”

1988: National Rosary Congress and Our Lady of America statue at the National Basilica

Fr. Lionel Pare and Mr. John Downs had a statue of Our Lady of America carved for procession at the 1988 National Rosary Congress. Having been inspired by the 1982 article in Fatima Findings, authored by Fr. John Ryan, founder of the Reparation Society in Baltimore, MD, they visited Sister Mildred Marie Neuzil and Sister Joseph Therese in Fostoria, Ohio to learn more about Our Lady of America. Fr. Lionel Pare is the former director of Apostolatus Uniti, National Rosary Congress and currently spiritual director of Ermitage de Berniste in Malmedy, Belgium. The statue they had designed for this occasion was processed by United States Bishops and Priests into the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for the 1988 and 1989 National Rosary Congresses. That statue is now archived at the Our Lady of America Center in Fostoria, Ohio.

1992: California woman sculpts a 4 foot statue of Our Lady of America and flames an endless promotion effort

Mrs. Donna Mae Halsted of Meadow Vista, CA, sculpted a 300 lb. 4 foot statue of Our Lady of America, a 19 inch statue and a painting of Our Lady of America according to the specifications given her by Sr. Mary Ephrem which were then approved by Sr. Mary Ephrem herself. The statue was created for the youth of northern California to carry in World Youth Day 1993 in Denver, CO, and in other devotional processions and ceremonies throughout the country. In the early 1990s, committees to promote the devotion to Our Lady of America were set up in the West, the New England area, the East and Midwest and the South to promote the devotion slowly and deeply according to Archbishop Leibold’s direction.

In addition to those people mentioned throughout this history, many other religious and lay people have taken part in this dedicated and continuous promotion of Our Lady’s cause over the years. Some of these devoted individuals are Fr. Walter Abbott, S.J. editor of the Vatican II documents; Fr. William Carroll, a Mariologist from Boston; Fr. Jack Meade; Fr. Luke Zimmer; Fr. Hebert, S.M.; Fr. Kazimir Chwalek; Fr. Smolenski of St. Joseph’s Place; Michael Brown of www.spiritdaily.com; both Sr. Benita and Sr. Mary Zita of the Marist Sisters; Marie Hunt; Helen and Carl Fahrner, Theresa St. Germaine; Ellen and Bob Davis; John Downs; Darlene Claflin; Bill and Cecile Degan of Georgia; Marie and Bernard Hunt; Thomas Fahey and Hugh Owens of the John Paul II Institute in Jacksonville, FL; Ann Zamorski of New Jersey; Mr. Michelle Pawlowski, President of the National Polish American Congress; Maureen Flynn of Signs and Wonders magazine; Mother Angelica and EWTN; Fr. John Ryan and Ellis Maria Taylor of the Reparation Society in Baltimore; Marty Rotella of Life Foundation in New Jersey; Theresa Wukusick of Ohio; Elaine Bratrovsky, niece of Sr. Mary Ephrem, Colorado; Alma Aucoin of Canada; Trudy Selig of Ohio; the Pilgrims of St. Michael based in Canada, and so many more, too numerous to name. We apologize for those outstanding promoters who may not be named here and ask double blessings on them from heaven.

1993: California youth process the statue of Our Lady of America in World Youth Day in Denver, CO

The statue created in the previous year by Mrs. Halsted is processed in Denver’s World Youth Day at the Papal Mass in Cherry Creek Park on August 15, 1993, and in many other Pro-Life and Eucharistic and Rosary Congresses in the California area.

• July 1993: First Wednesday Mass with Fr. Siro Dal Degan and talks on Our Lady of America at St. Philomene’s Church, Sacramento, CA

• September, 1993: First Wednesday Mass in honor of St. Joseph at St. Mary’s Church, Sacramento, CA

• 1993 Sacred Heart Cenacle, Stockton, CA: Marian and Youth Conference where youth give their World Youth Day testimonies on Our Lady of America and place paper roses at the feet of her statue at the close of Mass

• October, 1993: Marian Conference in Minnesota to which promoters were invited after a youth gave the Diary he received at World Youth Day to his Third Order Carmelite mother

• October, 1993: Northwest Eucharistic Marian Conference, Lacey, Washington, with youth Torchbearers of the Queen from Colfax, CA

• December 5, 1993: Talks on Our Lady of America, Pleasanton, CA

• December 7, 1993: Our Lady of America statue is taken to the Magnificat Catholic Women’s Luncheon in Aptos, CA

• 1993 The Petition Drive to place Our Lady of America’s statue in the National Shrine as a safeguard for our country begins

October, 1994: Our Lady’s statue goes on the 101 Foundation Peace Flight to underground China, Japan, the Philippines, Belgium, Fatima and elsewhere

Fr. Luke Zimmer and Darlene Claflin took the small pilgrim statue of Our Lady of America to Asia and Europe on The 101 Peace Flight. It was the only statue to come off the plane in China where devotionals and booklets were given to underground seminarians. Pictures and booklets were presented in each host country where the pilgrims visited. A special highlight was the stop at Fatima in Portugal.

January 1, 1994: Sister Mary Ephrem wills all her earthly possessions, all her copyrights and trademarks for the devotion to Our Lady of America to Sister Joseph Therese (Patricia Ann) Fuller

Along with willing her possessions and copyrights and trademarks to Sister Joseph Therese, Sister Mary Ephrem personally charged Sister with the protection of the messages, guarding them against additions, deletions and any form of contamination. That charge is greater than any legal document.

(see copy of Sister Mary Ephrem’s will that follows)

1994: Cause of Our Lady of America sent to the St. Joseph’s Foundation and to Pope John Paul II in Rome

Fr. Lionel Pare was the first person to bring the cause of Our Lady of America and Sr. Mary Ephrem to the St. Joseph’s Foundation in San Antonio, TX. Fr. Luke Zimmer and Audrey Frank of California also prepared material on Our Lady of America on January 10, 1994 which was delivered by Fr. Zimmer to Bishop Paul Hnilica, S.J., Auxiliary Bishop of Rome to be given to Pope John Paul II. The prayers to Our Lady of America and to the Blessed Trinity were translated into Polish for His Holiness.

January, 1994: The Icon of Our Lady of America

The Icon of Our Lady of America was shown being blessed and installed in the Cathedral of the Annunciation in the issue of SOPHIA, the Melkite Journal of the Eparchy of Newton, MA.

January 5, 1994:

Audrey Frank speaks on Our Lady of America and Pro-Life issues at the Poor Clares’ St. Joseph Monastery.

1994 onward: Sr. Mary Ephrem’s cross takes on new form

Sister Mildred led a life of hidden sufferings which she accepted with love and great patience. Given a haven of rest, but not from suffering as Our Lady said, she endured a broken hip in January 1994 which compounded her physical adversities. With crippling arthritis, a ruptured appendix and especially severe asthma, Sister’s distresses were, at times, life threatening. . Despite adversity Sister worked tirelessly for Our Lady of America and her cloistered family. With each step closer, and usually on the eve of each victory reported for Our Lady of America, Sister Mildred would suffer intense physical pains and many times battled spiritual attacks designed to discourage her from praying.

For example, just before World Youth Day 1993, one night she suffered from terrible abdominal pain and the “old Boy” (her name for Satan) suddenly appeared as his horrible real self, trying to entice her to “just say that you made it all up and I promise you will not suffer anymore pain.” She stated, “If God required her life or suffering, so be it.” She reported on the “old Boy’s” physical assaults and hateful glares. After World Youth Day her physical pain intensified with each victory; she was especially inflicted with the terrible crippling pain of osteoarthritis complicated by rheumatoid arthritis. Medical treatments to alleviate pain were negligible or made her suffering worse with the complications of side effects. She would hide her moans when people were near her. Certain points on her body radiated such excruciating pain that it was sometimes quietly wondered if she had the hidden stigmata.

Her deteriorating condition pained all who saw her gnarled hands and body contorted into a near 45-degree angle before she died. Especially tortured by the sight of Sister Mary Ephrem’s enduring pain was Sr. Joseph Therese, CIT, her long time companion, caregiver and cherished Sister, who broke down in tears several times, crying, “I can’t watch you suffer like this anymore.” They were bonded by love and endured all for love of Jesus. They even shared August 2nd birthdays – the feast of Our Lady, Queen of the Angels! Sister Mary Ephrem was often seen surrounded by angels and loved to send people from her presence with “May the angels go with you!”

June 19-26, 1994: National Rosary Congress and Year of the Family at the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC

Fr. Lionel Pare and the Fatima Blue Army invited the Torchbearers of the Queen Youth, St. Dominic’s, California, to a Rosary procession of the 1993 World Youth Day 300 pound statue of Our Lady of America around the Basilica. It was then placed at the altar and remained there throughout the week-long ceremony. Father Pare remains a cherished friend and long time devotee to Our Lady of America. This is Our Lady of America’s SECOND PROCESSION at the National Shrine. (on video)

1994: The devotion is promoted all around the country

- January – February, 1994: Pilgrim statue visits/talks are hosted in the New England area by Fr. Smolenski at St. Martha’s, Enfield, CT, and by New England Third Order Marist Laity, along with Fr. Jack Meade and Sr. Benita and Sr. Zita of the Marist Sisters.

- Visits and talks are hosted in Maryland and Washington, D.C. area by Mr. Michelle Pawlowski, President of National Polish American Congress.

- Statue visits and talks by Audrey Frank included Gaithersburg, MD; Mt. St. Mary’s, Emmitsburg, MD, welcomed by Msgr. Hugh Phillips, Potomac, MD; Rosary Cenacle, GOSPA prayer meeting Holy Hour and blessing by Fr. Kazimer Chwalek held at the Convent Chapel of the Oblates of the Blessed Sacrament in Washington, D.C. (where a young cloistered sister said it was through Our Lady of America and Sister Mary Ephrem that she found her vocation, and that she prays daily for the fulfillment of Our Lady of America’s desires).

- Presentation to St. Mary’s youth group, Rockville, Maryland.

- Six weeks Pilgrimage with Our Lady of America small World Youth Day statue sponsored by 3rd Order Marist and Legion of Mary in Auburndale, MA.

- Fr. William Carroll, Boston Mariologist met Sister Mildred in late 1980’s; he daily prays the Indwelling of the Most Holy Trinity Prayer which, he says, is “the most perfect prayer to the Holy Trinity”.

- Joseph’s Hall, 3rd Order Marist Mass, Benediction, Rosary.

- Marist Convent, Newtown, MA - Mass & Rosary with Sr. Zita & Sr. Benita

- Little Audrey Santo Mass and Rosary, January 21, 1994, Feast of St. Agnes.

- Watertown, MA - Marian Rosary Group Framingham, MA.

- Marian prayer group - Enfield, CT

- St. Hedwig’s Church, Pastor Fr. Brunislaw Wielgus, Elizabeth, New Jersey, Ass’t: Fr. Chirstopher Bugno & Ann Zamorski begin Our Lady of America prayer group on Saturday mornings.

- Our Lady of America prayer translated into Polish for letter sent to the Pope

- March 25,1994 Procession, crowning, consecration St. Dominic’s, Colfax, CA

- May 1994 Small statue and Our Lady of America picture in Youth Rosary procession at Sacramento Diocese annual Mary’s Hour, St. Rose Church.

- AUGUST 1994 Youth for Life NATIONAL YOUTH DAY REUNION CONFERENCE: American & Canadian Youth reunite after World Youth Day for a Marian Conference in Prayer, Adoration, and Torchbearers of the Queen process 300 pound statue of Our Lady of America with Youth for Life image of Our Lady of Guadalupe during the Pro Life 6 mile Rosary & Divine Mercy walk to Denver abortion clinic.

- October 1994 - Diocese Fresno, California, Marian Conference Newsletter article on Our Lady of America.

1995: Promotion of the devotion continues

- Torchbearers of the Queen youth group from Colfax, CA carry the small pilgrim statue of Our Lady of America and devotionals to World Youth Day in the Philippines

- June 1995 - Holy Innocents Pro Life Mass/Rosary and talk

- St. Philomene’s Church, Sacramento, CA - Youth Procession, rosary, Mass, and Pro Life & Our Lady of America talk.

- July 1995 - Fr. Orbis, Divine Word Missionary, Retreat & Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Church, Sacramento, CA (Large Pilgrim Statue) Youth gather signatures on petitions.

- October 13, 1995 - Holy Innocents, Pro Life Rosary & Mass celebrated by Bishop Weigand

- St. Philomene’s Church - Youth process 300 lb. Statue of Our Lady of America, Rosary, Mass and Pro Life talk.

- November 27,1995 - Mary’s Peace Mass, St. Charles Borromeo, Sacramento, CA. Northern California youth groups process Our Lady of America and lead Rosary/Divine Mercy Chaplet, followed by Mass. Music by St. Rose’s Life Teen Music Group, Roseville, California

1995 World Youth Day in the Philippines

Youth “Torchbearers of the Queen” travel with the small pilgrim statue of Our Lady of America to World Youth Day in Manila, the Philippines, joining with Youth from many nations around the world to honor Our Lady.

1996: Promotion of the devotion spreads still more

- Sacred Heart Cenacle Rosary at the Sacramento Croatian Center. Large Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of America brought by CA Torchbearers of the Queen.

- August 1996 - Massachusetts Petition drives/Our Lady of America talks sponsored by New England Our Lady of America group with Life Foundation speakers on Our Lady of Guadalupe and Divine Mercy.

- Procession of small Pilgrim statue at Mass, Worcester, MA and Third Order Marist Laity in Auburndale, MA.

November 11, 1997: Archbishop Leibold’s appearance

At precisely 1:00 pm on Veteran’s Day, Archbishop Paul Leibold suddenly appears before Sister Mildred Marie, startling her, and he reassures Sister that he will finish from heaven what he started on earth. (Having Our Lady of America’s Statue placed in the National Shrine.) Then, at exactly 1:01 pm, Archbishop Leibold is gone! He appears every day at 1:00 pm and leaves at 1:01 pm for a full year! Thereafter he remains at her side, along with her other constant companions, Our Lady of America, St. Michael, the angels, and now the Holy Spirit in the form of a white dove resting on her lap. They remain present with her until she dies.

1997: Promotion of the devotion continues with undying dedication

- Cecile and Bill Degan and a Bishop from Georgia work with the Iconography Committee at the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC to place Our Lady of America’s statue in the Shrine. The North, East, West and South Our Lady of America groups of laity, religious, and priests send letters to Msgr. Bransfield and the Icon Committee with video, song cassette of Our Lady of America and history since World Youth Day.

- November 1997- Sacramento Diocese Pro Life Meeting with Bishop Weigand. Talk on Our Lady of America.

- August meeting with MA Our Lady of America group at Marist Convent, arranged by Sr. Benita and Sr. Zita. In attendance were Fr. Jack Meade, Fr. William Carroll, Fr. Walter Abbott and Audrey Frank from CA Torchbearers of the Queen Group to discuss petitions and ways to place Our Lady’s statue in the National Shrine. Fr. Abbott, S.J. gives “Inside the Vatican” editorial in which Pope John Paul II would like to visit a US Marian shrine one more time before he dies. Recommended is a formal study of the messages of Our Lady of America and the unique graces bestowed upon St. Joseph.

- 1997- Youth 2000 Eucharistic 3 Day Retreat, St. Rose Church, Roseville, CA. Crowning of Our Lady of America by Youth.

1997: World Youth Day in Paris, France

May, 1997: Pope John Paul II expresses his desire to visit the United States one more time in relation to some Marian occasion In his editorial, “The Consecration,” in the May, 1997 issue of Inside the Vatican, Robert Moynihan quotes Pope John Paul II’s private secretary, Monsignor Stanislaw Dziwisz, that the Holy Father desires to visit the United States one more time. He wishes to honor the Blessed Mother, to address the sexual morality in the West and to urge Americans to turn to Mary and to dramatically and symbolically link the great Western democracy more closely to her. Mr. Moynihan states:

For the Pope, Mary, Daughter of Sion, is the perfect example and embodiment of “fairest love,” for it was through such love that the Son of God took on human flesh. Much has been made about the need to consecrate Russia to Mary’s Immaculate Heart.

But the need to consecrate America to Mary is now just as great—perhaps greater. The dedication of a great national Marian shrine and the consecration of America to “Our Lady of Fairest Love” would be an appropriate occasion for John Paul to visit the U.S. one last time. The Pope’s wish to honor Mary and to plead for “fairest love” in the United States is important even if his visit never takes place. His burning desire to see the United States turn to Mary and through her to be inspired to embrace and live a higher love comes not only at a crossroads in American and Western culture, but at a moment of crisis in American Catholicism.

1998: Promotion of Our Lady’s cause is relentless

- Oakland, CA Holiness Conference. St. Joseph Communications, Mother Angelica, Our Lady of America and World Youth Day talks (video) were presented to youth of all ages at 3 day Youth Conference. Focus on St. Joseph and 1st Wednesday devotion. The large Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of America is displayed at the Main Conference with Mass, Rosary, Divine Mercy, Mother Angelica.

- Sister Mary Benita, SMSM, traveled home to New Orleans to personally visit retired Archbishop Philip Hannan and the Archbishop of New Orleans concerning the importance of Our Lady of America and the message of sanctification from within. Sister had written her Provincial about possibly relocating Marists from Massachusetts to help at the Our Lady of America Center. Sister begged all from her deathbed to help Our Lady of America’s cause. She united her black and white friends alike for Our Lady of America’s cause until her death in 2001. At her wake tearful mourners told of how she could only speak of Our Lady of America until her last breath. She told Kenneth Ryan, Head Knight of Columbus for Marian Affairs (CN) to aid Our Lady of America in all ways.

- September 1998 - Sacramento Marian Conference Memorial Auditorium. Torchbearers of the Queen bring the large Statue of Our Lady of America. Bishop Richard Garcia is the celebrant.

- September 1998 - Fresno Marian Conference, Radisson Hotel. Torchbearers bring the large Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of America.

July 1998: Sr. Mary Ephrem focuses on the importance of the Divine Indwelling of the Most Holy Trinity in our souls, the central doctrine of our Faith

Sr. Mary Ephrem relates that all the Church approved apparitions of Mary converge in this one to Our Lady of America because of its central focus on the awesome mystery and doctrine of the Divine Indwelling of the Most Holy Trinity in our souls, sanctifying grace, the source of all holiness, which must come from within! The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls the mystery of the Trinity the central doctrine of the Catholic Faith.

In August of 1998 Sister Joseph Therese finds Sister Mary Ephrem all aglow with a most radiant light emanating from her smiling face. Sister Joseph Therese falls to the ground on her knees, wondrously gazing at Sister Mary Ephrem’s most beautiful countenance. When she asks Sister, “What is it? What’s going on?’ Sister answers delightedly, “There are angels everywhere, and light everywhere. Every bit of space is occupied with angels!”

October, 1999:

St. Rose Church, Roseville, CA Youth Eucharistic 3 day Retreat - Our Lady of America is crowned by the youth

January 1, 2000: Our Lady is crowned at the National Basilica on the first day of the New Millennium, the First Saturday

Members of the Reparation Society from Baltimore, MD and Fr. Kazimir Chwalek celebrate Mass in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of the National Basilica on the first day of the New Millennium, the First Saturday of the month, and crown a statue of Mary, proclaiming: “We crown you Our Lady of America, Queen of Americans!”

January 10, 2000: The death of Sr. Mary Ephrem Neuzil, the “little secretary of Jesus’ Heart” and the “little white dove”

On January 10, 2000, the first year of the New Millennium, this humble, holy soul, Sister Mary Ephrem (Mildred Marie) Neuzil, at age 83, was set free from the cross she had so willingly embraced for the cause of Our Lady of America. She was set free to receive her full communion with the Most Holy and Triune God that had dwelt so intimately within her while on earth. Her funeral Mass was celebrated at the Basilica of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, OH by nephew Fr. Gregory Neuzil from Tennessee. Friends from around the country, including niece Elaine Bratrovsky of Colorado, traveled to Carey that snowy winter day to bid her farewell, knowing they, too, had lived with and known another saint. Fifty white roses were brought for Sister Mary Ephrem by Ellis Maria Taylor of the Reparation Society in Baltimore, MD. Eulogies were delivered by Theresa Wukusick from Ohio, Anita Marovich from New Jersey, and Audrey Frank from California. The song to Our Lady of America, written by Sister Mary Ephrem and put to music by Richard Paul Rencher, was sung by Marty Rotella of the Divine Mercy and Life Foundation in New Jersey. Sister’s body, laid to rest in a handmade wood casket with Our Lady of America’s picture encased in the lid, is temporarily laid to rest in a vault at St. Wendolyn’s Cemetery, Fostoria, OH.

Sister Mary Ephrem committed the completion of her work and the protection of the purity of the message of Our Lady of America to her only remaining companion in the Lord, Sister Joseph Therese (Patricia Ann) Fuller and trusted her to guard it against all contamination with her very life.

April/May, 2000: The Message is put in the hands of America’s Cardinals and Bishops and Pope John Paul II

Since Our Lady herself asked that her request to be honored in the National Basilica be put in the hands of her beloved sons, her bishops, nearly 300 packets of information on Our Lady of America were sent to Cardinals, Bishops and Auxiliary Bishops. Information was both mailed to and taken to Rome by New Jersey pilgrims and hand delivered to the Vatican for Pope John Paul II by a Marianist priest residing in Rome. Information has been sent to the Board of Directors and the Iconography Committee at the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception where Our Lady has asked to be honored under the title of “Our Lady of America, the Immaculate Virgin” since the time the Upper Church was under construction, but, as of 2008, her request has not yet been fulfilled. The Board and the Committee at the National Shrine cannot act until a bishop champions Our Lady of America’s cause. It is now over 50 years since Our Lady requested that we honor her there, after which she would grant unprecedented grace to us in America especially, miracles of the soul, greater than those granted at Lourdes and Fatima.

May, 2000: Michael Brown features many articles on Our Lady of America and Sister Mary Ephrem on his web site

When Our Lady’s messages were covered on Michael Brown’s web site, www.spiritdaily.com, calls came into the Our Lady of America Center in Fostoria, OH from all parts of the country and the world. A petition drive was started and 10,000+ signatures have been gathered requesting that our bishops place Our Lady’s statue in the National Shrine. They are still waiting to be presented to the bishop who will champion this cause.

2000: World Youth Day in Rome

California “Torchbearers of the Queen” go to Rome with the small pilgrim statue of Our Lady of America and spread the devotionals while there.

September 26, 2000:

The plaque of Our Lady of America taken to the National Shrine by a Pro-Life group from New Riegel, OH is found

One of the plaques of Our Lady of America, commissioned by the late Archbishop Leibold, was processed by a St. Boniface Pro-Life group in the Pro-Life Mass at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC and was then presented to the Shrine. It had hung on a wall of the lower Church for some time but got lost after renovations. It was found by the shrine archivist and sent to Anita Marovich in New Jersey, a native of New Riegel, Ohio, and thereafter returned to the Our Lady of America Center in Fostoria, Ohio.

2000 – 2001: A Newsletter for Our Lady of America is begun

Newsletters Volume I and II outlining the information and messages of Our Lady of America were mailed to bishops and laity around the country. They were halted when scandal broke out in the Church, calling for a retreat into prayer for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Summer 2001: Our Lady of America is featured on the cover and in a special edition of Signs and Wonders magazine

Under last minute inspiration, Maureen Flynn, editor, changes plans for the summer 2001 edition of the Signs and Wonders magazine and decides to feature Our Lady of America. The cover is done in red, white and blue and pictures Our Lady of America centered with the images of the National Capital, the seat of our American government, and the National Basilica, seat of the American Church. Lengthy articles explain the message. Ironically, and providentially, this edition was at the printers when the 9/11 tragedy hit. Our Lady of America has been warning her children in America of chastisements hitherto unknown in America if we do not embrace the necessary reform of life for which she pleads.

October 2 – December 22, 2001:

The large pilgrim statue of Our Lady of America is taken on a 3 month tour around the country, stopping at the National Basilica for the Week of Prayer to end abortion, the third time the statue is processed at the Basilica

The 4 foot statue of Our Lady of America was taken on a 3 month tour throughout America by California resident Audrey Frank and her children. It was brought to the National Shrine for the Day of Prayer and Fasting to end abortion just a month after 9/11. Michael Brown spoke on Our Lady of America at this event and materials and petitions were made available to the public. This is the statue that has been carried in all World Youth Days since 1993 and many other Conferences and events. It was featured on the cover of the Richmond diocesan newspaper after the World Youth Day in Canada. Its travels on this tour include the following:

- Saint Paul’s Church, Sandwich, IL.

- National Week of Prayer and Fasting at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC.

- Ground Zero - following 9/11/2001.

- Marist Sisters Convent, Newton, Massachusetts. Mass celebrated by Fr. Walter Abbott, S.J., Espousal Retreat Center, Waltham, MA.

- Fr. Tom Di Lorenzo - Charismatic Mass & a Radio Interview, St. Mary’s Church Center, Piscataway, Maryland.

- St. John Bosco TeleConference, Woodstock, Virginia.

- The pilgrim statue was taken to the John Paul II Conference of Christian Spirituality in Jacksonville, Florida.

- At Thanksgiving time, Mother Angelica brought Our Lady of America’s statue into her private cloister chapel and Collin Donovan, EWTN Theologian, introduced Our Lady of America to the EWTN board.

- Archbishop Flores granted permission to Anna Jimenez to have the statue of Our Lady of America brought to St. Therese, the Little Flower’s Mission Church, San Antonio, Texas. It was then taken to St. Dominic’s Church in San Antonio. There was a living rosary and fiesta.

- The statue was invited to the Marian Conference by Mimi Kelly of the Mir Prayer Group in Louisiana.

- The Marian Helpers Radio Program featured Our Lady of America and Sr. Mary Ephrem on their program.

- Archbishop Phillip Hannan’s Focus Television did a 60 Minute special on Sr. Mary Ephrem’s life and the messages of Our Lady of America.

2002: Lay theologian Hugh Owens helps promote the devotion

Hugh Owens, lay theologian associated with the John Paul II Institute in Jacksonville, Florida, began writing and speaking to promote the devotion to Our Lady of America.

2002: World Youth Day in Toronto, Canada

Youth from California, Maryland and other areas of the country carry the 300 pound Pilgrim statue of Our Lady of America in the World Youth Day in Canada. The Richmond diocesan newspaper carried a picture of these young people processing Our Lady on the cover of their paper.

2003: A request for a statue from the Philippines

Fr. Santiago from a poor parish in the Philippines requested a statue for his parish. Donors in New Jersey covered the cost and shipped it to him. Lay people carried the message to Mexico. Requests for material come from Africa, elsewhere in the Philippines, England, Australia and other places around the world.

January, 2004: The Pilgrims of St. Michael distribute 34,000 copies of their article on Our Lady of America at the annual March for Life in Washington, DC

The Pilgrims of St. Michael, a lay group of evangelists based in Canada, had published an article on Our Lady of America in a 2003 edition of The Michael Journal which goes throughout the US, Canada and other world locations where they minister. In January of this year the Pilgrims distributed over 34,000 copies of that featured article on Our Lady of America from their newsletter to participants at the 2004 March for Life in Washington, DC. The newsletters are being spread across the nation by other lay people as well. A large framed image of Our Lady of America was carried by New Jersey pilgrims at this March for Life.

October 2004: Pilgrims from various towns of the Trenton diocese carry a small statue of Our Lady of America to the National Basilica for a day of prayer for our military

Mrs. Jean Swenson of Pt. Pleasant, NJ, a devoted child of Mary, has conducted pilgrimages to the National Basilica each October for the past 29 years in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of Fatima. This particular pilgrimage added a special tribute to Our Lady of America and prayers to place our military men and women in her protection. Our Lady of America’s small statue and framed image were placed near the Crypt altar during the liturgy while pilgrims prayed for America and for our military men and women.

August, 2004: A new church in Tennessee honors Our Lady of America with a stained glass window

A beautiful stained glass window with the second image of Our Lady of America approved by Sister Mary Ephrem in 1993 is placed in the new St. Mary’s Church in Savannah, Tennessee. This Church is placed under the protection of Our Lady of America. To see this magnificent window, go to www.stmary-savannah.org.

January, 2005: Our Lady of America is again promoted by the Pilgrims of St. Michael at the March for Life in Washington, DC

The Pilgrims of St. Michael again distribute over 30,000 copies of the newsletter with the message of Our Lady of America for her children in America at the annual March for Life in Washington, DC. Sr. Mary Ephrem believed most strongly that it is the sin of abortion that is calling down God’s chastisements upon America and the world.

2005 World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany

2005: Our Lady’s statue is processed in Wyoming

In February, Bishop David Ricken of Cheyenne, Wyoming, processed Our Lady of America’s statue around his cathedral and held special services to honor the Patroness of America. This was done in anticipation of Our Lady’s own request to be carried in solemn procession and then enthroned in a place of honor in our National Basilica.

April 27, 2005: Sr. Monica Schrott, OCD, dies

Sister Monica Schrott, OCD, a long time friend of Sr. Mary Ephrem’s and an ardent advocate for the cause of the statue of Our Lady of America in the National Basilica dies at Carmel of the Assumption in Latrobe, PA. Surely Sr. Mary Ephrem and Our Lady of America have welcomed her home! The statue she so vigorously promoted was a joint effort with Sr. Mary Ephrem, Archbishop Leibold and the Bishop of Connare, PA. Like all other things that truly belonged to Sr. Mary Ephrem and this devotion, this statue done under Sister Mary Ephrem’s guidance, was willed to Sr. Joseph Therese, the sole remaining contemplative sister charged by the visionary to guard the purity of the devotion. It was hand delivered to Sister Joseph Therese at the Fostoria, OH Our Lady of America Center accordingly, with all due respect for that ownership.

2008: World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia

Information on Our Lady of America and the devotional items connected with this devotion are available from Sr. Joseph Therese, Contemplative Sisters, Our Lady of Nativity Convent,

P.O. Box 445, Fostoria, OH 44830

The web address is www.ourladyofamerica.com

The “True Story of Our Lady of America” will continue (2005 to 2009) later.

From the website Unity Publishing

We Lived With A True Saint

2008-10-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

This Marker Is All That Remains Of The Cloister. Let This Never Happen Again!

Sr. Mildred Mary Neuzil wrote this for the funeral mass of Sr. Florecita, the foundress of the cloister at New Riegel Ohio.
Our Lady of The Nativity Convent

We Lived With A True Saint
By Sister Mildred Marie Neuzil (Seer of Our Lady of America)

Sister Mary Florecita Bidart was born on May 4, 1904, in Corona, California to Josqhina (Gliss) and Samson Bidart, both of who came to America from France. She was the eldest of five girls. In the world she was known as Marie. Her father had a large sheep ranch in Chino, built a home and raised his family there.
Maria attended San Luis Academy, in California, and when she was 17 entered the Sisters of the Precious Blood at Maria Stein, Ohio.
For over 30 years Sister Florecita taught in schools of the Congregation of the Precious Blood in California, Indiana and Ohio. She was a very successful teacher and her pupils loved her dearly. To this day many have kept in touch with her.
For sometime Sister was also director of the Catholic Information Center at St. Mary’s Church in Dayton, Ohio.
Whatever Sister Florecita undertook, with her complete trust in God, turned out to be a tremendous success; yet, she was never ambitious in seeking glory for herself, but only for God.
Sister always felt drawn to a more Contemplative Way of Life, and so entered the Dominican Nuns of Perpetual Adoration in Detroit, Michigan but due to the poor health returned to the Congregation in Dayton. It was, however, in the Dominican Cloister that Sister was inspired to start a Contemplative Group within the Congregation of the Sisters of the Precious Blood.
Sister Mary Florecita worked toward this idea for over 25 years, and at four General Chapters Sister was promised that the Cloister would be voted on but each time it was never brought to the floor until, at one Chapter, Archbishop Alter, himself, brought it to the Chapter floor and since the Bishop, himself, presented the petition, it was voted, passed and accepted by the Congregation.
With the help and encouragement of Archbishop McNicholias, Archbishop Alter, Bishop Marling, Archbishop Leibold, Msgr. Markham and Bishop Rehring, Sister Florecita’s dream became a reality. Archbishop McNicholas did say to Sister: “Because you Congregation has always been too geared toward activity, I doubt if the Sisters of the Precious Blood will ever understand and appreciate a Contemplative Group.” His prediction has been proven true.
Mother Aquinas told Sister Florecita that she could have part of the New Riegel convent for the Cloister, if she could remodel and do whatever was needed on her own through donations, etc. It meant a lot of hard work and planning for Sister as she also was teaching school here at St. Boniface and working at night on the Cloister.
The interior of the present convent was completely renovated and the grounds within the enclosure were beautifully landscaped. Additional ground in the back was purchased by Sister Florecita for a large vegetable garden and an enclosure wall was built. Printing equipment was purchased as needed. All this was paid for by donations from Sister Florecita’s friends and benefactors.
Twelve years ago, Sister found it necessary to put up a new wing as added quarters were required for they were growing in number. Again the building and furnishings were paid for by Sister Florecita from donations received. The Congregation in Dayton was never called upon for funds to support us. We were entirely self-supporting.
A figure well over $800,000 was spent at New Riegel.
The Statues of the Contemplative Way of Life at New Riegel and rule had full approval from the Sacred Congregation for Religious in Rome even though their own Congregation said it would never recognize our status.
In December of 1977, the Officials from Dayton, Ohio came to New Riegel with orders for Sister Mary Florecita along with Sister Joseph Therese to leave the New Riegel Monastery the next morning. (Later we found out from the Officials in Rome, that the Superiors in Dayton did not have the authority to do what they did to us.) Without a hearing, Sister Mary Florecita was judged and condemned.
The Contemplative Group at New Riegel, seeing the injustice of the whole matter, asked the Officials in Dayton that the two, Sister Florecita and Sister Joseph Therese, be given 30 days to make a decision. In the meantime, Sister Mildred Marie Neuzil, along with the other Contemplative Sisters, got together and came to realize that the only way to preserve and be able to live our “Contemplative Way of Life” was to ask for a complete separation from the Congregation of the Sisters of the Precious Blood.
For sometime, because of the difficulty and pressures the Congregation put on the Cloister, this idea for separation was thought about but Sister Florecita would always say, “When the Lord wants us to separate, He will give us a sign.” And this He did by their forcing to break up the Contemplative Community. Part of the difficulty we were experiencing was due to the Congregation trying to force their polices of an active life upon us.
Sister Mary Florecita had all the Characteristics of a true Foundress – Absolute Faith and Trust in God; Strength of Character; True Generosity; Insight; Simplicity; Discernment and Vision.
So like all Great Souls she was much misunderstood. In spite of being rejected, treated unjustly, brought to judgment without a trial, Sister went on trusting in God, remaining faithful and accusing no one.
Even though the Congregation to which she had belonged, completely destroyed all that she spent her life working and suffering for, Sister’s faith and trust in God was unwavering. Sister was also called a failure by the Bishop of the Diocese just two months before her death because of the untrue stories told him.
We know that Sister Florecita was not a failure but too much of the success for certain minds to comprehend. Like Christ, Himself, who went before her, was also considered a failure and was completely rejected by so many, the same is true with sister. Sister Florecita’s work and belief in Contemplative Prayer as a Way of Life will continue in the lives of her two Contemplative Sisters, who survive her and in the years for those that will follow.
Yes, Sister was too much of a success to be accepted for what she really was. Her generosity of heart was of such an all embracing nature that it was bound to be misconstrued and criticized by those who did not really know her and the Seal of Success on her work as God sees it. This will be proven in the years now following her death.
A week before Sister Florecita’s death, the Officials once again came from Dayton and this was the final blow received. Sister suffered a massive heart attack. She was fully conscious to the end, received the Church’s Last Rites and died in the arms of her two sisters, Sister Mildred Marie Neuzil and Sister Joseph Therese Fuller, at Mercy Hospital at 2:20 A.M. on April 3, 1979. Although Sister Mary Florecita never, never felt any bitterness she asked that her body NOT be returned to Dayton or New Riegel but that she be buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Tiffin, Ohio. Sister Florecita told us as she told many that her link with the Congregation of the Sisters of the Precious Blood was severed and her work must continue outside the Congregation and away from New Riegel.
Sister Florecita along with us asked for exclaustration. Several weeks ago when we spoke to Father Basil Heiser at the Sacred Congregation for Religious in Rome, he told us that our papers were processed and sent out. Now we are only two and we will continue to live our Contemplative Life of Prayer that Sister Florecita taught us. We know that within the Congregation this would be impossible.
The Sacred Congregation in Rome told us that if we wish, we can go under a Bishop, ask for a complete dispensation from the Congregation and eventually become a Pius Union. This we eventually intend to do.
We thank God for giving us the privilege of living with a Saint. We know that at all times she will be with us as she promised she would be both in life and in death. Before she died, she called us, “The Little Trinity.” As a priest friend once said of her, she is like a cowboy, a truly free spirit, riding the prairie, her eyes fixed on God. Sister Mary Florecita never let herself be upset by little things. She considered these of no consequences and a waste of time to dwell upon. She was a woman of greatness, concerned only about the greater things of life and her relationship with God. One of her favorite mottos was, “Never look back with bitterness or regret. The past is past! Rather, go forward to the work of God waiting for you.” Her special psalm was Psalm 37, “Commit your life to the Lord: Trust in Him and He will act, etc.”
As Father Gorman said at the Eulogy of Sister’s Funeral Mass, “She died before she died and so she did not die.” Sister Mary Florecita Bidart lives forever, especially in the hearts and lives of her two surviving Contemplative Sisters, Sister Mildred Marie Neuzil and Sister Joseph Therese Fuller.
She marched to the music of a different drummer.

If anyone would like to know any more about Sister Florecita, please write to Sister Mildred Marie and Sister Joseph Therese.
Written and signed by
Sister Mildred Marie Neuzil
Sister Joseph Therese Fuller

St. Joseph and The First Wensdays

2008-10-01T00:33:00.000-07:00

The Feast of St. Joseph the Worker is celebrated on May 1. This Feast was instituted by Pope Pius XII in order to impress on our minds the dignity of human work and the principles according to which it should be carried on. He chose St. Joseph as the model and helper of all workers.
From the example of St. Joseph, we should learn that we work in obedience to God's command for our earthly needs while at the same time hoping to attain our heavenly reward. He who was obedient to God's commands took care of the Holy Family by his skill and labor will not fail to extend his help and protection to his co-workers.
On His part, Jesus "was obedient to them" (Lk. 2:51) and thereby sanctified His daily work with St. Joseph. Work was the daily expression of love in the Holy Family. Work, which was a consequence of Original Sin (see Gn. 3:17-20), was now redeemed by Jesus who labored at the workbench with St. Joseph. Work is a human good which transforms nature and makes man, in a sense, more human.
Pius XII decreed that the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker should be celebrated on May 1st, the traditional Workers' Day. He hoped that St. Joseph's patronage would promote peace between workers and their employers and end the strife that too often marred their relationship.
Pope Paul VI said, "St. Joseph is the model of those humble ones that Christianity raises up to great destinies; he is the proof that in order to be a good and genuine follower of Christ, there is no need of great things — it is enough to have the common, simple and human virtues, but they need to be true and authentic."
Pope Pius IX declared St. Joseph to be the "Patron of the Catholic Church". We place our confidence in his protection because he will protect the Church family just as he protected the Holy Family.
Pope John Paul II prayed, "May St. Joseph become for all of us an exceptional teacher in the service of Christ's saving mission, a mission which is the responsibility of each and every member of the Church: husbands and wives, parents, those who live by the work of their hands or by any other kind of work, those called to the contemplative life and those called to the apostolate… ."
Peacemaker
The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in the United States and revealed her title as "Our Lady of America, The Immaculate Virgin." She also said, "I am the Immaculate One, Patroness of your land." She appeared to Sister Mildred Neuzil in several apparitions that began in 1956 and continued until her death on January 10, 2000 at the age of 83. The devotion to Our Lady of America is the only canonically approved devotion that is based upon apparitions of Our Lady in the United States.
On March 11, 1958, Our Lady of America spoke to Sister Mildred about St. Joseph. She said, "My holy spouse has an important part to play in bringing peace to the world."
In confirmation of Our Lady's statement that St. Joseph "has an important part to play in bringing peace to the world", he told Sister Mildred on his feast day, March 19, 1958:
Dear child, I was king in the little home of Nazareth, for I sheltered within it the Prince of Peace and the Queen of Heaven. To me they looked for protection and sustenance, and I did not fail them.
I received from them the deepest love and reverence, for in me they saw Him whose place I took over them.
So the head of the family must be loved, obeyed, and respected, and in return be a true father and protector to those under his care.
In honoring in a special way my fatherhood, you also honor Jesus and Mary. The Divine Trinity has placed into our keeping the peace of the world.
The imitation of the Holy Family, my child, of the virtues we practiced in our little home at Nazareth is the way for all souls to that peace which comes from God alone and which none other can give.
Father
The Fatherhood of God is the source of human fatherhood. St. Joseph acted as the father of Jesus. Fathers are called to love and lead their families as a model of God the Father's love for them. St. Joseph is the model father. He came to Sister Mildred and said that fathers must come to him to learn obedience to authority, the Church and the laws of their country. Fathers also must imitate his great purity of life and the deep respect that he held for his Immaculate Spouse.
On the eve of his Feast, March 18, 1958, he came to Sister and said:
All Fatherhood is blest in me whom the Eternal Father chose as His representative on earth, the Virgin-Father of His own Divine Son. Through me the Heavenly Father has blessed all fatherhood, and through me He continues and will continue to do so till the end of time.
My spiritual fatherhood extends to all God's children, and together with my Virgin Spouse I watch over them with great love and solicitude.
Fathers must come to me, small one, to learn obedience to authority: to the Church always, as the mouthpiece of God, to the laws of the country in which they live, insofar as these do not go against God and their neighbor.
Mine was perfect obedience to the Divine Will, as it was shown and made known to me by the Jewish law and religion. To be careless in this is most displeasing to God and will be severely punished in the next world.
Let fathers also imitate my great purity of life and the deep respect I held for my Immaculate Spouse. Let them be an example to their children and fellowmen, never willfully doing anything that would cause scandal among God's people.
Fatherhood is from God, and it must take once again its rightful place among men.
Pure Heart
Jesus and Mary desire that the Pure Heart of St. Joseph be honored on the First Wednesday of each month. On March 30, 1958, he appeared to Sister Mildred and said:
I am the protector of the Church and the home, as I was the protector of Christ and His Mother while I lived upon earth. Jesus and Mary desire that my pure heart, so long hidden and unknown, be now honored in a special way. Let my children honor my most pure heart in a special manner on the First Wednesday of the month by reciting the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary in memory of my life with Jesus and Mary and the love I bore them, the sorrow I suffered with them. Let them receive Holy Communion in union with the love with which I received the Savior for the first time and each time I held Him in my arms.
Those who honor me in this way will be consoled by my presence at their death, and I myself will conduct them safely into the presence of Jesus and Mary.
So let us respond to the requests of St. Joseph and ask his intercession for the great gifts of God's protection, peace and presence.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO OUR LADY OF AMERICA

2008-09-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

It was on Sept.26th 1956 that The Blessed Mother revealed herself to Sister Mary Ephrem as, Our Lady of America.

Pray for us O exalted queen. For such a great grace given to our country.
Do not look upon our sinfulness or slowness to respond with love to that which you ask of us.
Hold back the hand of your Son Our Lord, as He watches the graces given to us tossed aside and trampled by sinful and ungrateful men.
Look rather upon the suffering and innocent. Those who are treated with malice and disrespect as they tirelessly carry out the mission entrusted to them in your honor.
Look with favor on The United States of America, and intercede for your children.
Give us the opportunity to learn of the request you ask of us.
Help us with your maternal love to spread the divine light of charity to all.
Don't give up on us.
Send your Son's spirit into the hearts of those in authority who have the power to fulfill your request.
As you have spoken, let it be so.

This blog is protected by the intercession of Archbishop Paul Leibold, and is in response to the virtue of charity in helping the sole remaining sister, Sr.Joseph Therese of The Contemplative Sisters of The Indwelling Trinity, accomplish the task left to her order by Sister Mary Milderd Neuzil.

courageous torch bearer

2008-08-11T22:23:00.000-07:00

Father Luke Zimmer, a gifted priest located in southern california, had a great impact on many people. I met him on a few occasions at various masses and retreats. He often held seminars on angels and personally enrolled myself and a friend in the scapular of Mount Carmel.

It was fascinating to find out that many of my friends had a special realationship with Fr. Zimmer. It would not be until years after his death and my involvement with the devotion to Our Lady of America, that the phrase there are no coincendences with God would take on a new meaning.

The year was 2005 and the international pilgrim statue of Our Lady of America was sent to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on a series of missions here in Greater Los Angeles. We were grateful to Sr. Joseph Therese for the opportunity to have "the miraculous statue".

The pilgrim statue is about 3 feet tall and traveled from Ohio to Los Angeles UPS in a special traveling trunk. When Our Lady arrived in Los Angeles we eagerly opened the trunk, only to discover that her head had been crushed in transit. Two days before the special mass in her honor DEC.8, feast on The Immaculate Conception panic stuck us all. We immediately contacted sister expecting the worst, but in her calm gentle voice she assured us all would be well. The first frantic call was placed to find a artist who could recreate the face of Our Lady. All we had to go on were two small pieces of her cheeks left among the pile of what once was her head and veil. An artist in Santa Monica offered his services. We left Our Lady with him not knowing what to expect.

That evening a rehearsal was planned to prepare for the mass. Not knowing if we would even have the statue finished in time, we planned the liturgy in honor of Our Lady of America and her Immaculate Conception. During a break I showed those participating a collection of photos given to me by The Our Lady of America Center, showing the pilgrim statue on tour with Fr.Luke Zimmer on one of his 101 Peace Flight to underground China. Three people involved with the mass had been on that same trip with Our Lady and Fr. Zimmer. They shared how Fr.Zimmer always held Our Lady of America close to him while traveling. The seat next to Father on the plane was reserved for Our Lady. How miraculous it had been for them because doors just seemed to open. It was very dangerous in communist china, especially if you were carrying a statue of the Virgin. Fr.Zimmer was always careful to carry her is a special trunk that resembled a piece of luggage. When mass was celebrated Our Lady would be taken out of the luggage and set in a place of honor.

It was a prayer of Fathers to celebrate mass for the persecuted church in China. He petition Our Lady for this request and it was granted. Holy Mass would be celebrated for those living under the communist regime. Our Lady of America was a source of peace and healing for all present at the mass. Our Lady's persecuted priests living in hiding erected a shrine in her honor to remember the grace they received that day.

To all those present on the pilgrimage Our Lady's presence was that of a mother, protecting her children from harm. Father Luke Zimmer's trust and childlike abandon to his heavenly mother only added to the cherished memories of those traveling the 101 Peace Flight.

Needless to say the artist in Santa Monica was able to completely recreate Our Lady's face . That same face Fr.Luke Zimmer saw seated next to him,graced the city named after her, Our Lady Queen of Angels.

Father Luke Zimmer rest in God's peace.
Memorable quotes of Father Luke

The following homily was given at the Memorial Mass for Fr. Luke celebrated at San Buenaventura Mission, Ventura, California by Msgr. Michael Hughes, retired pastor of St. Kilian’s, Mission Viejo, California where Fr. had given parish renewals over the years.

This evening we come to remember a man – Father Luke Bernard Zimmer – whom many of us came to know through his priestly ministry of 43 years. Many things could be said about Fr. Luke in reflecting on his life and his vocation as priest. Let me begin by sharing Fr. Luke’s own story about his call to priesthood.

Bernard or Ben as his family called him growing up, first began to think about being a priest in high school after a visit from his aunt and great-aunt who were sisters in religious garb. They preached "a sermon in silence" as he watched them pray. However, Ben decided he didn’t have a vocation because he wanted to get married, so he pushed it out of his mind. He worked on his father’s farm after high school until he enlisted in the Army Air Corps.

Ben was on his way to boot camp when he became sick with rheumatic fever. It was during the two month hospital stay that he again thought about becoming a priest. He received news that on of his brothers was planning to marry a non-Catholic. Ben decided right then and there that he would become a priest. He offered himself so that his sister-in-law would become a Catholic and there would be one faith in the house and family. This is the offering he made and from that time on, he never again doubted that he had a vocation to the priesthood.

Eventually Ben began his basic training. Towards the end of his training, Ben had another attack of rheumatic fever and he ended up in the hospital again. This led to his medical discharge from the Army. Ben returned home to Wisconsin, where he once again was inflicted with rheumatic fever which confined him to bed for more than a year. It was during this time that Ben developed a deep prayer life.

One day while in bed he looked at the Crucifix and saw Christ on the Crucifix and said, "Who am I to be above the Master? He suffered so much and he was innocent…. Certainly I can suffer and offer my sufferings with Him to the Father for others." Then suffering took on a deeper meaning. Ben realized at that moment that Jesus Christ was an all-loving God, that Jesus loved him with an unconditional love, that Jesus loved him just as he was!
Ben so united his life with Jesus, the words from our First Reading come to mind:

"Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you! For wherever you go I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Whenever you die I will die, and there be buried. May the Lord do so and so to me, and more besides, if ought but death separates me from you!"

It was during this time that Ben prayed the 15 decade rosary, meditating on the life of Jesus and Mary, day in and day out. He thought about all that the different mysteries of the rosary meant in the spiritual life. They came alive for him! He applied them to his own life and learned much more about the Scriptures through them. He learned how God, how Jesus really loves us. It would be ten years later in 1955 when God would ask Fr. Luke to pray the fifteen decade rosary every day until he died. Fr. Luke responded, "That’s impossible. You know what I do every day," but God simply repeated his request. Fr. Luke then would say, "O.K. if that’s what You want, You give me a fifteen-decade Rosary." The next day Fr. Luke received the gift of a fifteen decade rosary from someone who was not aware of God’s request. Fr. Luke remained faithful to praying the fifteen decade rosary every day from that day forward. He would be inspired to pray and share the meditations of the Mystical Rosary, uniting with Jesus in the Mass.

Ben made his total commitment to Jesus through Mary while still confined to bed in April 1946. This led him to an even deeper prayer life. He began to understand, to live and to realize the deep, intimate relationship of spiritual living with the Triune God! Ben came to know that he wanted to be a Religious priest because he wanted to give himself as a Religious with vows, giving himself completely and totally to God. He knew he wanted to join a Congregation that had devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to St. Joseph, and with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Ben entered the seminary of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in 1948, made Final Profession of Vows in 1952 and was ordained to the priesthood as Father Luke on June 5, 1954 at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
If we are to reflect on Fr. Luke’s life as a priest the Responsorial Psalm come to mind as words Jesus must have spoken to him, "Be not afraid, I walk before you always. Come follow me, and I will give you rest." Fr. Luke served in Massachusetts, Minnesota, California, and Hawaii during his priesthood.

Fr. Luke described his life as Mass-centered. The Mass and Christ in the Blessed Sacrament meant so much to him. His love for God deepened as he spent more time in prayer, in a real deep union with Jesus. Fr. Luke wrote in his book Chosen, "God seemed to spoil me, granting me every request, even the littlest detail. Prayers were answered lovingly and tenderly." This was how Fr. Luke explained the cure of his aunt from a tumor after he had prayed, asking the intercession of St. Therese the Little Flower. Through the years, Fr. Luke was chosen to be the instrument to cure people. Yet, as he explained, "it’s not every time I pray for people or bless them that they will be cured. Some are, some are not. Some are cured immediately, some after a time. It proves that God is the One Who cures people, no one else.... He is only using us as an instrument to bring about these cures in the lives of people." Fr. Luke believed the words of St. Paul in the Second Reading,

"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ…. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers: then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way."

Fr. Luke was shown "a still more excellent way" and so he was called by the Lord to seek permission from his community superiors in 1971 to establish the Apostolate of Christian Renewal in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

He wished to call people to devote their lives to Christ through Mary, as he had been living since 1946. His deep prayer life developed his understanding of this commitment to Jesus. He wanted to share with others Vatican Council II’s call to a life of holiness, a life of love, of prayer and of service to others. Thus, the Apostolate of Christian Renewal developed as a Roman Catholic movement whose purpose is to bring to fruition Jesus’ prayer for unity at the Last Supper, which are the words of our Gospel:

"…. that all may be one as you, Father, are in me, and I in you; I pray that they may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, that they may be one, as we are one – I living in them, you living in me – that their unity may be complete. So shall the world know that you sent me, and that you loved them as you loved me…."

Today this movement is composed of the Lay Servants and Handmaids throughout the country, and the Religious Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Mary and Joseph who serve here at the Mission. Please keep in your prayers that in the future Religious Servants (priests and brothers) will be founded, as Fr. Luke had always envisioned.

Thus began the work that Fr. Luke had been chosen and called by God to do and which he continued right up until his death on January 7, 1997. Through the years Fr. Luke wrote books and prayers, published the Christian Renewal newspaper, produced audio and video tapes while he traveled throughout the country giving parish renewals and directing retreats and pilgrimages throughout the world. He served as spiritual director and confessor to many people throughout the country which he ministered to through letter-writing and phone calls.

Fr. Luke attributed his ability to maintain such an active ministry as priest to a deep prayer life and the grace of God. He daily celebrated Mass, faithfully prayed the Liturgy of the Hours, prayed the Mystical Mass prayer which was inspired through years of private prayer, and prayed the fifteen decade Mystical Rosary in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. He prayed many other devotional prayers as well as went to confession frequently. His purpose in all of this was to commit himself "to building up the parish family community by bringing about the renewal of the person and the family: to help each person become a Saint by becoming Jesus for and to others."

I would like to conclude with Fr. Luke’s own words about his life that he wrote in the book Chosen:

"We cannot just pass over the things that God does in our lives as if they did not happen. I think, at times, we do have a responsibility to share what has happened in our lives, the experiences that we have received and the Graces and gifts that God has given. It is a grave responsibility. We must share these with others, especially today. We live in a time when people need more than ever to be shown that God does exist, that He does choose people, at times, and give them a special mission in life. To be chosen, in this way, does not make any one person great or extraordinary, in his own right. This, in itself, does not make that person a saint. What it does mean is that God can choose whomever He will for whatever He wishes. Usually, when He is working with souls and He has a special mission to be performed, God chooses the lowly…. He chooses sinners to carry out His designs. His reason for doing this is to make us realize that, of ourselves, we are nothing. We can do nothing, without Him. We are weak and He is the One Who is strong. He wishes us to become strong, through Him and in Him, in order that He may glorify Himself. He uses these weak instruments to confound the strong so that through the events that take place in the life of that person, it is God who shines through, it is God’s work which is manifested – not the individual, not the person whom He chooses to use. This is what I hope, in relating the story of my life, will shine through: that God is the One to be praised and honored. God is the One to be glorified, and no one else."

Let us reflect on Fr. Luke’s life so as to praise, honor and glorify God.

A Sword of Sorrow

2008-07-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

"O my small one, beloved of my Son's Heart, prepare yourself by prayer, penance, and suffering for what is to come."

These words of Our Lady spoken to Sister Mary Ephrem in 1958 foretold of the pain, she would endure for the most part by her own community. Archbishop Leibold saw the coming storm and warned the sisters to pray for the church, and in a special way for their order.

In a series of messages to Sr. Mary Ephrem Our Lord and Our Lady reveal the spiritual darkness overtaking consecrated souls.

"Oh, the pride of souls! How they resist my grace! O my priests, My religious, what would I not do for you if you would only let me! I come daily laden with graces, which you daily refuse..." The holy cloister of New Regal would not be spared from the attacks inflicted upon it.

What would be the purpose of this suffering for Sister Neuzil? Surely the words spoken by Our Lady in 1958, would be of comfort to the sister's during their exile. "My child nothing is accomplished without pain. Prepare to suffer much. You see the sword in the heart of your Mother. Suffering completed the work of divine grace in my soul. He who refuses to suffer will never abide in the Spirit of Christ, will never be formed into His image.."

Sister Neuzil herself became a victim of the rampant psychology, liberalism, and modernism that all but stripped the Catholic Church in America of its supernatural nature. In the end a move by her order toward secularism and away from "old-fashioned" traditions -- including cloister living -- sent her and several other nuns into a tailspin that ended with her death in a lonely house-turned-tiny-cloister in Fostoria, Ohio.

Such is obvious in Sister Neuzil's personal letters, starting in the late 1970s. It was during this time that the order to which Sister Neuzil belonged headed in a direction that put nuns in apartments, replaced habits with modern dress, and began to make life difficult for Sister Neuzil and six others who were living in a cloister within the order.

Suddenly, that cloister, home to the American apparitions, faced extinction.

"For the past 21 years we, the Contemplative Sisters, have attempted to live our monastic, contemplative way of life within the Congregation of the Sisters of the Precious Blood," said a letter signed by the seven cloister nuns, led by Sister M. Florecita. "Through the years it has become progressively more difficult for us to live out our way of life from within the framework of policies and norms intended for the entire Congregation. The difficulties we have encountered along the way have brought us to question whether or not we are trying to do an impossible thing: namely, to live one way of life from within another way of life."

Tensions between the cloister and the "active" community burst forth in the late-1970s to the point where the cloister was forced to leave a monastery they had spent years renovating and move into the lonely, spare quarters in Fostoria, Ohio, where Sister Neuzil lived until her death on January 10, 2000. "There is no way we can recover the monastery, as it has been sold to a lay person," lamented Sister Neuzil in a letter dated March 3, 1982, describing the situation in a previous letter as "the darkness of my exile."

It was all in the atmosphere of changes that swept the entire Church. The underlying disease, indicated the Blessed Mother, was pride, a pride that in many cases caused priests to resist her grace. This the Virgin had warned about as far back as 1959. Years later in 1981, Our Lady of America, speaking to the now-isolated Sister Neuzil, warned that a "web of evil" had therefore ensnared the priesthood.

Indeed the words spoken by Our Lady to Sr. Mary Ephrem are intended for us as well,

"Tell the bishops of the United States, my loyal sons, of my desires and how I wish them to be carried out....make known the longings of my Immaculate Heart to establish the reign of my Divine Son in the hearts of men and thus save them from the scourge of heaven, both now and hereafter."

Because Sister Mary Ephrem suffered greatly, she was graced with the perpetual presence of Our Lady. The words spoken to her were often warnings for America, but also hope.

"My Immaculate Heart will win in the end, and the Spirit of Christ will dwell in the hearts of men.."

The Convent of Our Lady of The Nativity was sold to a lay person in the early 80's. Shortly after the sale, the convent was destroyed by fire. If you ever pass by the village of New Regal Ohio , stop by the ruins and pick up a brick or two. Say a prayer in honor of Our Lady.Take a good look around and you will see what happened to the church in America. A reminder of a place where Heaven touched earth.

Wise Torchbearer

2008-07-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

Fr. Peter Damien Fehlner, FI
Fr. Peter was ordained in Rome in 1957, where he received the Doctorate in Sacred Theology at the Seraphicum with a study on the ecclesiology of St. Bonaventure. For nearly 40 years he taught theology in various Franciscan schools and seminaries in the United States and in Italy. He has contributed to many theological and pastoral journals in the United States and Europe where, from 1985-1989, he was the editor of Miles Immaculatae (Rome), a Marian review founded by St. Maximilian M. Kolbe in 1939.

He has lectured extensively on Franciscan theology and Mariology, most recently with the series Mater et Magistra on Mother Angelica’s EWTN. Currently he serves as the North American Regional Superior (Delegatus Generalis) of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate.

Listen as Fr. Peter Damian Fehlner introduces Our Lady of America to worshipers at historic St. Peters Catholic Church, in New York City.

Our Lady's mission for the youth of America

2008-07-04T22:38:00.000-07:00

In the approved writings of Sister Mary Ephrem, Our Lady entrusted to her a mission for the youth of America. Already the good sisters were teaching the young students the invocation taught by Our Lady on November 15,1956, "By thy Holy and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, deliver us from evil." Bishop Leibold under the guidance of Venerable Archbishop Karl Alter,
was active in putting into practice a program of propagation of the messages entrusted to his spiritual daughter Sr.Mary Ephrem better know as Sr. Millie.

It is noted that Sr.Floriceta and Sr. Millie as well as other members of their community felt that this invocation to Our Lady would help defeat the scourge of communism. So it was added with the medal of Our Lady of America, under the direction of Monsignor Leibold as a program to underline the basic theme that Our Lady was requesting. In fact Archbishop Leibold outlines in the book Our Lady of America the essential elements of the medal requested by Our Lady. On one side is the image of Our Lady as she appeared to Sr.Millie on September 26, 1956 and on the other side The Coat of Arms of The Christian Family.

It would not be until 1958, that the "mission" given to Sr.Millie would fully realized. That being the youth of America, the medal, the picture or statue of Our Lady of America, the protection of the home, and the statue at the Shrine of The Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

Sr.Millie writes:

"Our Lady made known to me that she is particularly interested in the youth of our nation. It is they who are to be the leaders of this movement of renewal on the face of the earth. Their ranks will be swelled by the youths of other nations whom Our Lady also calls to help in the accomplishment of this great renewal.

But the youth must be prepared, and this must be done by instilling into them, not only the knowledge of the Divine Indwelling, but a serious study of It, living It in such a way that the Divine Presence becomes, as it were, an intimate and necessary part of their life and daily living. From this will flow a great love, a conflagration that will envelop the world in the flames of Divine Charity.

This is what Our Lady is working for, because this is the great desire of her Divine Son, and it is to the youth of America
that she is holding out this challenge. A medal which Our Lady asked to be made is to be their shield against evil, the picture or statue of Our Lady, the protection of the home, the statue at the Shrine in Washington, D.C., a special safeguard for our country.

America, the United States in particular, is being given the tremendous, yet privileged, opportunity to lead all nations in a spiritual renewal never before so necessary, so important, so vital."

Our Lady's call to the youth in our country is growing. And though it may seem that devotion to Our Lady of America is new,
already in the eighties youth groups gathered under the banner of Our Lady of America, and lovingly carried her statue in procession throughout our country .

Jannette Cochran a Torchbearer in Northern California had this to share.

"In August, 2003,The Youth Group from St. Dominic¢s Parish, Colfax, California, was housed in a Catholic School in Ontario, Canada for World Youth Day. The statue of Our Lady of America was placed at the entry of the school so that all could see her and meditate and pray. Many questions were asked and answered by all those who passed by it.

The statue was taken to the park on the vigil of the Papal Mass.There were many hands offered to help carry Our Lady of America. Many of the youth prayed rosaries near her that evening. Many had questions about Our Lady of America and Sister Millies story. The statue was never presented as belonging to any one person. It was always presented as a gift to the youth with a message of purity.

Candles were placed by young pilgrims as they passed by. Many stayed and prayed the rosary in the evening. Some of the youth were compelled to keep vigil near the statue all night. When it came time to process her, on Sunday morning after the Holy Father arrived, anyone that wanted and was capable of helping to carry the statue had the opportunity to process through the masses of young people from all over the world. It was truly beautiful. On Sunday morning, as they approached the barriers to the area surrounding the stage for the Mass, the youth were miraculously allowed to carry the statue in the area near the Pope.

As leader of the Youth group, I was amazed at the interest in and enthusiasm shown toward the statue and the history of Our Lady of America."

Audrey Frank has been involved with Our Lady of America since 1992. Sister Millie and Sr. Joseph Therese worked with her to create the first traveling image of Our Lady of America. From the Our Lady of America Center in Ohio Audrey had this to share

"Our Lady of America World Youth Day Statue Travels the U.S. and the
world:

A 300 pound statue of Our Lady of America has been traveling the
country and many parts of the world. In 1993, this statue first processed bythe "Torchbearers of the Queen" Youth Group from Colfax, California, World Youth Day in Denver, Colorado. The statue has since traveled to World Youth Days in the Philippines and France, Peace Masses, U.S. MarianConferences and Pro-Life Walks.

In 1994, this statue was present at The Year of the Family National
Rosary Congress in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate
Conception in Washington, D.C. Our Lady of America's statue reside in
the Shrine during the whole Congress dedicated to "The Holy Family" from
June 19-June26, 1994. Also, in 1994 at Mile High Stadium for the"World Youth Day Reunion" the Youth carried her through the Denver streets to the downtown abortion clinic praying the Rosary and Divine Mercy
Chaplet for the entire 5 miles. Our Lady has been crowned at Youth 2000
Eucharistic Retreats and taken to World Youth Day 2000 in Rome.

From October 2-December 22, 2001, Our Lady of America's Large Statue
travelled across the United States through many states along Hwy 80, Hwy
40, Hwy 10 and Eastcoast I95 to tv, radio interviews, Marianconferences, and was allowed to reside at Mother Angelica's Cloister Chapel for 8 months until picked up to travel with the OH, CA, OR Torchbearers of
the Queen Youth to Toronto World Youth Day 2002.

In Germany 2005, a group from Southern California and New York took thesmall statue of Our Lady of America to World Youth Day.

And so it has come to pass that the youth of America were joined with
the youth of other nations as prefigured in Sr. Mildred Neuzil's Diary.
It is the youth who are to lead this great spiritual renewal...

From Toronto, the Large Our Lady of America Statue now resides back in
the small Our Lady of America Chapel in Fostoria, Ohio."

Audrey Frank
CA Torchbearers of the Queen
Since 1992

Thanks Audrey. We will check back with you soon for more updates on Our Lady of America !

Fr. John Warburton,OSJ is spiritual director for Torchbearers of the Queen.

Sister Millie would later write that those,particularly the youth, who are willing wholeheartedly to follow Our Lady in her great battle against evil would bear the special title of "Torchbearers of the Queen" This torch, of course, is Divine Love, for it is love alone that will conquer hate and all that hate brings with it.

What The Bishops Say

2008-06-26T21:38:00.000-07:00

In a recent interview Bishop D'Arcy of the Fort Wayne-South Bend diocese said he accepts the ruling that nothing in Sr. Mary Ephrem's writings contradicts Catholic teaching.

Archbishop Raymond L. Burke of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, who was asked to review the matter by Our Lady of America supporters, also sent U.S. bishops a letter in May 2007, stating Leibold had approved recognizing Mary as Our Lady of America.

"Sr. Mary Ephrem's spiritual adviser, the Rev. Paul F. Leibold's, opinion opens the way for people to pray privately to Mary as Our Lady of America", D'Arcy said

Bishop David L Riken of Cheyenne told Catholic News Service,"Our Lady of America's message about purity, chastity and growing in one's faith through devotion to Mary and the body and blood of Christ especially resonated with young people, he added.

Bishop Richard J Garcia of Monterey California told CNS, "Our Lady of Guadalupe is important for all the Americas but to have Our Lady of America and the Immaculate Conception as a special patroness for our nation will bring about the peace we so yearn for (and) a resolution to many social issues," including euthanasia and abortion, California Bishop Richard J. Garcia told CNS.

"The Blessed Mother is so important to all of us Roman Catholics, and Christian people in particular, and, specifically for our country, for peace within our land; and the intercession of our Blessed Mother is so important on many issues that affect us morally and socially," Bishop Garcia said.

"Marian devotions, including those to Our Lady of America, also can lead the faithful to really listen to Christ's message that all must be "bearers of the Gospel and bring about Christ's love," he said.

Recently Archbishop Raymond Burke of St.Louis, a world renowned canon lawyer, issued a letter opinion on Our Lady of America. In his letter dated May 31, 2007, he reviews the history of Our Lady of America and the actions of Archbishop Leibold approving this devotion. From Archbishop Burke:

"What can be concluded canonically is that the devotion was both approved by Archbishop Leibold and, what is more, was actively promoted by him. In addition, over the years, other Bishops have approved the devotion and have participated in public devotion to the Mother of God, under the title of Our Lady of America."

"Although the devotion to Our Lady of America has remained constant over the years, in recent years, the devotion has spread very much and has been embraced by many with special fervor," he wrote. "Our Lady of America calls the people of our nation to the new evangelization through a renewed dedication to purity in love."

Archbishop Burke also noted a distinguished difference between Our Lady of America and Our Lady of Guadalupe, who is considered "Empress of all the Americas." The two devotions, he said, are "completely harmonious," however, Our Lady of America is considered the patroness of the United States.

On October 13, 1956 Our Lady appeared to Sr. Mary Ephrem." She was very beautiful and smiled in her heavenly way. She was dressed in the same manner as I first saw her, except her Immaculate Heart did not appear. Instead of the lily,she held with both hands a small replica of the finished Shrine of the Immaculate Conception."

"This is my shrine,my daughter, I am very pleased with it. Tell my children I thank them. Let them finish it quickly and make it a place of pilgrimage. It will be a place of wonders. I promise this.."

She requested a statue be made according to her likeness and placed, after being solemnly carried in procession, in the Shrine of The Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. She wishes to be honored there in a special way as Our Lady of America, the Immaculate Virgin.

This America ,chosen by Our Lady has been asked to seemingly accomplish the impossible, to lead the world to peace by the purity of our lives. Great miracles await us if we do as she asks.

How will we respond?

Valiant Torchbearer

2008-06-17T23:12:00.000-07:00

A tribute to Pope John Paul ll The Great.

Pray for us John Paul ll, and intercede with Our Lady that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

A Prayer For Peace

2008-06-12T21:52:00.000-07:00

Prayer to Our Lady of America, Patroness of our Land

Written at the behest of Our Lady, October 5, 1956 by Sister Mary Ephrem (Mildred Neuzil)

Oh Immaculate Mother, Queen of our country, open our hearts, our homes, and our land to the coming of Jesus, your Divine Son. With Him, reign over us, O heavenly Lady, so pure and so bright with the radiance of Gods light shining in and about you. Be our leader against the powers of evil set upon wresting the world of souls, redeemed at such a great cost by the sufferings of your Son and of yourself, in union with Him, from that same Savior, Who loves us with infinite charity.

We gather about you, O chaste and holy Mother, Virgin Immaculate, Patroness of our beloved Land, determined to fight under your banner of holy purity against the wickedness that would make all the world an abyss of evil, without God and without your loving maternal care.

We consecrate our hearts, our homes, our Land to your Most Pure Heart, O great Queen, that the kingdom of your Son, our Redeemer and our God, may be firmly established in us.

We ask no special sign of you, sweet Mother, for we believe in your great love for us, and we place in you our entire confidence. We promise to honor you by faith, love, and the purity of our lives according to your desire.

Reign over us, then, O Virgin Immaculate, with your Son Jesus Christ. May His Divine Heart and your most chaste Heart be ever enthroned and glorified among us. Use us, your children of America, as your instruments of peace among men and nations. Work your miracle of grace in us, so that we may be a glory to the Blessed Trinity, Who created, redeemed, and sanctifies us.

May your valiant spouse, St. Joseph, with the holy Angels and Saints, assist you and us in "renewing the face of the earth." Then when our work is over, come, Holy Immaculate Mother, and as our Victorious Queen, lead us to the eternal kingdom, where your Son reigns forever as King.

Amen
(200 days)

Nihil Obstat: Daniel Pilarczyk, S.T.D.
Imprimatur: +Paul F. Leibold, V.G.
Cincinnati, Jan. 25, 1963

A girl touches the plaque that hung in the convent where Sr. Mary Ephrem lived. It is one of many Archbishop Paul Leibold made before his untimely death in 1972

Venerable Dominic's Miraculous Image of Mary

2008-06-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

OUR LADY OF THE BOWED HEAD

There have been miraculous images of Mary since the beginning of the Catholic Church, some of the very first ones having been painted by St. Luke, the Evangelist.

Since the time of St. Luke, thousands of pictures and statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary have been carved, painted, or fashioned in some way, by all kinds of different people from around the world. Some of these pictures become famous, usually due to some form of miraculous intervention. One such picture is Our Lady of the Bowed Head, from Vienna, Austria.

A Carmelite Monk, Venerable Dominic of Jesus and Mary, found one in 1610. He was looking over an old broken down house which he wanted to convert into a Carmelite Monastery. Fr. Dominic walked around the outside of the house and passed by a pile of garbage, but paid no attention to it. But as he entered the house and started looking over the rooms, suddenly he felt the urge to go back to the pile of garbage. Lighting his lantern, the good priest took a closer look at the heap of garbage.

Suddenly his eyes fell upon an old oil painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary!

He was shocked! "Who would throw a beautiful picture of Our Lady in the garbage," he wondered. Then Fr. Dominic apologized to Mary, "I am sorry, dear Mother, that someone has treated thy image in such a terrible manner. I will take it back to the monastery with me and fix it up, and I will give thee the homage which thou so rightly deserve." After returning to the monastery, Dominic cleaned the picture and repainted the damaged parts. Now he could hang the picture up in his cell and give Mary the devotion and attention which she deserved. He prayed to the Madonna with great confidence, asking her for many graces and blessings.

One evening when he had just finished sweeping his cell, Fr. Dominic noticed that the picture of Our Lady had some dust on it. He was crushed, "Oh, I’m terribly sorry my dearest Mother!" He exclaimed. "I humbly beg thy pardon for forgetting to dust thy picture." Then taking out his handkerchief he began to dust the picture saying, "O purest and holiest of Virgins, nothing in the whole world is worthy to touch thy holy face. Dear Mother, I only have this coarse, old handkerchief and I beg of thee to please accept my good will in dusting thy image." Fr. Dominic continued dusting the picture of Mary, when suddenly the face of Our Lady came to life! She smiled at the holy priest and nodded her head as a sign of thanksgiving. Dominic was afraid that what he was seeing was a trick of the devil. But Our Lady cleared up his doubts saying, "Fear not, my son, for your request is granted! (Dominic had earlier requested a favor of her.) Your prayer will be answered and will be part of the reward, which you will receive for the love that you have for my Son Jesus and myself. Now Dominic I want you to ask me with all confidence, what favor you would like me to give you." The holy monk then fell upon his knees. "O my dear Mother, I offer myself entirely to thee and to thy dear Son Jesus, and I desire to do anything that thou and Jesus will ask of me. O my Lady, I know that the soul of a benefactor is suffering in Purgatory. Wouldst thou please be so kind as to deliver this soul from the fires of Purgatory?"

"Dominic, my son," Our Lady encouraged, "I will deliver this soul from Purgatory, if you will make many sacrifices and will have many Masses offered for this soul." Then the apparition of Mary faded away.

The good monk hurried to do as Our Lady had asked. Some time later, when all had been completed, he again knelt before the miraculous painting of Our Lady. Suddenly Mary appeared to him again, but this time she appeared with the soul of the special benefactor, whom she had delivered from Purgatory. The benefactor was grateful, "Thank you, Fr. Dominic, for helping to release my soul from the fires of Purgatory with your prayers and sacrifices."

"Dominic," Our Lady encouraged, "I would like you to ask me for more favors and blessings. I am the Mother of God and I delight in helping my children to obtain graces for their salvation." Fr. Dominic thought for a moment and then spoke, "Dear Mother, wouldst thou please be so kind as to listen mercifully to the prayers of all those who will honor thy image and ask for thy help." Our Lady replied, "All those who ask for my protection and honor this picture with devotion will obtain an answer to their prayers and will receive many graces. Moreover, I will pay special attention to the prayers which are offered to me, for the relief of the souls in Purgatory."

The vision of Our Lady soon disappeared and Fr. Dominic thought about what he should do: "Our Lady made her promises to all who would honor and pray to her, before this miraculous image. Therefore, I can no longer keep this holy picture in my cell, I must have it put in a church, where the people can honor it. "

He then took the picture and had it placed in the Oratory of St. Charles, which was attached to the Church of Santa Maria de la Scale. Many people came to pray before the picture of Our Lady and it became a source of many graces and blessings. The holy image remained at the Oratory until Fr. Dominic’s death, which occurred in Vienna, on February 16, 1630. Some copies of the miraculous picture were painted and soon they were honored in many places.

Maximilian, the Duke of Bavaria, had been one of Dominic’s good friends, and also a friend of the Carmelites. One day he asked Fr. Nicholas, the Vicar General of the Carmelite Order, if he could borrow the miraculous image of Mary. The priest said he could borrow it and the Duke was overjoyed.

Arrangements were made, and Br. Anastasius of St. Francis was chosen to take the holy picture to Munich, Germany. He had been Fr. Dominic’s travelling companion for over 15 years, and was most worthy of this honor. On August 7, 1631, Br. Anastasius also wrote and signed a special document telling about all the things which Dominic had told him about the miraculous picture and all the miracles related to it.

The Duke of Bavaria took the miraculous picture when it arrived in Munich, and kept it for a while. He then gave it to the Carmelite Priests in Munich, who received it with great joy.

Some time later, in 1631, the Carmelites loaned it to Emperor Ferdinand II. He was a very generous man, who founded the Carmelite Monasteries in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and Vienna, Austria. The Emperor and his wife, Empress Eleanor, were delighted when the picture of Our Lady arrived at the palace. They placed it in the palace chapel and had it richly adorned in a splendid fashion. Thus, they honored the Queen of Heaven in a most glorious manner, a manner that she so much deserved. The Emperor had great confidence in "Our Lady of the Bowed Head," and always begged her to help him with all his difficulties. Ferdinand loved the Most Blessed Virgin very much and he is even supposed to have taken the picture with him every time he had to travel somewhere. Time passed, and one day the good Emperor died. Empress Eleanor then joined the convent of Carmelite Nuns, which she and her husband had founded in Vienna. The miraculous picture of Our Lady was also transferred to the convent, and Eleanor placed it in the chapel, over the main altar.

When the Empress died in June 1655, the picture was given back to the Carmelite Fathers. Now the picture was back in a public church where people could pray before this miraculous image of Our Lady. Soon crowds of people were coming to pray before the holy picture. Our Lady did not forget her promise that: "All those who ask for my protection and honor this picture with devotion, will obtain an answer to their prayers and will receive many graces. I will pay special attention to the prayers which are offered to me, for the relief of the souls in Purgatory."

When people prayed to Our Lady of the Bowed Head, she heard their prayers and granted them special favors and graces; souls were comforted or released from Purgatory, people were cured and sinners were converted. In time a new Church and Monastery was built, and on December 14, 1901, the miraculous image of Our Lady was transferred to its new place of honor. Benefactors had built a beautiful altar in honor of Our Lady of the Bowed Head and the holy picture of Mary was placed by this altar. From here it can still be venerated by loving devotees and pilgrims.

I found this story the day after a dear friend of mine died of cancer. A reminder to always pray for the holy souls in purgatory.
History is full of brave torchbearers. God is limitless in His goodness.

Short Biography

Father Dominic of Jesus and Mary was born in 1559. He became a Carmelite at an early age, but desiring to live a stricter life, he joined the Discalced Carmelites founded by St. Teresa of Avila, and became its fifth General.

During the Thirty Years War between the Catholics and the Protestants, Pope Paul V sent Father Dominic to Emperor Ferdinand II, who was preparing to engage in what was hoped to be a decisive battle. Father Dominic brought with him a picture of the Nativity of Christ, in which the Protestants had poked the eyes out of the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and the shepherds. "With a crucifix in one hand and the picture suspended around his neck, he moved among the combatants, animating the Catholics to fight for their Faith and to gain the victory he promised would be theirs." The Catholics won a decisive victory.

He died on February 16, 1630, while on a mission for Pope Urban VIII to settle some differences between the nobles of Austria. His biographers relate numberless miracles alleged to have been wrought by him during his life for which he was called the "Thaumaturgus" (wonder-worker) of his time. Fr. Dominic was declared Venerable by St. Pius X, in 1907.

Remembering an Archbishop

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June 2cnd 2008 is the 36th anniversary of the death of Archbishop Paul Leibold. In this post I have compiled some brief interviews and,what I feel, is important evidence of the devotion Archbishop Leibold had to Our Lady of America. Clearly his death was seen as untimely. But God in His wisdom knows better than we.

Paul Leibold, the nephew of the archbihop, is a deacon at St.Marys in Hillsboro Ohio. As a young boy, he remembers Archbishop Leibold greeting his Sunday audience on the steps of the bishops house. From there he would hand our Our Lady of America Medals. His nephew still carries it with him. "Even though he was the archbishop, to me he was still uncle. "

Paul's mother Terry, remembers the Sunday drives with the archbishop. He would pile them all into the station wagon where they would go all day driving north visiting the shrines and chapels dedicated to Our Lady ,scattered

throughout Ohio. The Last stop was always at the cloister in New Regal Ohio, where Sister Mary Ephrem lived. There he would meet with sister to discuss spiritual matters.

Terry Leibold was also a secretary to the archbishop. She recalls how he would sit her down and have her organize all the corespondences between Sister Millie and himself. He would say,"you know she sees The Blessed Mother". How he was so protective of those letters. He wanted to answer each one promptly.

Terry was with Archbishop Leibold when he suffered his stroke. "During that long drive to the hospital,his arms were extended." recalls Terry." It was if he was awaiting an invisible embrace. Every time the attendants would lower his arms, up they would go again. His gaze was fixed upward beyond us."

Was it Our lady calling to her beloved son? I was still a child too young to remember that day. I do know the archbishop was a respected and honorable man. He was vigilant in keeping the church pure. Following in the steps of the venerable Archbishop Alter, he gave the church the protection she needed from the storm that was fast approaching. Many times Archbishop Leibold petitioned Sr.Millie and the cloister to pray for future of the church. Even within their own order.

The photo at the top was taken at the funeral mass for Archbishop Paul Leibold in The Cathedral of Saint Peter in Chains, Cincinnati. Pictured paying their respects are Monsignor Boffa and Luigi Raimondi,Apostolic Delegate to Washington D.C.

Before his death Archbishop Leibold had three ivory statuettes made to honor Our Lady of America. He had intended to present one of them to Luigi Raimondi the Apostolic Delegate to hand deliver to The Holy Father. One for himself and one for the sisters of New Regal Ohio. He died shortly before their scheduled meeting.Fr.Lammeire, the archbishop personal secretary, carried out this request shortly after the funeral. In a letter written to the sisters, he had confirmed that he followed through with the archbishop's wishes.

Rev. A.J. Geraci. perhaps saw Archbishop Leibold for the last time publicly before his death. In a sermon given May 4th 2008 he says" Not too long ago, back in 1972, I witnessed the last ceremony of the late Archbishop, Paul Leibold. It was a large graduation ceremony at Xavier University, Cincinnati. I was there to receive my first M.A., a Master's in History. The not too old archbishop was looking desperately tired and did not participate in the distribution of diplomas, but rather retreated to a chair to the back of the stage. His posture, his composure, his physical carriage, his tiredness all communicated a message that the world could carry on without him. Remarkably the archbishop, a native of Dayton, with many Leibold cousins still around, had accomplished a post Vatican Council Diocesan Synod for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati; all nineteen counties were involved. It was as if, on the stage, he was saying, not only to the students and Jesuit instructors, but to the whole diocese, you have a plan for the future, now follow it, and you will not be needing this archbishop to help you.

That night, Archbishop Paul Leibold died of several massive strokes. In a short poem to his niece that he had recently written, he described the span of human life to be like that of the "spring tulips whose beauty lasts only a while and then are gone, back to the earth, back to God." Life is a short span of time, like spring tulips that never seem to last long enough. It was almost a poetic commentary on the end of his life. Somehow it seems he knew he was leaving us. He did. But this young Archbishop left us with a plan and that plan has been used, cited, referred to, now, for thirty-six years."

I made it a point on one of my trips back home to visit the resting place of an archbishop I never knew,but in my heart had a deep appreciation for what he left us. As I knelt at the foot of his tomb at Gate of Heaven Cemetary in Cincinnati, I placed the Our Lady of America Medal into the grass, that was still moist from the morning dew. I prayed for his soul,thanked him for giving the church this gift yet to be fully realized. And wondered what wonderful confirmations Our Lady must have given him. As I raised my eyes a funeral procession was passing and all the cars sported a American Flag in honor of a fallen soldier. I prayed for our country and petitioned Our Lady to fulfill her promises made to Sister Mary Ephrem. At that moment a gentle breeze past my cheek, and in my heart I knew that all would be well. It was the 2cnd of June 2006.

Please click on Archbishop Leibold's grave marker at the top of this post to enlarge. It can perhaps give us the best idea of his spirituality.

The Song of Bernadette

2008-05-27T00:45:00.000-07:00

Our Lady of Lourdes, and The Immaculate Conception are closely united to the devotion of Our Lady of America. Sister Mary Ephrem had a fondness in her heart for St.Bernadette. In fact, in her first appearance to Sister Mary Ephrem,Our Lady came as Our Lady of Lourdes. During one of Sr.Mary Ephrem's mystical experiences she was taken by her guardian angel to the Lourdes grotto. There she found the young St.Bernadette waiting for her near a high and brilliant staircase that lead to Our Lady,enveloped in a soft glow of light. Oh how she wanted to run to Our Lady, she related to Archbishop Leibold,in a letter documenting her vision. But the young Bernadette held her back, telling Sr.Mary Ephrem it was not yet her time.

Today in our modern world to find a secular artist preforming a melody in honor of St.Bernadette is touching.The Song of Bernadette preformed by Jennifer Warrens has been sung by several recording artist,perhaps inspiring the things that are holy in many.

May Our Lady of America,The Immaculate Virgin convert our hearts and our country,so long ago consecrated to Her Immaculate Conception. Through the power of The Immaculate Conception, Oh Mary ,lift up brave and valiant torchbearers to bear witness to the saving power of sanctifying grace in our hearts. Young Sr.Mary Ephrem is pictured to the right of this post.

Archbishop Paul Leibold's Wisdom

2008-05-23T22:00:00.000-07:00

Archbishop Paul Leibold in his wisdom allowed the devotion of Our Lady of America grow gradually rather than making it sensational news. His relationship with Sr.Millie would span from the 40's until his untimely death in June of 1972. In fact he told his cousin just before his death how much he regretted not having the time to always answer the letters Sr.Millie would send.

He was Sr.Millies spiritual guide. She trusted him completely. In her humility often she would insist that he destroy the letters she wrote to him concerning her spiritual experiences. Thank God he preserved them. Sounds very similar to the letters Mother Teresa wrote to her spiritual directors.

Archbishop Leibold guarded these letters up to his death. They were returned to Sr.Mille by Fr.Lammier,Archbishop Leibolds personal secretary. Lammeir recalls the long drives from Cincinnati to New Regal to visit the sisters in the convent. How Leibold would stand on the steps of the bishops house at the seminary and pass out Our Lady of Ameirca medals to his Sunday audience.

In my study of these events I discovered some interesting events that occurred concerning the approval process that Leibold took. It helps one to understand Leibold's thoughts on the importance of what was taking place.

Archbishop Paul Leibold had a great devotion to St.Paul the Apostle. The conversion of St.Paul is celebrated in the church on January 25th. This is the date that the Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat are attached to the prayers written by Sr.Millie. Did Archbishop Leibold foresee the important role Our Lady would take in the conversion of America? In later posts we will discuss Archbishop Leibold's public devotion to Our Lady of America.

Brave Torchbearer

2008-05-22T23:14:00.000-07:00

Archbishop Burke of St.Louis issued a letter to his fellow bishops bringing the canonical status of the devotion to Our Lady of America up to date. In this letter he recognizes the steps Archbishop Leibold took in fulfilling Our Lady's request, in the active role he took in promoting devotion to Our Lady of America, as well as spiritually guiding Sister Mary Ephrem for over 40 years. Archbishop Burke goes further to recognize the loving reverence other bishops and prelates have given to Our Lady of America by welcoming Her into their diocese. We can see the blessings coming from his diocese in the great number of new vocations, surely this is one of the fruits of Our Lady of America. God bless Archbishop Burke. For a full text of the document visit http://www.ave-ourladyofamerica.com/Approval.html

Sisters of The Indwelling Trinity

2008-05-22T14:41:00.000-07:00

For a complete history of Our Lady of America, and to order devotional items please visit http:// www.ave-ourladyofamerica.com

Torchbearers For The Queen

2008-05-22T13:55:00.000-07:00

The Torchbearers for The Queen is dedicated to assist in the fulfillment of the request that Our Lady of America asked of Sister Mary Ephrem. We honor Our Lady as Queen and bravely carry the flaming torch of Divine Charity into our homes, cities, schools and world. Greater miracles than those granted at Lourdes and Fatima await us, according to Our Lady's promise. We assist Sister Joseph Therese by our prayers and sacrifices, as she works to fulfill the vocation given to her and to establish the rule of life left to her by Sr.Mary Ephrem. In a special way this site in dedicated to Archbishop Paul Leibold, for believing in the words of Sr. Ephrem and helping to fulfill Our Lady's wishes. We await the official statue of Our Lady of America to be unveiled at The Our Lady of America Center in Fostoria ,Ohio. With faith,hope and trust in our loving God we present Our Lady with humilty and purity of heart and intention. A young Leibold is pictured at the right and is guardian of this blog.

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