Mary reveals herself as Queen and Mother

In October 1859, the Blessed Mother appeared to Adele Brise in the United States as the 28-year-old Belgian immigrant walked to a grist mill and then on the way to and from church. During the third and final apparition (the only time Mary spoke), Adele became a student of Our Lady, learning heavenly lessons and then being asked to become a teacher, a catechist, herself. 

Nearly 160 years removed from the apparition, and after the Church’s approval was granted on Dec. 8, 2010, thousands upon thousands of pilgrims each year have the opportunity to sit in the school of Our Lady and learn the lessons she taught at Champion, Wisconsin, many years ago. They are lessons still relevant for us today. 

After having seen Our Lady for a second time on the way to church, Adele went and told the parish priest about these happenings and asked what she should do if the woman returned. He told Adele to ask the woman who she was and what she wanted her to do. 

Adele did just that as she walked home from Mass that Sunday, Oct. 9, 1859. Seeing the woman again, she asked, “In God’s name who are you and what do you want of me?” Mary’s response: “I am the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners.” Mary teaches a very important lesson here, because she tells us who she is and what she does. She is the Queen of Heaven, and she prays for the conversion of sinners. 

In the Old Testament, the queen was not the wife of the king, but rather the mother of the king. Mary reveals herself then as the Queen Mother. And as she says she prays for the conversion of sinners, she affirms her heavenly mission is the same of that of an earthly queen mother, namely to make intercession and advocate for the people before the king. Mary’s prayer mirrors the biblical role of queenly motherhood where she advocates for her earthly children in the heavenly kingdom. 

Fr. Edward Looney (1) - Catholic Digest

(1) Father Looney is a priest from the diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and a member of the Mariological Society of America.