A lesser known apparition in Germany: Marpingen

The Virgin Mary appeared three different times at Marpingen, Germany.

First, in 1876 ⁽¹⁾, she appeared to three 8-year-old children. As in Lourdes, she introduced herself as the "Immaculately Conceived".

Then in 1930, she appeared to a man and said to him: "I am waiting at the gates of Germany, weeping as Jesus wept over Jerusalem... "

And finally, in 1999, she appeared to three young women, Marion Gutman, Christine Neg and Judith Hiher. The apparitions ended on October 17, 1999.

Here is an excerpt from her last message given on October 17, 1999: "My apparitions in the world, as it is at the moment, will soon come to an end. For a time I will not be seen again. However, I will lead you by thought and perhaps by locutions: this is in God's hands and I cannot yet say. The new time of which I speak will come much, much later, because in Heaven time is not measured as it is on Earth. There will now be a period of time when - after my apparitions, which I am currently continuing on Earth, have ended - you will have to decide for or against God. After you have decided, after, long after, you will see me with your own eyes. But that is a long time away...

God does not want anyone to be condemned! It is man himself who causes his own damnation, because he does not love God. That is why I beg you once again: fulfill my requests, follow the teaching of the Church, live according to the Commandments of God, be humble, simple and small and let yourselves be guided by me, your heavenly Mother, for I have only one desire and one goal, to bring you into eternal bliss to my Son and to God... "

Message of September 8, 1999: "There will be no third world war. God loves his children so much! But there will be punishments that must serve to bring souls back to God. This is out of love. I will not say now what that is. But if you believe in God, if you love him and trust him, you have nothing to fear. Everything is part of God's plan."

(1) At that time, the German Empire was in the midst of the Kulturkampf, where the German state was trying to secularize German society by fighting against the privileges and the fidelity to Rome of the Catholic Church. The bishop of the Marpingen diocese was imprisoned, then exiled, and had just died at the time of the apparitions. The announcement of these apparitions, of the arrival of pilgrims at the site, and even of "miraculous healings", provoked the anger of the government, which banned the gatherings, brought in the troops, and brought the offenders to trial. The violent political reaction prevented the ecclesiastical authority from opening a canonical investigation, and to this day (in 2020) no steps have been taken to recognize these apparitions. But a popular movement of local devotion still exists today.

Sources:

https://www.mariedenazareth.com/encyclopedie-mariale/la-vierge-marie-remplit-le-monde-sanctuaires-marials/europe/allemagne/marpingen-apparition-presumee/

http://apotres.amour.free.fr/page7/marpingen.htm