A message from Mary concerning the Church

In Natividade, a city in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dr. Sebastian Fausto de Faria, an agnostic, testified that he was visited several times during the years 1967-1968 by the Virgin Mary, who left him three messages for the world.

Here is an excerpt from the second message, dated July 12,1968, concerning the Church:

"I am truly Myriam, Immaculate Mother of Jesus. My main title is ‘the Divine Motherhood’, the reason for my own existence [...] I am the messenger of faith and love for Christianity traumatized by discord, in the midst of a humanity threatened in its spirituality. To the Church of my Son, as the guardian and first interpreter of his doctrine, of which I am also the Mother, I address the following exhortation:

Let the primacy of the worship of God and of my Son be restored, and let those whose holy life is a permanent source of virtues be invoked (...) Let the churches and the hierarchy be respected, let the authority of episcopal decisions be accepted, especially that of the greatest: Peter. Let us beware of the arsonists of the faith and discipline within the Church itself!"

The local bishop granted the imprimatur to the messages and authorized the construction of a shrine.

Excerpts from: Patrick Sbalchiero, "Natividade", in: René Laurentin and Patrick Sbalchiero, Dictionnaire encyclopédique des apparitions de la Vierge. Inventaire des origines à nos jours. Méthodologie, prosopopée, approche interdisciplinaire, Fayard, Paris 2007, annexes.