Our Lady of Passa Óirthir
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| Our Lady of Passa Óirthir | |
|---|---|
02.jpg) Mosiac of the Altar Vision within the Basilica of Our Lady of Passa Óirthir | |
| Location | Passa Óirthir, Ardthirium, Urcea |
| Date | 25 April to 28 April 1864 |
| Witness | Brígid Immaculata DeCúilrath Agneta Caitríona MacSolas Aedana Maria O'Solair |
| Type | Marian apparition |
| Approval | 1864 and 1913 |
| Shrine | Basilica of Our Lady of Passa Óirthir, Passa Óirthir, Ardthirium, Urcea |
| Patronage | Urcea |
| Feast day | 28 April |
Our Lady of Passa Óirthir is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus, based on the Marian apparitions reported in 1864 by three nuns at Passa Óirthir in the modern Urcean province of Ardthirium. The Archbishop of Highmount declared the events worthy of belief on 22 August 1890, and the venerated image of Our Lady of Passa Óirthir received canonical coronation in 1913.
The controversial events at Passa Óirthir, including the Altar Vision, gained fame due partly to elements of the secrets, prophecy and eschatological revelations allegedly related to the Red Interregnum, '97 Rising and possibly to the Second Great War.
Apparition
On the fourth day, Mary did not appear to the three nuns again, and they believed the apparition was over. However, just after the sun went down on the night of 28 April, an event now known as the "Altar Vision" appeared on the back side of the convent. This apparition was not initially seen by the nuns but by a 15-year old stablehand named Bartholomew Breslin from the adjoining village, who ran to get the three sisters and others from the village. The witnesses said they saw an apparition of Our Lady, Saint Joseph and Saint John the Evangelist on the back wall of the convent church. Behind them and a little to the left of Saint John was a plain altar. On the altar was a cross and a lamb, with angels. A farmer, about half a mile away from the scene, later described what he saw as a large globe of golden light above and around the convent, circular in appearance. For nearly two hours a group that fluctuated between fifteen and perhaps as many as seventy-six (including the nearby parish priest) stood or kneeled, gazing at the figures. According to witnesses, the figures did not move, though all three nuns described a sense of understanding that this was intended by the Virgin to be a confirmation of what she had told them the preceding three nights.