Posted on 11/05/2008 7:55:19 AM PST by NYer
ROME, NOV. 4, 2008 (Zenit.org).- According to his own testimony, the Pope who declared the dogma of the Assumption saw the "miracle of the sun" four times.
This information is confirmed by a handwritten, unpublished note from Pope Pius XII, which is part of the "Pius XII: The Man and the Pontificate" display. The display opened in the Vatican to the public today and will run through Jan. 6.
A commissioner of the display and a Vatican reporter for the Italian daily Il Giornale, Andrea Tornielli, explained to ZENIT that the note was found in the Pacelli family archives. It describes the "miracle of the sun," an episode that until today had only been affirmed by the indirect testimony of Cardinal Federico Tedeschini (1873-1959), who recounted in a homily that the Holy Father had seen the miracle.
Pius XII wrote, "I have seen the 'miracle of the sun,' this is the pure truth."
The miracle of the sun is most known as the episode that occurred in Fatima, Portugal, on Oct. 13, 1917. According to the Fatima visionaries, Mary had said there would be a miracle that day so that people would come to believe. Thousands had gathered at the site of the visions, and the sun "danced," reportedly drying instantaneously the rain-soaked land and spectators.
Confirming the dogma
Pius XII's note says that he saw the miracle in the year he was to proclaim the dogma of the Assumption, 1950, while he walked in the Vatican Gardens.
He said he saw the phenomenon various times, considering it a confirmation of his plan to declare the dogma.
The papal note says that at 4 p.m. on Oct. 30, 1950, during his "habitual walk in the Vatican Gardens, reading and studying," having arrived to the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, "toward the top of the hill […] I was awestruck by a phenomenon that before now I had never seen."
"The sun, which was still quite high, looked like a pale, opaque sphere, entirely surrounded by a luminous circle," he recounted. And one could look at the sun, "without the slightest bother. There was a very light little cloud in front of it."
The Holy Father's note goes on to describe "the opaque sphere" that "moved outward slightly, either spinning, or moving from left to right and vice versa. But within the sphere, you could see marked movements with total clarity and without interruption."
Pius XII said he saw the same phenomenon "the 31st of October and Nov. 1, the day of the definition of the dogma of the Assumption, and then again Nov. 8, and after that, no more."
The Pope acknowledged that on other days at about the same hour, he tried to see if the phenomenon would be repeated, "but in vain -- I couldn't fix my gaze [on the sun] for even an instant; my eyes would be dazzled."
Pius XII spoke about the incident with a few cardinals and close collaborators, such that Sister Pascalina Lehnert, the nun in charge of the papal apartments, declared that "Pius XII was very convinced of the reality of the extraordinary phenomenon, which he had seen on four occasions."
Son of Our Lady
Tornielli told ZENIT that there was always a close link between the life of Eugenio Pacelli and the mystery of the Virgin Mary.
"Since childhood," he said, "Eugenio Pacelli was devoted [to Our Lady] and was registered in the Congregation of the Assumption, which had a chapel close to the Church of Jesus. A devotion that seemed prophetic, since he would be precisely the one to declare the dogma of the Assumption in 1950."
The future Pope celebrated his first Mass on April 3, 1899, at the altar of the icon of Mary "Salus Populi Romani" in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. "And then," Tornielli continued, "Eugenio Pacelli received episcopal ordination from Pope Benedict XV in the Sistine Chapel on May 13, 1917, the day of the first apparition of the Virgin of Fatima."
As Pope, in 1940, he approved the Fatima apparitions, and in 1942, consecrated the entire world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
As well, Pius XII often spoke with Sister Lucia, the visionary of Fatima, and he asked her to transcribe the messages she received from the Virgin. He thus became the first Pope to know the "third secret of Fatima," which Pope John Paul II would later make public.
Are you a Catholic? You did notice that this was a Catholic Caucus thread, didn’t you?
LAST OF CHILDREN WHO CLAIMED TO SEE VIRGIN MARY DIES AT 97
Last child who claimed to see "Virgin Mary" dies
Virgin Mary Child Dies (Lucia of Fatima)
Mourning for Fatima seer (Portugal declares day of mourning)
Third Secret of Fatima is not fully revealed.
Sister Lucia, last remaining witness of Fatima apparitions, dies at 97
Sr. Lucia, Fatima, and Islam
Mystery Fatima: Death of Lucia Accents Famed Secrets & Area's Hidden History
"No More Secrets," Visionary Said in 2001 (Sr. Lucia Confirmed Russia Consecrated to Mary)
Papal praise at Sister Lucia's funeral
Our Lady of Fatima, ‘counterrevolutionary’ and ‘ecumenical’
Fatima Statue Due at Vatican to Mark a Fateful Day 25 Years After Attempt on John Paul II's Life
Sister Lucia's Unpublished Writings Released - Visionary Reflects on Marian Apparitions
Sister Lucia's Last Moments
Fatima: Case Closed
Rosary Rallies Planned for Fatima Anniversary [Catholic Caucus]
Giant new church at Fatima shrine
Sister Lucia's Beatification Process to Begin ( Pope Waves 5-Year Waiting Period)
The faithful remember miracle of Fatima, Thousands gather in Washington Twp. on 90th anniversary
Pius XII Saw "Miracle of the Sun" [Catholic Caucus]
Click on my profile page for more guidelines pertaining to the Religion Forum.
Talk about a good story. The event is recorded in O Seculo, an anti-Catholic paper.
And he is talking about a well-traveled pope. The first future pope to come to the United States, for instance. I get tired of this village atheist patter.
BTTT for the truth.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.