Joseph Laycock

Necedah Shrine

NECEDAH SHRINE
(QUEEN OF THE HOLY ROSARY, MEDIATRIX OF PEACE SHRINE)
 


NECEDAH SHRINE TIMELINE

1909 (July 31):  Mary Ann Van Hoof (née Anna Maria Bieber) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1934:  Mary Ann married Godfred “Fred” Van Hoof. They had seven children.

1949 (November 12):  Van Hoof had a vision of a tall female figure entering her bedroom and standing by her bed.

1950 (February 9):  Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy announced that communists had infiltrated the State Department.

1950 (April 7):  On Good Friday, Van Hoof saw a crucifix in her room begin to glow. She heard the voice of Mary, who commissioned her to go the parish priest with a request that everyone be directed to recite the rosary each evening at eight o’clock. Mary announced that she would appear again “where and when the flowers bloom, trees and grass are green.”

1950 (May 28):  Van Hoof experienced her first vision of Mary. The site of the apparition, a group of four ash trees, became known as “The Sacred Spot.” Mary promised to return the next two days (May 29 and 30) and on June 4 (Trinity Sunday), June 16 (The Feast of the Sacred Heart), August 15 (The Feast of the Assumption), and October 7 (The Feast of the Rosary).

1950 (June 4):  Twenty-eight people arrived at the Van Hoof farm to witness Van Hoof’s apparition.

1950 (June 15):  A team of priests visited Van Hoof’s home. They expressed skepticism of her claims.

1950 (June 16):  1,500 people arrived to witness an apparition. Some announced that the apparition had cured them of disease. Father Lengowski, the parish priest, had guards placed at the home to keep out strangers. The Chancery of the La Crosse Diocese urged restraint and said that no pronouncement would be made on the apparitions until a thorough investigation had been completed.

1950 (June):  Henry Swan, president of the Necedah Chamber of Commerce, organized pilgrims into a group called “The Necedah Committee” to promote the apparitions.

1950 (August 9):  John Patrick Treacy, Bishop of La Crosse, Wisconsin, issued of a statement discouraging Catholics from attending the apparition on August 15.

1950 (August 15):  100,000 people gathered to see the apparition. Reporters arrived from Newsweek, Time, Life, and The New York Times. 

1950 (October 4):  Father Lengowski was transferred to Wuerzburg, Wisconsin, seventy-five miles away from Necedah. His support for Van Hoof was likely a factor in his transfer.

1950 (October 7):  30,000 pilgrims arrived for Mary’s final announced appearance. Cardinal Samuel Stritch of Chicago had prohibited Chicago Catholics from attending, resulting in cancelled charter buses and a significantly smaller crowd.

1950 (November):  Van Hoof reported symptoms of stigmata. This was interpreted as penance for those who did not heed Mary’s message from the apparitions.

1951:  The stigmata-like symptoms continued through Lent and Advent of 1951. Beginning in Advent, Van Hoof also announced that she could no longer eat food and was subsisting on a liquid diet.

1951 (May 28):  Bishop Treacy sent Van Hoof a letter ordering her to take down the statues affiliated with her shrine and to cease disseminating literature about her visions. Van Hoof refused.

1952 (April):  Bishop Treacy asked Van Hoof to report to Marquette University Medical University for a ten-day medical exam. The exam coincided with Holy Week (April 7-12). The results of these tests convinced Church authorities that Van Hoof’s experiences were not supernatural.

1954 (August 22):  Van Hoof reported that Mary desired her two closest followers, Henry Swan and Clara Hermans, to write an account of their movement.

1955:  Swan compiled accounts of Van Hoof’s apparitions and her sufferings during Lent and Advent.

1955 (June):  Bishop Treacy officially condemned the apparition at Necedah.

1959:  Swan edited four volumes of material entitled My Work with Necedah published by Van Hoof’s followers through the corporation “For My God and My Country.”

1960 (July 19):  Godfred Van Hoof died of leukemia.

1964:  Bishop Treacy died and was succeeded by Frederick W. Freking.

1969 (September):  Frederick W. Freking ordered a new investigation of the shrine.

1970:  Bishop Freking reiterated Treacy’s condemnation of Van Hoof and her movement.

1975:  Bishop Freking placed Van Hoof and six of her followers under an interdict. Van Hoof’s followers were denied sacraments in their parish.

1977:  An order of nuns was created known as The Sisters of the Seven Dolors of the Sorrowful Mother. They created the Seven Dolors of Our Sorrowful Mother Infants Home to serve unwed mothers and care for unwanted babies.

1978:  Van Hoof married Ray Hirt.

1979 (May):  An announcement was made that that the Necedah shrine had been consecrated by Edward Stehlik, an archbishop of the North American Old Catholic Church, Ultrajectine.

1981 (January):  Stehlik quit the American National Catholic Church, returned to the Roman Catholic Church as a layman, and denounced the Necedah apparition as a hoax. Francis diBenedetto, a bishop of the Old Catholic Church, succeeded him as clerical leader of the shrine.

1982:  Queen of the Holy Rosary School was founded near the shrine.

1983:  diBenedetto also returned to the Roman Catholic Church and denounced the Necedah apparition as a hoax. Many shrine members defected with the loss of these bishops.

1984 (March 18):  Mary Ann Van Hoof died. Several hundred followers remained in Necedah and continued to promote the shrine.

FOUNDER/GROUP HISTORY

Mary Ann Van Hoof [Image at right] was born Anna Maria Bieber in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was one of seven children, and four of hersiblings were still living in 1950 when her career as a seer began. (Zimdars-Swartz 1989:40). Mary Ann was baptized Catholic but was not raised in the Church. Her childhood was an unhappy one and she was repeatedly beaten by her father. Several of her later messages from Mary appear to allude to this abuse. Regarding one message, Van Hoof stated, “She [Mary] said I was an unhappy child, always abused, misunderstood” (Queen of the Holy Rosary Mediatrix of Peace Shrine 2014:20).

The family moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where Anna Maria received an eighth-grade education. Her mother, Elizabeth, was a Hungarian immigrant and a Spiritualist. Elizabeth joined the Kenosha Assembly of Spiritualists and served as its vice president from 1945-1948. Although Anna Maria was never in the group’s membership rolls, she reportedly participated in Spiritualist gatherings (Zimdars-Swartz 1989:41).

According to a Church investigation reported on by Father Claude H. Heithaus, Van Hoof moved to Philadelphia at the age of eighteen and worked as a waitress. She fell in love with a Philadelphia man with whom she had a child. As Van Hoof explained to Church investigators, she had received a marriage license from someone the couple believed to be a justice of the peace. However, they learned the man had not been a justice of the peace, and the couple separated. Van Hoof moved back to her family in Kenosha. These events are never discussed in Van Hoof’s own writings (Zimdars-Swartz 1989:40).

In 1934, Van Hoof answered an ad for a housekeeper placed by Godfred “Fred” Van Hoof in The Wisconsin Farmer and Agriculturalist. Fred hired her and four months later they were married. The Van Hoofs eventually had seven children. Van Hoof’s mother, Elizabeth, moved in with the Van Hoofs. When they lost their Wisconsin farm, the Van Hoofs moved with Elizabeth to the southwest where they worked as sharecroppers before they finally purchased as 142-acre farm in Necedah, Wisconsin (Zimdars-Swartz 1989:41). Fred was a devout Catholic, and he drew Van Hoof back into his faith. Van Hoof’s interpretations of her visions initially vacillated between those of her Spiritualist mother and her Catholic husband (Zimdars-Swartz 1989:52-53). In 1949, as Van Hoof lay awake in bed worrying about her health and the future of their farm, a tall female figure entered her room and stood by the bed. Van Hoof was initially terrified, thinking the apparition might be a ghost. It was her husband who first suggested that the apparition might be Mary and that Mary had come to bring an important message to the world (Garvey 2003:213).

On Good Friday, 1950, Van Hoof saw a crucifix in her room begin to glow. She also heard a voice, which she attributed to Mary. Mary commissioned her to go the parish priest with a request that everyone be directed to recite the rosary each evening at eight o’clock. Father Sigismund R. Lengowski of St. Francis of Assisi Church was initially supportive of Van Hoof’s request. Mary also announced that she would appear again “where and when the flowers bloom, trees and grass are green” (Zimdars-Swartz 1991:264-65).

On May 28, 1950, Van Hoof experienced her first full vision of Mary, who appeared near a group of four ash trees on her farm. This area became known as “The Sacred Spot.” Mary promised to return the next two days and to make appearances on the dates of June 4 (Trinity Sunday), June 16 (The Feast of the Sacred Heart), August 15 (The Feast of the Assumption), and October 7 (The Feast of the Rosary) (Zimdars-Swartz 1989:36-37).

Twenty-eight people arrived on June 4 to witness Van Hoof’s encounter with Mary. This drew the attention of Church authorities and on June 15 a team of priests, one of whom was the editor of the diocesan newspaper, visited Van Hoof’s home. They asked to see if her crucifix would glow in the dark. It did not (Garvey 2003:217). Their skepticism left Van Hoof feeling defensive toward Church authorities.

At Mary’s second appearance on June 16, 1,500 people arrived at the Van Hoof farm. Six pilgrims gathered on the cellar door trying to peer into the house, causing it to collapse. Father Lengowski placed guards to keep out strangers after a woman burst into the home announcing that the apparition had cured her asthma (Garvey 2003: 217-218). The Chancery of the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin urged restraint and said that no pronouncement would be made on the apparitions until a thorough investigation had been completed (Kselman 1986:414; Kselman 2020).

Following the June 16 apparition, Henry Swan, president of the Necedah Chamber of Commerce, began to organize the pilgrims. [Image at right] He created an organization called “The Necedah Committee” and began preparing literature and buying radio time to promote the shrine. Benefactors built toilets and kneeling rails around The Sacred Spot as well as a statue of Our Lady of Fatima. A hand-carved cross from Italy was erected on a bluff overlooking Necedah. John Horning, a businessman from Milwaukee, purchased sixty acres north of the Van Hoof farm to provide parking (Zimdars-Swartz 1989:49). Before the next apparition, the Necedah Committee distributed 176,000 pieces of literature. Swan prepared an additional 173,000 pieces of literature for distribution on August 15 (Kselman 1986:415).

On August 9, 1950, John Patrick Treacy, Bishop of La Crosse, issued of a statement discouraging Catholics from attending the apparition on August 15 (Zimdars-Swartz 2012:36). Despite this, over 100,000 people arrived in Necedah to see the apparition on August 15 along with reporters from Newsweek, Time, Life, and The New York Times (Garvey 2003:219) .

As the final apparition drew close, Church authorities moved to stifle the shrine’s growing momentum. On October 4, Father Lengowski, who had been supportive of the apparition, was transferred to Wuerzburg, Wisconsin, seventy-five miles away from Necedah (Zimdars-Swartz 1989:79). Samuel Stritch, Cardinal of Chicago, prohibited Chicago Catholics from attending the apparition. Charter buses hired to take pilgrims from Chicago were cancelled as a result of this pronouncement (Maloney 1989:23). Despite this, 30,000 people still arrived for the final apparition on October 7 (Garvey 2003:220).

This was not the end of Van Hoof’s career as a seer. In November 1950 she began experiencing stigmata. Friends reported seeing her convulse and then collapse to the floor in a cruciform pose. Van Hoof had always been sickly and Mary explained that she was a “victim soul.” The stigmata was said to be a penance to be suffered on behalf of those who had not heeded the apparitions. Van Hoof’s afflictions continued throughout Lent and Advent of 1951. During Advent she claimed to have acquired the saintly phenomenon of inedia in which she could survive without food. All solid food reportedly made her vomit and she subsisted entirely on liquids (Zimdars-Swartz 1989:44).

Around this time several hundred pilgrims relocated to Necedah (a town of less than one thousand) and began creating a community around the shrine on the Van Hoof’s farm. Locals came to refer to the area where the pilgrims settled as “the shrine belt” (Garvey 2003:230). In May 1951, Bishop Treacy sent Van Hoof a letter ordering her to take down the statues affiliated with her shrine and to cease disseminating literature about her visions. According to Fidelity magazine, Van Hoof replied to this order , “I am a free American citizen. This is my own property, and I’ll do as I wish” (Maloney 1989:24).

In 1952, Bishop Treacy asked Van Hoof to report to Marquette University Medical University for a ten-day medical exam. Van Hoof agreed, possibly thinking the tests would prove to Church authorities that her claims were genuine. The exam coincided with Holy Week (April 7-12). Van Hoof’s head, arms, and hands were bandaged and sharp objects taken away. Under these conditions, her stigmata ceased. To test her claims of inedia, blood samples were taken and her salt levels were tested. Upon arriving at the hospital, her salt levels were normal suggesting that she was eating solid food. When she maintained a liquid diet during her hospital stay, she lost weight and her salt levels declined (Zimdars-Swartz 1989:44). A panel of three psychiatrists concluded that she suffered from “hysteria and repressed sexual anxiety.” Adding insult to injury, Father Claude H. Heithaus, a member of the bishop’s investigating committee, discussed the results of the study with the press and described the convulsions associated with Van Hoof’s stigmata as a “disgusting performance” (Garvey 2003:229). Some of Van Hoof’s followers objected to the study’s findings and argued that supernatural phenomena cannot be studied using normal medical tests (Zimdars-Swartz 1989:44).

In 1954, Van Hoof communicated Mary’s desire that her two closest followers, Henry Swan and Clara Hermans, write an account of the history of their movement. The following year, Swan compiled accounts of Van Hoof’s apparitions and her sufferings during Lent and Advent of 1951. In 1959, Swan edited four volumes of material entitled My Work with Necedah (Zimdars-Swartz 1989:39). The shrine formed the corporation “For My God and My Country, Inc.” to publish these materials. It may have been these publications that motivated Bishop Treacy to officially condemn the apparition at Necedah in 1955. He issued a statement prohibiting all public and private worship associated with the apparition (Zimdars-Swartz 1989:37).

Van Hoof’s followers continued despite this censure and in 1969 bishop Treacy’s successor, Frederick W. Freking, ordered a new investigation into the shrine. The following year he re-affirmed Treacy’s findings and ordered Van Hoof and her followers to close down the shrine. When this second condemnation went unheeded, bishop Freking placed Van Hoof and six officers of For My God and My Country, Inc. under an interdict. Father James Barney, the new pastor of Saint Francis of Assisi Church, denied communion to anyone who would not renounce Van Hoof. During one mass, Father Barney reportedly asked “the loyal and obedient” Catholics to approach the altar and for the rest (meaning Van Hoof’s supporters) to leave (Garvey 2003:232-33).

Van Hoof and her followers refused to yield but also desired the approval of Church authorities. In May 1979, Van Hoof’s followers announced that the Necedah shrine had been consecrated by Edward Stehlik, an archbishop of the North American Old Catholic Church, Ultrajectine. However, in 1981, Stehlik quit the Old Catholic Church, returned to the Roman Catholic Church as a layman, and denounced the Necedah apparition as a hoax. He was succeeded by Francis diBenedetto, a bishop of the Old Catholic Church, who became the new Church authority for the shrine. Then in 1983, diBenedetto also returned to the Roman Catholic Church and denounced the Necedah apparition. These events were demoralizing to Van Hoof’s followers and by some accounts as many as two-thirds of the community left (Garvey 2003:234).

Van Hoof died in 1984, but several hundred followers remained in Necedah and continued to promote the shrine. Today the shrine is officially known as “Queen of the Holy Rosary Mediatrix Between God and Man, Shrine” and is aligned with the North American Old Catholic Church, Ultrajectine tradition (DeSlippe 2016:274).

DOCTRINES/RITUALS

From 1950 until her death, Van Hoof received numerous messages from Mary as well as a variety of saints, popes, and other holy figures. Much of the content of these messages resembles that of previous Marian apparitions. Catholics are called to repent and renew their faith and warned of a coming chastisement. Van Hoof’s messages also urge the Church to consecrate Russia to Mary’s heart, a trope that began with the apparition at Fatima. As time went on, the prophecies became more innovative. Van Hoof’s messages contain apocalyptic and conspiracy-driven elements that reflect the Cold War era in which the apparition occurred. The messages also contain themes of Catholic nationalism and ecumenism, as well as a few elements that seem more reminiscent of Spiritualism than Catholic tradition.

In the 1950s many American Catholics took pride in their staunch opposition to communism. Van Hoof’s messages described Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy as a kind of saint, and then as a martyr. McCarthy’s claim in 1950 that communists had infiltrated the State Department seems to have set a conspiratorial tone for the messages. Van Hoof warned of poisons deployed in food, water, and air that weakened the minds of Americans and made them more susceptible to evil influences. Many of Van Hoof’s visions describe people dying from radiation poisoning and other horrific scenes of nuclear war. Mary would often relay tactical details to Van Hoof including Soviet invasion plans and the location of Soviet submarines. In one message, Van Hoof reported that “baby subs” were sailing up the St. Lawrence Seaway (Zimdars-Swartz 1991:261).

Henry Swan, an early promoter of Van Hoof, seems to have introduced Van Hoof to a number of conspiracy theories that began to inform her messages. In time, Van Hoof outlined “Satan’s Chain of Command.” This was a super conspiracy in which a group a “grand masters” oversaw the “Learned Elders of Zion,” whom Swan described as “Yids.” The Elders of Zion in turn controlled Communism and Freemasonry, which they used toward their goal of creating a one world government.

Even though this conspiracy theory was clearly derivative of the anti-Semitic hoax The Protocols of the Elders of Zion (1903), Swan denied that his views were anti-Semitic. He stated that most Jews were unaware of the Elders of Zion and that some were “good, patriotic Americans.” Nevertheless, a racialist paranoia runs throughout some of the messages. Swan made a distinction between “true Jews,” whose blood was unsullied, and “Yids,” whose bloodlines and become “mongrelized.” At least one prophecy alluded to a scenario in which white Christians would have to battle the black and yellow races, which the forces of evil would incite against them (Zimdars-Swartz 1991: 261-262).

Just as The Soviet Union was seen as the agent of Satan, Van Hoof’s visions presented America as a nation chosen by God. In one message, Mary related how she had appeared to George Washington and told him that the new nation would withstand five great sieges: the American Revolution, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, and finally a fifth siege that would be the most terrible of all (Zimdars-Swartz 1991:262). The story of Mary appearing to George Washington located the United States within a “theology of history,” culminating in an apocalyptic battle (Zimdars-Swartz 1989:53). By insinuating Catholic tradition into an American foundational myth, it also worked to establish Catholicism as truly American rather than an immigrant religion. Today, the Necedah shrine features the “For My God and My Country Shrine” with a statue of Jesus flanked by George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. [Image at right]

Van Hoof’s messages also emphasized that America was a multi-religious society and that Catholics and Protestants “must work together” to fulfill the nation’s destiny (Kselman 1986:422; Kselman 2020). This call for ecumenism may have reflected religious tensions in Necedah. A new wave of Catholic immigrants had settled in the late 1940s and Protestant residents had complained of efforts to make Necedah a “Catholic town” (Frakes 1950:1020).

Finally, some elements of Van Hoof’s visions deviate from the elements commonly found in Marian apparitions. Van Hoof reported that she could see beings she called “celestials” and that some of these beings were the spirits of her departed friends and family members. Celestials are still described in shrine literature. Some of her messages also suggest a “hollow earth” theory in which the faithful will be transported to a paradise inside the Earth where they will wait out the apocalypse (Marlene 1989:26). The shrine’s newsletter features a column called “Diamond Star Researcher;” this discusses a wide milieu of stigmatized ideas and conspiracy theories, including speculation about planet X, coming pole-shifts, and secret military technology.

RITUALS/PRACTICES

A journalist describing one the apparitions gives some insight into the ritual surrounding these events. Van Hoof emerged from her home accompanied by her mother, her husband, her daughter Joanne, and a few other supporters. She faced the crowd and raised a large crucifix in blessing, before turning to face the statue of Mary that stood on her yard. After a few moments, she faced the crowd again and spoke for about twenty minutes. The journalist surmised that she was listening to Mary and then immediately repeating her words back to the crowd, or at least that this was the impression she sought to give. After she spoke, she collapsed weeping and her family escorted her back into the home (Zimdars-Swartz 2012:37).

Today the Necedah Shrine survives as a small but dedicated community with a shrine complex surrounding the old Van Hoof farm. On October 7, 1950, Van Hoof announced that Mary requested a large heart-shaped shrine to be built at the Sacred Spot. Thisstructure, known as the House of Prayer, has been under construction for decades and currently consists of little more than a concrete foundation. However, the shrine grounds also feature shrines and grottos depicting various saints that appeared to Van Hoof as well as scenes from the life of Jesus. There is a lecture hall as well as meeting hall and workroom. There is a replica of the original Van Hoof home, [Image at right] which burned down on February 9, 1959. An information center is open from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Guided tours, literature, and scapulars are offered visitors. The shrine also hosts an elaborate annual Christmas pageant that is free and open to the public.

The shrine hosts “Anniversary Day Vigils” that commemorate Mary’s appearances to Van Hoof in 1950. These are held on November 12, April 7, May 28, May 29, June 4, June 16, August 15, October 7. The shrine also holds so-called monthly vigils that honor the feast days of saints who were important to Van Hoof or other important days. Monthly vigils actually occur about once a week. Vigils typically consist of a candle light procession and a fifteen-decade rosary, as well as prayers and hymns. The shrine also coordinates a constant vigil of prayer in which various community members pledge to pray at a certain hour. The shrine’s goal is to have someone praying at all hours of day with the intention of saving America from destruction by evil forces.

Modesty is valued at the Necedah shrine, and in one message Van Hoof encouraged her female followers to wear blue wrap-around skirts. The information center keeps a supply of wrap-around skirts for visitors who are dressed immodestly (For My God and My Country, Inc 2011).

ORGANIZATION/LEADERSHIP

In addition to the worship centers, [Image at right] the shrine also runs a private K-12 school, Queen of the Holy Rosary Shrine, and the Seven Sorrows of Our Sorrowful Mother Infants Home orphanage. The shrine relies heavily on volunteers to run services and continue construction of the Hall of Prayer. Little is known about the organization’s leadership; however, Theodore Bodoh is listed as the head of Seven Sorrows of Our Sorrowful Mother Infants Home orphanage in databases of non-profits.

ISSUES/CHALLENGES

As with many contentious Marian apparitions, Van Hoof’s followers have had a complex relationship with the Catholic Church, in which they have challenged Church authorities while simultaneously desiring their approval. Tensions between Van Hoof and diocesan authorities began almost immediately and continued to mount as her movement gained momentum. Although the 1950 apparitions drew tens of thousands in, condemnation by Church authorities nearly eliminated the movement.

In the 1960s, Van Hoof criticized Vatican II and the vernacular mass. She also warned that the Catholic Church had become compromised by traitors, heretics, and communist agents (Thavis 2015:78). These claims appealed to traditionalist Catholics who opposed the reforms of Vatican II. In this, the movement’s history resembles that of other apparitions rejected by the Church such as the Baysiders.

However, being placed an interdict in 1975 appears to have demoralized Van Hoof’s followers, driving them to seek Old Catholic bishops. When the Old Catholic bishops defected, many shrine members defected, suggesting that Van Hoof’s followers still greatly desired Church authority.

Although the shrine continues to receive letters of support from around the country, it is unclear how long it will continue to exist. With the decline of communism as an oppositional threat, the shrine has increasingly focused on the pro-life movement.

IMAGES

Image #1: Photograph of Mary Ann Van Hoof.
Image #2: Photograph of the entrance to the Necedah Shrine.
Image #3: Photograph of the “For My God and My Country Shrine” which features a statue of Jesus flanked by George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Image #4: Photograph of a replica of Van Hoof’s original home.
Image #5: Photograph of pilgrims praying at the Shrine.

REFERENCES

DeSlippe, Philip. 2016 “Necedah Apparitions” Pp. 273-74 in Miracles: An Encyclopedia of People, Places and Supernatural Events from Antiquity to the Present, edited by Patrick J. Hayes. 2011. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.

For My God and My Country, Inc. 2011. “Queen of the Holy Rosary Mediatrix Between God and Man Shrine.” Accessed from http://www.queenoftheholyrosaryshrine.com/default.aspx on 9 September 2016.

Frakes, Margaret. 1950. “Setting for a Miracle.” The Christian Century, August 30: 1019-21.

Garvey, Mark. 2003. Waiting for Mary: America in Search of a Miracle. Cincinnati, OH: Emmis Books.

Jones, Meg. 2008. “Honoring a Vision.” Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel , May 29). Accessed from http://archive.jsonline.com/news/religion/29568074.html on 9 September 2016).

Kselman A, 2020. “Marian Piety and the Cold War in the United States.” Pp. 211-30 in Cold War Mary. Ideologies Politics and Marian Devotional Culture, edited by Peter Jan Margry. Leuven: Leuven University Press.

Kselman, Thomas A., and Steven Avella. 1986. “Marian Piety and the Cold War in the United States.”The Catholic Historical Review 72:403-24.

Laycock, Joseph. 2015. The Seer of Bayside: Veronica Lueken and the Struggle to Define Catholicism. New York: Oxford University Press.

Maloney, Marlene. 1989. “Necedah Revisited: Anatomy of a Phony Apparition” Fidelity Magazine 8:18–34.

Thavis, John. 2015. The Vatican Prophecies: Investigating Supernatural Signs, Apparitions, and Miracles in the Modern Age. New York: Viking.

Queen of the Holy Rosary Mediatrix of Peace Shrine. 2014. Shrine Newsletter, Vol. 1. (Summer): Necedah, WI: Queen of the Holy Rosary Mediatrix of Peace Shrine.

Zimdars-Swartz, Sandra. 2012. “Bodies in Motion: Pilgrims, Seers and Religious Experience at Marian Apparition Sites.” Journeys 13 (2):28-46.

Zimdars-Swartz, Sandra. 1991.  Encountering Mary: from La Salette to Medjugorje. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Zimdars-Swartz, Sandra L. 1989. “Religious Experience and Public Cult: The Case of Mary Ann Van Hoof.” Journal of Religion and Health 28:36-57.

Publication Date:
28 September 2016

 

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