Anecdotes about the Virgin Mary

"Washington: The Patronal Church and Our Lady of America"

Washington DC (United States) (1846-2020)

On the campus of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., stands the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception: the largest church in the United States and one of the largest in the world. It is the nation's patronal church, dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, whom the bishops elected as Patroness of the country at the Council of Baltimore in 1846, a patronage confirmed by Pius IX in 1847.

The cornerstone was laid in 1920, and the church was inaugurated for worship in 1959, built in stages thanks to donations from the faithful, dioceses, and communities throughout the country. Inside, numerous chapels represent Marian devotions from the peoples who have shaped the nation, so that, as the Catholic press says, "America recognizes itself in the faces of Mary."

Alongside this documented story appears another that requires special caution: that of "Our Lady of America." The nun Mildred Neuzil (Sister Mary Ephrem) claimed to have received private revelations from the Virgin Mary under that title since the 1940s, with a message of purity and interior life directed to the United States. According to the accounts, the Virgin Mary requested that her image be enthroned in this national shrine. Here, a clear distinction must be made: the existence of the nun and her writings is documented, and it is also documented that in 2020 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith concluded that the supernatural character of these apparitions cannot be affirmed. Therefore, they are not approved, although the title may be tolerated as a generic Marian invocation.

Regarding the Rosary, the sanctuary, being the main temple of the national patron saint, strongly promotes its recitation, especially on Marian feast days. There is no record of a miracle of the Rosary specifically linked to this place; however, it is known to be a common and recommended prayer in the devotional life of the basilica.