One of the more significant English bishops of the 20th century started life as a member of a well known and highly regarded Jewish family. At the age of 16, Hugh Montefiore was sitting in his study at school, when he was suddenly aware of a presence: “I heard the words ‘Follow me’. Instinctively I knew that this was Jesus, heaven knows how: I knew nothing about him….. it was an indescribably rich event that filled me afterwards with an overpowering joy. I could do no other than to follow those instructions”. His autobiography, ‘Oh God, what next?’ goes onto describe not only his remarkable career but also the life-long reaction he got from leaving one community of faith and joining another.
On August 22nd the Vatican recognised the Catholic Shrine of Chandavila in the town of La Codosera in Badajoz. According to a story in the Catholic News Agency, this is where Our Lady of Sorrows is alleged to have appeared to two Spanish girls, 10-year-old Marcelina Barroso Expósito and 17-year-old Afra Brígido Blanco, shortly before the end of World War II in 1945.
While the church has a healthy scepticism about such appearances – particularly their use to draw attention to the individuals involved – it appears that the two girls led quiet lives since, devoted to the needs of others. The Vatican letter of approval notes that “after the alleged visions, the two girls led a discreet and inconspicuous life. Both dedicated themselves to works of charity, especially to caring for the sick, the elderly, and orphans, thereby transmitting to those who are suffering the sweet consolation of the Virgin’s love that they had experienced.”
So it is perhaps the case that the quality of life led by the participants in such a vision is an important indicator of the value of the appearance. This is no less true for Bishop Montefiore, who was undoubtedly one of the great bishops of the last century, and a man who, in his writings, his preaching and his unwavering commitment to those in need, demonstrated the impact and the veracity of the vision he had received.
Read the story of the Vatican´s approval here. See Bishop Montefiore’s autobiography here.
Picture above: Shrine of Chandavila in the town of La Codosera in Badajoz, Spain, where Our Lady of Sorrows is alleged to have appeared. Credit: Mentxuwiki, Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
