Reverend and Dear Confreres:
The publication of the decree which you have just read marks a decisive date in the history of the devotion to Our Lady of Beauraing.
As you know, when we officially permitted this devotion, our declaration enforced strict reserva- tions: we deemed that the moment had not yet come for us to pronounce "upon the reality and the supernatural character of the facts." Since then, the reasons for hesitation have considerably decreased and we are able to say before God that the signs are not lacking to satisfy us personally of the foolish character of the prudent reserves
made at the beginning. But we looked forward to the hour when we would be able to publish our final approval. That hour, we think, has come. The happy termination of the reports of the dioce- san doctrinal Commission permits us to declare the miraculous nature of the two cures obtained through the intercession of Our Lady of Beau- raing, occurring in the months which followed the events at Beauraing, among many other cases of spiritual and temporal favors, and at the height of a movement of Marian fervor which has subsisted to this day, these miraculous cures constitute the final element which wins our conviction of the supernatural character of the events.
We give thanks for it to God and to the Most Holy Virgin: we are able in all serenity and prudence to affirm that the Queen of Heaven ap- peared to the children of Beauraing during the winter of 1932-1933, especially to show us in her maternal Heart the anxious appeal for prayer and the promise of her powerful mediation for the conversion of sinners.
We, ourselves, marveling at the providential guidance which has led us after seven years to this final stage of the case, have signed this docu- ment with all the ardor of our heart and with the assurance that our entire diocese will join in our thanksgiving. In the name of all our people we again tell Our Lady with a growing confidence: Among us you are Queen; we are yours.
Please believe, venerable and dear confreres, our sentiments of spiritual and affectionate devotion, in Our Savior and Our Lady.
Namur, July 2, 1949, on the Feast of the Visitation of Our Lady.
ANDRE-MARIE Bishop of Namur
Source: Sharkey, Don. "I will convert sinners" : Our Lady's apparitions at Beauraing, 1932-1933. Divine Word Missionary Publications. 1957 p. 31-32
|
