One very cold, dark evening in 1933, 11-year-old Mariette Beco of the village of Banneux, Belgium was looking out the window for her brother, who had not yet come home. Suddenly, she saw a lady walking out in the garden—a lovely lady with a very kind and friendly smile. Mariette thought it might be some reflection of a light, but no, the lady was real.When the parish priest heard the story, at first he was doubtful. After all, Mariette did not even come to Sunday Mass since he had scolded her for not knowing her catechism. But a couple of days later, Mariette was at Mass and catechism class, and for once she knew her lesson perfectly.Mariette saw the lady again on following evenings. The lady said that she was “the Holy Virgin of the Poor,” and she told Mariette that the water in the little ditch behind her house was going to cure the sick. She also said, “I have come to relieve suffering.” At her last visit she said, “I am the Mother of the Saviour, Mother of God. Pray much. Farewell.” The lady had indeed been the Blessed Virgin Mary. There had been 8 visits in all.Soon a little chapel was built in Banneux to honor Our Lady. Thousands of pilgrims have come to honor her there, and many blessings have been received there. Our Lady has kept her beautiful promise: “I have come to relieve suffering.”
