(Image from left to right: Severino at the time of the apparition,
at the place of the apparition, and later in life.)
STATUS: Not officially approved, but not official condemned by the Church either. Expression of faith permitted at present: a chapel was built on the apparition site and Mass and prayers permitted. Although not a major apparition per se, this could be a precursor preparing the way for Fatima as this apparition happened in Portugal, has details that seem very much like a 'mini-Fatima', and which occurred only a few days before the more famous visitation of Our Lady at Fatima on May the 13th.
Our Lady requested at Barral that a once popular prayer to be said again in order to obtain her protection from plagues, and later visited Severino again and gave him a herbal remedy when he was ill, which we might be able to use during the chastisements: so, I have included this apparition marked (??) to read with discernment.
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The Story of the Apparition
Severino Alves, a shepherd boy, was born in Barral, Ponte de Barca situated in the far north of Portugal on June 21, 1906. He was the son of António Alves and Cecília Francisca Valente and he had six other siblings. By the time of the apparition, his mother was widowed.
On a clear day, May 10, 1917, at eight o’clock in the morning, Severino was on his way to the hills with his sheep, praying the Rosary while making his way as was his custom. He was startled by a sudden flash of lightning and stopped in his tracks. After he calmed down, he was about to continue on his way but only went a few steps before he saw a Lady whom he did not recognize sitting on the side of the road near some rocks with her hands clasped. She wore a white dress with a blue mantle wrapped around her. The most striking thing was her entire body radiated light, while her face was the most beautiful he had ever seen. Severino was awestruck by the light and her beauty and he fell to his knees, unable to take his eyes off her. Then the Lady disappeared.
Later that day, Severino went to the parish priest to tell him of the mysterious incident. The boy, though having a good reputation in the town as he was known to be well behaved and loved by the locals, was not initially believed by the priest. However, the priest listened carefully to Severino's story and instructed him to return to the place of the vision: if the Lady returned, he was to ask her to speak.
The next day, Friday, May 11, at eight o’clock in the morning, Severino once again walked with his sheep to the hills. At the same spot as the previous day, the Lady reappeared. She was seated as before with hands clasped, wearing the same white dress and blue mantle, and still radiating light.
Just as he did before, Severino fell to his knees. As he gazed upon her, he worked up the courage to ask her to speak: “Let she who didn’t speak yesterday, speak today.”
The Lady smiled and replied with a voice that sounded like laughter and singing mixed together, a voice more pleasing than anything he had ever heard.
“Do not be afraid, boy, it is I, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Tell the shepherds of the mountains to pray the Rosary, let men and women once again pray the ‘Star of Heaven’ which has been long forgotten, and tell them to approach me in prayer: that I may come to the world and placate the war.”
After saying this, and leaving Severino enough time to answer: “Yes, my Lady”.
The Lady continued to speak, this time looking to the side:
“Such beautiful buds, such beautiful bunches.”
When Severino turned to see what she was looking at, the Lady disappeared.
(NOTE: I have not yet found out what Our Lady was referring to by the 'bunches', but, it could be in reference to future fruits, to the prayers that the people would offer there, a hint her request would be granted and that the prayers would please her? Regarding the prayer 'Star of Heaven', it and its history is included at the bottom of this page.)
Severino returned immediately to the town and told the people what the Virgin Mary had said, that she would help end the war if people prayed the Rosary and resumed praying the forgotten prayer ‘Star of Heaven’, as in years past. Because she spoke of the end of the war, (WWI) the Virgin became known as “Our Lady of Peace”.
To the various questions asked about the apparition, he always answered in the same way:
“If you want to believe, then believe. If you don’t want to believe, then don’t. I did my duty in telling you what the Virgin instructed me to do.”
Throughout the year, 1917, Severino Alves was interrogated by various priests of the Archdiocese of Braga about the two apparitions of Our Lady of Peace at Barral. Severino recounted the experience:
“Of course, they tried to make me admit to lying. When I refused to recant my story, they then began to threaten me with a beating. They then put their hands on me. I told them ‘You can be assured that what I saw is what I said. And what was told to me by the Lady is what I said. Now, go ahead and do as you want with me.’”
Later that year, as the anti-clerical socialist government continued to fight against the Catholic Church in Portugal, Severino was advised by authorities to deny everything he said he had seen, otherwise he might be arrested.
“Oh! Never! Our Lady told me to tell everyone to pray the Rosary and the ‘Star of Heaven’ to bring an end to the war, and I will say I didn’t see anything? Never! I will never deny these words she spoke to me! Never! If you want to arrest me then go ahead and arrest me, if they want to kill me, let them kill me!”
Severino was later collected by the Archdiocese of Braga, and taken to the Major Seminary of Braga. He was regularly subjected to interrogations about the apparitions.
He was then sent to the Jesuit Fathers’ College in La Guardia, Galicia for two years against his will. He did not believe he had a vocation to the religious life, and the only way he could leave would be to run away. He made his escape one day with the help of a friend and returned to Barral. He was left alone after this.
Like most of the youth from Barral, Severino went to Lisbon for employment and found a job at a drug store. Later he dutifully went to fulfill his obligatory military service. During the military physical examination, it was found that he had typhus, and therefore would not be allowed into the army, as he was most likely going to die soon. Years later Severino’s daughter, Matilde, revealed that during her father’s illness, the Virgin came to him once again:
“My father was dying from Typhus and he prayed to Our Lady of Peace during this illness. She appeared to him and instructed him to drink a tea of nettles and she would do the rest. He drank the tea and recovered the next day.”
(MY OBSERVATION ON THIS REMEDY: included at the end of this post.)
Some time after his recovery, he married a lady named Delfina, who was from the Parish of Sampriz, Ponte da Barca. They lived in Lisbon for a short time and six months after the birth of their first daughter, they left the city and returned to Barral, where they lived for ten years.
In 1954 Severino was again interrogated about what happened on May 10 and 11, 1917:
“I swear by my daughter’s health that what I said in 1917 has to be said again, because it was all true.”
Severino later returned to Lisbon where he once again worked for his previous employer at the drug store. To earn extra income he and his wife cultivated a small vegetable garden. The profits from the sales of their vegetables were offered to the building of the chapel of Our Lady of Peace in Barral. The chapel was inaugurated and blessed on 15 September 1969.
There was one final interview on January 3, 1985. Severino once again held firm that he indeed saw the Virgin Mary at Barral and that the message she gave him was the truth. He died ten days later. He is buried in the Parish Cemetery of Barral.
(Chapel of Our Lady Queen of Peace, Barral)
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The “Star of Heaven” Prayer - 'Stella Coeli Extirpavit'
This cannot be the 'Ave Maris Stella', 'Star of the Sea' because the sea is mentioned, and, it always has remained a well known prayer. Rather, it must be 'Stella Coeli Extirpavit' – referring to Our Lady as the Star of Heaven and uprooter of plagues, which was first said in Portugal in the early 14th century during the time of the Black Death. Although it is said the nuns of the Monastery of Santa Clara in Coimbra composed it, there is a tradition it was mysteriously revealed to the abbess through heavenly means.
The Black Plague had ravaged the area to such an extent that the Mother Abbess had decided to break the cloister and allow the nuns to go elsewhere to escape the plague. At that very moment, the doorbell rang. A beggar was at the door, but his face resembled an image of St. Bartholomew venerated in the convent. The beggar gave to the nuns a paper with the prayer, telling them that if they prayed it daily they would be protected from the disease. They did as instructed and the plague soon disappeared from the vicinity.
From there the prayer spread through Europe and was included in many prayer books, it was also included in the appendix of the Franciscan Breviary. However, it is obvious people in modern times were forgetting to pray it, especially during other times of need such as the war, therefore Our Lady was reminding everyone it is a powerful prayer of protection, especially now as we know the chastisements are going to consisted of never before seen plagues and diseases.
Both English and Latin versions have been included below.
In English:
The Star of Heaven that nourished the Lord drove away the plague of death which the first parents of man brought into the world. May this bright Star now vouchsafe to extinguish that foul constellation whose battles have slain the people with the wound of death.
O most pious Star of the Sea, preserve us from pestilence; hear us, O Lady, for Thy Son honours Thee by denying Thee nothing. Save us, O Jesus, for whom Thy Virgin Mother supplicates Thee.
V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray:
O God of mercy, God of forbearance, God of forgiveness, who was moved to compassion for the affliction of Thy people, and who said to the Angel devastating Thy people: “Stay thy hand,” for the love of that glorious Star, at whose dearest breast Thou graciously fed against the poison of our sins; grant the help of Thy grace, that as Thy Mother the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Saint Raphael, Thine Archangel, we be safely freed from every disease and from an unprovided death, and that we may be mercifully saved from the assault of utter ruin. Through Thee, Christ Jesus, King of Glory, who lives and reigns, world without end. Amen.
In Latin:
Stélla caéli extirpávit / Quae lactávit Dóminum / Mórtis péstem quam plantávit / Prímus párens hóminum. / Ipsa stélla nunc dignétur / Sídera compéscere, / Quórum bélla plébem caédunt / Dírae mórtis úlcere.
O gloriósa stélla máris / A péste succúre nóbis: / Audi nos, nam te fílius / Níhil négans honórat. / Sálva nos, Jésu! / Pro quíbus vírgo máter te órat.
V. Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genitrix.
R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi
Oremus
Deus misericórdiae, Deus pietátis, Deus indulgéntiae, qui misértus es super afflictiónem pópuli tui, et dixísti Angelo percuténti pópulum tuum: Cóntine manum tuam ob amórem illíus Stellae gloriósae, cuius úbera pretiósa contra venénum nostrórum delictórum quam dúlciter suxísti; praesta auxílium grátiae tuae, ut intercedénte Beata Vírgine María Matre tua et Sancto Ráphael tuo Archángelo, ab omni peste et improvísa morte secúre liberémur, et a totíus perditiónis incúrsu misericórditer salvémur. Per Te, Iesu Christe Rex glóriae, qui vivis et regnas in saécula saeculórum. Amen.
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The Nettle Tea Remedy – a possible aid for typhus during the chastisements?
Although this was only reveled to Severino for his own personal illness when suffering with typhus fever, possibly Our Lady may also help us with it during the chastisements as she had revealed other remedies to the approved mystic Marie-Julie Jahenny, such as the hawthorn and ground ivy for the strange 'Burning Plague' that would come. For the chastisements, Our Lady had revealed to Marie-Julie certain prayers had to be said over the herbs, so we should say them here too in this case as we are to 'leaver he do the rest', as she said to Severino.
Unfortunately, we do not know if there were specific directions given by Our Lady n how to make the nettle tea, we can assume we can a basic traditional tea and drink it regularly if suffering this illness. Nettles are well known for their health benefits.
However, please remember this is for CHASTISEMENT TIMES when we will not have doctors and is not intended to replace medical supervision – if you have medical conditions, please seek medical assistance.
The Herbal prayer given to Marie-Julie Jahenny:
“Holy
Queen of Heaven, Health of the sick, prodigy of power, spread your
blessings on this infusion, Mother most powerful, show us that you
are our Mother by relieving our miseries.
O
Immaculate Mary, O Our Mother, O Our Mother look upon us and make
your blessing manifest in this suffering."
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(May 10, 2023)
