By EMMALEE ITALIA
Contributing Editor
The apparitions of the Blessed Mother throughout the world have touched many people — most recently those who viewed an exhibit designed by Blessed Carlo Acutis, displayed at St. Mary Parish, Barnegat.
In its first appearance in the United States, “The Appeals of Our Lady: Apparitions and Marian Shrines in the World” exhibit Sept. 9-10 in the shore parish drew more than 400 viewers, “well beyond anything we could have imagined,” said organizer Michelle Bockin, “and their ages ranged from little ones in strollers to those in their upper 90s … from our parish, surrounding areas, other states and other countries.”
Blessed Carlo’s Marian exhibit, begun by the 15-year-old before he died of leukemia in 2006, was finished in 2014 by his supporters; he was beatified by Pope Francis in 2020.
Working with the parish evangelization committee and Msgr. Kenard Tuzeneu, pastor, Bockin requested the exhibit artwork — in the custody of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, La Crosse, Wisconsin — to be printed on panels for St. Mary Parish via a generous parishioner’s donation. The display coincided with the weekend of the parish picnic.
Courtesy photo
“The entire event was exceptionally powerful, by the grace of God,” Bockin said. “The people could not stop commenting on the beauty of everything before them and how much information there was. … It was impossible for them to read everything in the display in its entirety.”
The atmosphere in the exhibit room was one of quite peace, she said, with comments rising here and there, such as “I did not know she appeared this many times and in so many places,” and “She has been speaking to us for so long … the children need to see this … it explains so much.”
“One of my favorite reactions of the weekend came from a priest visiting from Nigeria,” Bockin recalled. “He slowly moved a little closer to one of the displays … and exclaimed: ‘This is Nigeria!’
“He was touched very deeply and personally. Prior to leaving, he motioned to everything contained within the Apparition boards and said, ‘Everyone needs to see this. This is for the entire world. It must be known.’”
Many visitors asked Bockin and other St. Mary parishioners how the display came to their parish and how their parish could acquire it.
“We do plan to show the display again in our parish,” she explained. “Many of our parishioners were disappointed when they realized that the time of its initial ‘unveiling’ was coming to a close; they wanted it to remain a permanent display. We do hope to be able to send it out to interested parishes,” and St. Mary personnel are working on a means of transportation.
Bockin observed that the abundance of information on Mary’s appearances and shrines reminded her of Jesus’ multiplying of the loaves and fish, “the abundance of grace He (Our Lord) provides in each of the Sacraments, His Body and Blood in the Eucharist, and how God’s gifts continually multiply well beyond anything we can imagine.”
Parishes interested in hosting the exhibit can call St. Mary Parish, 609-698-5531 for more information.