“Mary has been made Queen of heaven and earth by God, exalted above all the choirs of angels and all the saints. She is to be called Queen not only because of her divine motherhood, but also because she, by the will of God, had an outstanding part in the work of our eternal salvation” (Pope Pius XII, Encyclical Letter, To the Queen of Heaven). She was given the power by her Son “of bestowing upon us the fruits of the redemption.” As the Second Vatican Council tells us, “Taken up to heaven Our Lady did not lay aside her saving role, but by her manifold acts of intercession continues to win for us gifts of eternal salvation” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church 62). So Our Lady is busy working for us as the Mediatrix of All Graces, bestowing upon us the fruits of the redemption and winning for us gifts of eternal salvation. As our Queen and Mother, she helps to convert us, guide us, heal us, protect us and save us.
Pope John Paul II said, “Christians look with trust to Mary Queen and this exalts their filial abandonment to her, who is Mother in the order of grace. Mary’s glorious state brings about a continuous and caring closeness. She is a queen who gives all that she possesses, participating above all in the life and love of Christ.”
Our Lady of America is Our Queen
The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in the United States and revealed her title as “Our Lady of America, the Immaculate Virgin.” She appeared to a nun in the United States in several apparitions during the latter half of the 20th century. The nun’s name was Sister Mary Ephrem (later Mildred Neuzil). On September 26, 1956, Our Lady said, “I am Our Lady of America. I desire that my children honor me, especially by the purity of their lives.” She promised that greater miracles than those granted at Lourdes and Fatima would be granted in the United States, if the people responded to her requests.
Later that day, Our Lady appeared again to Sister and repeated the call to her children in America to dedicate their lives to her purity. She said that the role of the United States is to lead the world to purity. For the complete story on Our Lady of America, her requests and promises, read the book, Our Lady of America, Our Hope for the States and visit http://www.jkmi.com.
Our Lady appeared as our Queen wearing her crown, manifesting her Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart and holding out to us the lily of purity.
Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, formerly of Saint Louis, a world renowned canon lawyer, stated that the devotion to Our Lady of America was canonically approved. In a letter dated May 31, 2007, he reviewed the prior history and then-state of the devotion, as well as the earlier actions of Archbishop Leibold approving the devotion. Archbishop Burke wrote, “What can be concluded canonically is that the devotion was both approved by Archbishop Leibold and, what is more, was actively promoted by him. In addition, over the years, other Bishops have approved the devotion and have participated in public devotion to the Mother of God, under the title of Our Lady of America.”
Patroness of Our Land
The Most Reverend John Carroll of Baltimore, America’s first Roman Catholic Bishop, consecrated the newly-created nation under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the title of the Immaculate Conception in 1792. On May 13, 1846, the Bishops of the United States unanimously chose Mary, under the title of Immaculate Conception, as the Patroness of our land. In 1847, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the Immaculate Conception as the patroness of the United States.
Our Lady of America identified herself to Sister Mildred and said, “I am the Immaculate One, Patroness of your land.” Our Lady of America appeared as our Patroness, the Immaculate Conception.
In 1959 the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was dedicated in Washington D.C. and the Bishops of the United States consecrated the country to the Immaculate Conception. On November 11, 2006, the United States Bishops reconsecrated the country to her at the Basilica of the National Shrine.
The Statue and Our Lady’s Desire for the National Shrine
On November 15, 1956, Our Lady of America requested that a statue be made according to her likeness and that it be solemnly carried in procession and placed in the Basilica of the National Shrine. She wishes to be honored there in a special way as “Our Lady of America, the Immaculate Virgin.” Our Lady promised that the placement of her statue in the National Shrine would be a safeguard for our country and the placement of her image or statue in the home would be a safeguard for the family
On November 13, 2006, a new statue of Our Lady of America was publicly displayed for the first time at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in their Concelebrated Mass Room in Baltimore, Maryland. Former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond L. Burke requested the display of this statue at this conference for the benefit of all of the Bishops. On November 15th, 2006, Archbishop Burke blessed this new statue. This blessing occurred precisely on the 50th Anniversary of the request that Our Lady of America made on November 15, 1956, to be placed and honored in the Basilica of the National Shrine.
This statue is now located across the street from the Basilica at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center. Please visit http://www.jkmi.com to sign the Petition for the Solemn Procession and Placement of the Statue of Our Lady of America in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Let us pray that Our Lady of America’s request is honored soon and that her statue is placed in the National Shrine as a safeguard for our country, because she gave a grave warning for us if we don’t heed her requests.
Warning and Grace for the United States
In April of 1957, Our Lady said, “Unless my children reform their lives, they will suffer great persecution. If man himself will not take upon himself the penance necessary to atone for his sins and those of others, God in His justice will have to send upon him the punishment necessary to atone for his transgressions.”
In addition to leading the world to purity, the United States is called to lead it to peace. On November 22, 1980, Our Lady told Sister Mildred:
Beloved daughter, the United States is a small one among nations, yet has it not been said that ‘a little child shall lead them’? It is the United States that is to lead the world to peace, the peace of Christ, the peace that He brought with Him from heaven in His birth as man in the little town of Bethlehem. Dear child, unless the United States accepts and carries out faithfully the mandate given to it by heaven to lead the world to peace, there will come upon it and all nations a great havoc of war and incredible suffering. If, however, the United States is faithful to this mandate from heaven and yet fails in the pursuit of peace because the rest of the world will not accept or co-operate, then the United States will not be burdened with the punishment about to fall.
Today, with wars, international terrorism, nuclear threats and natural disasters, Our Lady of America’s messages for reformation, purity, peace and prayer are more urgent than ever and we are in great need of her protection. The time is short to pray and sacrifice for world peace. It is evident that the forces of evil are enveloping the world. Their hatred, however, is now particularly focused on the United States because of the Divine Mandate given to it to lead the world to purity and peace.
What You Can Do
1. You can lead a life of purity and peace and pray and sacrifice for the display and veneration of the statue of Our Lady of America in the National Shrine.
2. You can combat the moral evils of our culture and become a missionary to the culture by educating and forming your conscience according to the moral truths taught by the Church. Then you can express these truths in conversations with your family, friends and co-workers in your daily life. You can write letters to the editors of newspapers and to those in government expressing these moral truths.
3. You can and should vote for persons who support the moral teachings of the Church and against those who oppose them. Catholics have a moral obligation to promote the common good through the exercise of their vote. (See CCC 2240).
4. You can visit http://www.jkmi.com/ to:
– host a Visitation of the Image of Our Lady of America
– pray the Presidential Novena to her and the other prayers that she requested
– order bulk quantities of a bumper sticker for Our Lady of America to pray for our country
– sign the Petition for the Solemn Procession and Placement of the Statue of Our Lady of America in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
