Though not St. Joseph related, I am posting this little known apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from 1917, because I feel the simplicity of this apparition is important for us to reflect on in these complicated times we find ourselves.
WHAT HAPPENED IN BARRAL, PORTUGAL ON THE 10TH & 11TH OF MAY, 1917
This case involved a poor little shepherd named Severino Alves, ten
years old, the son of a poor and virtuous widow, and brother of six
others, all of them very God-fearing.
On May 10, 1917, at eight
o'clock in the morning, this boy was on his way to the mountain, praying
the rosary, as he usually did while making his way, he saw a flash of
lightning that surprised him as it was a clear day, stopping him in his
tracks.
He then took a few more steps and suddenly beheld a Lady,
seated, with her hands clasped. Her face was beautiful like no other,
and she radiated light, covering her head with a blue mantle and the
rest of her body in a white dress.
As soon as the little seer
saw her, he fell to the ground startled by what he saw. Bringing himself
back up he exclaimed in awe, "Lord Jesus Christ!" At that moment the
vision disappeared.
The boy later went to the parish priest to
tell him what he had seen. The priest listened carefully to the young
man. Severino, who had a good reputation in the town, being well behaved
and loved by the locals, was not at first believed by the priest.
However, given the sincerity and precision with which he reported
everything he saw, the parish priest finally advised him to return to
the place of the apparition and ask this vision to inform him who she
was.
The next day, May 11, 1917, on a Friday, it was again eight
o'clock in the morning when Severino was walking with his sheep to take
them to the mountain. It was a clear day, just as it had been the day
before. As he walked he encountered the same Lady, who was sitting in
the same place as the previous day.
On that day, May 11, 1917,
the face of the apparition was smiling radiantly. When he saw her, the
little boy fell to his knees and, being brave, asked what the parish
priest had advised him: "She who did not speak yesterday, let her speak
today."
Then the apparition with a voice that was a mixture of
laughter and singing, a voice unlike anything he had ever heard,
reassured him, saying: "Do not be afraid, boy, it is I." And she added:
"Tell the shepherds of the mountain to always pray the rosary, let the
men and women once again sing the “Star of Heaven” hymn, which has been
long forgotten, and to approach me in prayer, that I shall come to the
world and placate the war."
After saying this, without the child
having more time to answer anything but: "Yes, Lady", the vision,
looking to the side, commented: "What beautiful buds.”
As soon
as the little boy had looked in the same direction, turning his head,
the vision was gone. The privileged seer went and immediately told the
mothers who had sons in the army what the beautiful Lady had said, that
she would end the war if people prayed the Rosary and once again sang
the “Star of Heaven”.
To the questions asked, the little boy
always answered in the same way: "If you want to believe, then believe.
If you do not want to believe, then don’t," he added: "I did my duty,
telling you what the Lady told me."
A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF SEVERINO ALVES
Severino Alves was born in Barral, Parish of Vila Chã S. João, Ponte da
Barca on June 21, 1906. He was the son of António Alves and Cecília
Francisca Valente.
When the apparition of Our Lady occurred,
Severino was 10 years old. On the day of the first appearance, he spoke
with the parish priest. The next day, May 11, he announced what the
Vision told him to say.
In the same year of 1917, Severino Alves
was interrogated by various priests of the Archdiocese of Braga, in the
Chapel of Our Lady of Amparo, about the apparitions of Our Lady of
Peace. "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 is said. And what was told to me by the Lady is what I
said. Now go ahead and do as you please." (Severino Alves, 1917).
Later that year, Severino was advised to deny everything he had seen,
otherwise he would be arrested. "Oh! Never! Our Lady told me to tell
everyone to pray the Rosary and to sing the “Star of Heaven” to bring an
end to the war, and I will now say I did not see anything?! Never will I
deny these words she spoke to me! Never! If you want to arrest me, go
ahead and arrest me. If they want to kill me, let them kill me!"
(Severino Alves, 1917).
Severino Alves was collected by the
Archdiocese of Braga, in the Major Seminary of Braga, not to study, but
simply to be there. He was regularly subjected to interrogations about
what he had seen and told about the apparitions of Our Lady of Peace. He
was then sent to the Jesuit Fathers' College in La Guardia, Galicia. He
was there for two years against his will. They wanted to force him to
become a Brother in the Society of Jesus. Since he did not feel a
vocation, Severino begged a friend to help him escape and returned to
Barral.
Then, like most of Barral's youth, Severino went to
Lisbon looking for a job. He got a job at a drug store. Then came the
time to fulfill the Military Service. His mother accompanied him to
Ponte da Barca. He had the typhus. The doctor said to the mother that
the boy would die soon. His daughter says that "He prayed to Our Lady
and she appeared to him and said 'Drink a tea of nettles and I will
do the rest!' He drank this tea and the next day he recovered."
He married Delfina Alves, who was a native of the Parish of Sampriz,
Ponte da Barca. Six months after the birth of their first daughter, they
left the city of Lisbon and returned to Barral, where they lived for
ten years.
Around the 1950’s he was again questioned 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 now, because it was all true"
(Severino Alves, 1954).
He returned to Lisbon, going to work for
the same employer who despite having enough employees, accepted again
Severino Alves. Severino and his wife had a small vegetable garden. It
was tended by Severino. The vegetables were to make some little income,
and the profit was added to offer to Our Lady of Peace. It was
Severino's custom, before going to work to participate and to commune in
the Church of S. Domingos, in Lisbon. They left Lisbon at the time of
the Reformation.
He was interrogated one last time on January 3,
1985, Severino being already very weak and bedridden. He died ten days
later, on January 13, 1985 at the age of 78. His remains are buried in
the Parish Cemetery in Lugar do Barral.
