The Cosmic Mystery of Mary and the Action of the Holy Spirit: A Study of Marian Apparitions and Manifestations and Their Significance for the Pilgrim People of God Author: Flynn M. Fernandes Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:108625 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Boston College Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, 2019 Copyright is held by the author. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). The Cosmic Mystery of Mary and the Action of the Holy Spirit: A Study of Marian Apparitions and Manifestations and Their Significance for the Pilgrim People of God A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Ecclesiastical Faculty of the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirments for the Degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology By Flynn M. Fernandes Dissertation Committee Margaret E. Guider, O.S.F., director André Brouillette, S.J., reader O. Ernesto Valiente, Ph.D., reader Mary E. Hines, Ph.D., external reader Brighton, Massachusetts August 29, 2019 Copyright © 2019 by Flynn M. Fernandes. All rights reserved. The Cosmic Mystery of Mary and the Action of the Holy Spirit: A Study of Marian Apparitions and Manifestations and Their Significance for the Pilgrim People of God Flynn M. Fernandes ABSTRACT The cosmic mystery of Mary draws attention to what the Roman Catholic Church celebrates as her heavenly reign, an aspect of which is the proliferation of Marian apparitions and manifestations around the world particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries. This dissertation underscores that these historical interventions are manifestations of the action of the Holy Spirit in the particular figure of Mary and is attentive to the different ways God’s graces flow to the whole people of God without conflating the person of Mary with the Person of the Spirit. The instrumental nature of Mary’s relation to the Spirit in carrying out Christ’s salvific work is the centerpiece of this study. A key aspect of this work is the mutual recognition of non-Christians in that Mary’s appearances to a number of seers is not contingent on their being or becoming Christian. A number of modern apparitions have assumed political significance because of the social turmoil of the periods when they occurred. Of interest here, is an understanding of the Spirit’s implementation in Mary’s intellect and will, and the reception of her apparition messages in ways that are transformative for ecclesial life and all God’s people. This work includes an exposition of some of the scriptural, ecumenical, interreligious, and ecclesiastical foundations for understanding the Spirit’s action in Mary, and their influence on contemporary mariological discourse since the Second Vatican Council. It reviews some of the key insights from the two-thousand year history of Marian apparitions, the complexity of the phenomenon, and the trends observed during the modern period. Vailankanni (India), Zeitoun (Egypt), and Kibeho (Rwanda) are three case studies included based on the persistence of a Marian cult, pilgrim growth, and contemporary sociopolitical and religious concerns. The rise in Hindu nationalism in India, political tensions and growth of pan-Islamism in North Africa and the Middle East, and the 1994 genocide in Rwanda are studied using the historical- critical method and comparative studies of religion within the scope of apparitions, drawing attention to the marginalization of particular demographics based on religious or ethnic origin. Understanding the Spirit’s implementation in Mary enhances the analysis of the implications of these phenomena. The Spirit’s work through Mary’s cosmic mystery has profound, far-reaching significance for the world church and all God’s people. The three cases reveal how Marian apparitions evolve from obscure events in insignificant places to global centers of Christian spirituality. They make known the hidden potential of the gospel to apply Christian revelation to localized, particular challenges in new situations with permanent, prophetic, and eschatological implications. The permanent examines how the repetitive or apocalyptic nature of Mary’s appeals mobilizes the sensus fidelium through the transforming power of pilgrimage, its impact on Marian devotion, and the emergence of new ecclesial movements. The prophetic addresses Christian and interreligious unity through dialogical encounter, equality for all, God’s justice, and the preferential option for the poor. The global reach of Marian apparitions expresses the oneness of Mary operating under the power of the Spirit, accompanying a global humanity-in-pilgrimage towards the eschatological reign of God. i DEDICATION In loving memory of Donaclara Fernandes (1941 – 2017) My mother and first teacher of the Catholic faith, who made Jesus Christ known to all she encountered through her love of the Holy Eucharist and her devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A dissertation is the culmination of the insights, feedback, and tangible as well as intangible support of many individuals over the years to whom I owe much gratitude. I am indebted to my dissertation committee at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry headed by Margaret E. Guider, O.S.F. Sister Guider has been my mentor, guide, and constant source of support. Her expertise and counsel proved invaluable to my work, keeping me focused and on track. I am grateful to my readers, André Brouillette, S.J., and O. Ernesto Valiente, Ph.D., whose critical feedback transformed each draft into a better revision than the one before. I appreciate and thank Professor Mary E. Hines of Emmanuel College for her time fulfilling the roles of external reader and examiner. In addition, I am grateful to my colleagues, Anil Dalmeida, S.J., for reviewing and providing feedback on Chapter 3 (Vailankanni), and Marcel Uwineza, S.J., for reading and commenting on Chapter 5 (Kibeho), despite their busy schedules. My gratitude extends to all the professors at the School of Theology and Ministry with whom I have taken a course. I thank the staff of all the libraries at Boston College, especially the Theology and Ministry Library, and Interlibrary Loan that procured a number of resources from across the United States, and as far as Ireland and India. I also acknowledge the support of the staff at the libraries of Harvard Divinity School and Boston University School of Theology. Closer home, there are no words to express my gratitude to my parents, Sebastian and Donaclara, my first teachers of the Catholic faith who instilled in me Christian values and ethics. At the start of this dissertation journey, I experienced the heartbreak of losing my mother. Her abiding love of Christ and her devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary have inspired me to dedicate this work to her loving memory. Lastly, I can never repay two remarkable people in my life—my wife Gladys and my son Aaron—for their love, tireless patience, and enduring support without which this work might have remained unfinished. iii PREFACE This study draws attention to what is transpiring at the sites of the Virgin Mary’s apparitions and manifestations particularly those in modern and postmodern times. Previously, these phenomena were thought to be the sole jurisdiction of the Catholic Church and that Mary appeared only in Catholic contexts, but as Frank Jacobs comments on a 2015 article of the National Geographic,1 “she met mere mortals with and without the Vatican’s approval.”2 As an Indian Catholic, I think of the example of Vailankanni where centuries ago, Mary allegedly appeared in a non-Christian context to two Hindu boys on separate occasions; a Catholic dimension was later added with a third manifestation, this time to Portuguese sailors. Since these events in the 16th and 17th centuries, Vailankanni has transcended religious boundaries drawing more Hindus than Christians in pilgrimage to visit the Mother of Health. Making the case that Marian apparitions are manifestations of the action of the Holy Spirit, this work takes on vital contemporary significance because of the persecution of Christians in many parts of the world owing to their religious identity, a visible aspect of which is their devotion to Mary. The growth of Christianity in the Global South has simultaneously increased the encounter of Christians with followers of other religions as well as led to situations in which their lives and property are threatened. I find alarming that in India some political parties elected to safeguard the fundamental rights of all Indian citizens propagate a nationalist brand of Hinduism that is alien to the common Hindu, and marginalizes Christians and Muslims because of the foreign origins of their faith. Increasing reports of killings of these minorities, desecration of churches and mosques, and new restrictions on the public profession 1 National Geographic, “500 Years of Virgin Mary Sightings on One Map,” November 13, 2015, https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/151113-virgin-mary-sightings-map/ (accessed July 10, 2019). 2 Frank Jacobs, “A world map of Virgin Mary apparitions,” January 10, 2019, https://bigthink.com/strange- maps/world-map-marian-apparitions (accessed July 10, 2019). iv of these faiths has replaced the interreligious tolerance and communal ethos that once characterized Indian society, as well as violates one of the country’s constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. Despite these threats, the devout continue to risk their lives. My concern, however, is not limited to the Indian Catholic context. I write for the world church and the pilgrim people of God that includes adherents of all religions. Another case I include draws attention to the interreligious witness in the reported manifestations of Mary at Zeitoun in Egypt where Copts live in fear of persecution by Islamic fundamentalists. In a third example that follows the pattern of typical seers, some of the visionaries of the Kibeho apparitions experienced physical and emotional abuse at the hands of their dissenters, as well as became victims of genocide because of their ethnic identity.