Lipa ‘apparitions’: Why new inquiry is needed

Many of us look at history through the prism of our prejudices. We choose to highlight those aspects of the past that agree with our presumptions, and disregard those that do not.

This leads us to commit the fallacy of “presentism”— the demolition of the past using present-day ammunition or explosives. People who are afflicted with presentism cannot depict the past in its objective historical context because they have already prejudged it.

As a Catholic laywoman, a Thomasian lawyer, and a faithful devotee of Mary Mediatrix of All Grace, I have devoted much study to this particular Marian devotion to save it from irrelevance after officials of the Catholic church separated it from the phenomenon that gave birth to it — the Marian apparition in Lipa in 1948.

Through the centuries, Catholics in many parts of the world have venerated the Blessed Virgin Mary as Mediatrix of All Graces (note the plural form). While many popes, saints, and theologians have promoted the devotion and wrote extensively about it, the title has elicited disdain from Protestants and born-again Christians who said it has put Mary on equal footing with Jesus in the work of redemption.

In 1948, Carmelite Sister Teresita “Teresing” Castillo claimed that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to her and introduced herself thus: “I am Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace.”

Commenting on the shift from the plural “graces” to “grace,” Fr. Gerard Timoner, OP, a Filipino Dominican who is currently the Master of the Dominican Order and formerly a member of the International Theological Commission, wrote:

“The title ‘Mediatrix of All Grace’ that the Blessed Virgin Mary (had) announced to Sr. Teresing, seems unprecedented and invites a closer theological scrutiny (because) if the message truly came from the Blessed Mother and Sr. Teresing heard her accurately, then it appears that the Blessed Mother was correcting, if not refining the title Mediatrix of All Graces which was previously accorded to her.”

The primary criterion established by the Church to determine if an apparition is authentic is the nature of the message received: It must be theologically and morally true and free of error. This was clearly the case in the message received by Castillo from the Blessed Virgin Mary. She herself understood the words “All Grace” as referring to Jesus Himself. Shifting to “Grace” removes any hint of Mary as competing with Jesus, or usurping His exclusive power as Mediator. Rather, it declares that Mary’s mediatory role is subordinate to, and grounded on, her more important role as the Mother of Jesus.

The second major criterion is that the apparition must produce sound devotion and lasting spiritual fruits among the faithful. In the more than 70 years since (1948-2022), there has been an outpouring of testimonies of healings, conversions, and favors received. Despite the absence of official Vatican approval, the devotion to Mary Mediatrix of All Grace has miraculously persisted to the present, and no instance of fanaticism, false devotion, or exploitation of the event for business purposes has occurred.

Another major criterion is the character of the person who claims to have seen the apparition, which includes mental equilibrium, honesty, moral attitude, sincerity, obedience to ecclesiastical authority, and ability to perform the normal practices of the faith.

It is unfortunate that in 1951, Church authorities gave the apparition a negative judgment said to have been approved by Pope Pius XII. But up to now, the document showing the approval has not been made public, notwithstanding repeated requests from devotees, and despite Pope Francis, on March 2, 2020, allowing public access to Church documents covering the period 1938-1958.

Was the alleged papal approval of the negative judgment destined to become “one of the best kept secrets of the Church”?

I deem it providential that handwritten and typewritten commentaries on the apparition by Fr. Angel de Blas, OP, were discovered in 2016 at the Archives of the Dominican Order in its Convent of Santa Sabina in Rome.

Aside from being an excellent theologian and philosopher, Father De Blas, a former rector of the University of Santo Tomas, was an expert in psychology. Church authorities handpicked him to interview Castillo and others involved in the apparition. It seems odd that the Church’s decision on the apparition did not mention Father De Blas at all.

In his report to Egidio Vagnozzi, the first Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Father De Blas wrote: “As regards Sr. Teresita Castillo, I think she is absolutely incapable of lying, inventing, or bending (reality) to create fiction of whatever nature.”

De Blas cited the conversions wrought by the incident—“the many souls, who, through the many marvels said about Lipa, have come by themselves to visit the monastery to see the image of the Blessed Virgin, and have come back to the faith or have reformed their lives and continue up to now to give testimony on (their) true conversion to a deep Christian life.” The Dominican scholar and scientist ruled out diabolical intervention, arguing that the devil would not devise a scheme that would counter its own goals.

In his conclusion, Father De Blas states categorically: “If we were to take the events as a whole, it is evident that Teresita must be classified under the group called visionaries or seers. I truly believe that Teresita has received supernatural favors from heaven.”

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Harriet Demetriou is former chair of the Commission on Elections and a retired justice of the Sandiganbayan.