Our Lady of Akita: the apparitions of Mary in Japan

The Akita apparitions to Sister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa took place in Japan between 1973 and 1979. Bishop John Shojiro Ito approved them in 1984 as a supernatural phenomenon, and Cardinal Ratzinger, the future Benedict XVI, confirmed their authenticity in 1988. The three messages, transmitted through a wooden statue that wept scientifically verified tears, contain warnings that theologians have compared with those of Fatima.

Our Lady of Akita

JAPAN

The historical context: Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa and the apparitions from 1973 to 1979

The Virgin Mary appeared on the morning of the Friday of the Heart of Jesus, in June 1973, to the former catechist Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa. This devout woman had lost the hearing in one ear and had been forced to leave her work in the parish of the Myookoogawa mission in Japan.

Sasagawa had to retire early and entered the convent of the Handmaids of the Blessed Sacrament of Akita. One night, while she was in prayer, she saw with great emotion the statue of the Mother of God light up and mysteriously come alive.

The visionary immediately made the Sign of the Cross. At that moment she perceived a voice that rose in the air.

First message (July 6, 1973): personal conversion, expiation, and reparation for sin

“My daughter, my novice, you were very consistent in the faith you showed me. The ailing ear is a very painful thing for you, but it will be healed. Be patient. Sacrifice yourself and make expiation for the sins of the world. You are for me an indispensable daughter. Make your resolutions in the Handmaids of the Blessed Sacrament, pray for the Pope, the Bishops, and the Priests.”

The second vision of Our Lady was on August 3, again a Friday of the Heart of Jesus. Once more she heard the following words come from the statue.

Second message (August 3, 1973): prayer, suffering, and Mary’s role in mediation

“My daughter, my novice! You love the Lord and you have sacrificed yourself for Him. But if you truly love me, then listen to what I tell you: there are so many people who offend the Lord, and for this reason I ask for people who may console the heavenly Father in order to lessen His anger. Devote yourself to expiatory exercises on behalf of people who are thus ungrateful. Accept suffering and poverty in expiation for the souls of sinners. My Son also desires this. It is important to make expiation with Him for this as well. I must tell you that God’s wrath against the world is now kindled; He is now preparing a chastisement for humanity. Together with my Son I seek to soften the wrath of the heavenly Father, and for this reason I have made myself seen many times in the world. Living souls must make themselves expiatory souls in order to manifest the sorrowful passion of my Son on the Cross and His holy blood, and thus console the Father. For this reason I come to you. Sacrifice yourselves truly for sinners. Each one with her own strength, in her own place; even though you are sisters of a secular institute, your prayer is very important. Remember that if you pray fervently many souls will gather around you. Do not let yourselves be seduced by outward show. Devote yourselves with devotion to this great function and concern yourselves with the serious and right action of consoling the Lord. Therefore pray!”

On October 13 the Holy Virgin Mary appeared in the great event of Fatima. Again Sister Agnes, as she was called in the convent, in prayer before the statue received the voice of Mary, who said to her.

Third message: the future chastisements, the relationship with Fatima, and the conversion of the Church

“Beloved daughter, listen well to what I tell you and then communicate it to your superior: as I had already told you, the heavenly Father will unleash a punishment if humanity does not convert. A punishment much harsher than the universal flood, a punishment such as has never been seen until today. About this there must be no doubt. Fire will fall from the sky and many men will die, priests and devout people as well. The sufferings of those who remain alive will be so great that they will envy those who are dead. The only means of defense will be to recite the Holy Rosary and the sign of the Cross. Pray for the bishops and for the good priests. Above all that peace and harmony may reign among them. For as long as the men of the Church, cardinals, bishops, and priests, are in conflict among themselves within the Body of Christ, the devil will have a strong negative influence on the development of the interior Church. Even the priests who have always glorified me will turn away from this devotion and will dishonor the altar and the Church. Through compromises a reconciliation will be reached, but afterward many priests and ecclesiastics will lose their vocation precisely within this compromise. The devil will turn above all against those who are persevering in devotion to the heavenly Father. My suffering is intense when I think of the many souls who will be lost. There will be no changes, there will no longer be any possibility of remission of sins.”

Between January 4, 1975, and September 12, 1981, Sister Agnes witnessed a total of 101 supernatural phenomena of lacrimation, also of blood, from the statue of Our Lady. Moreover, she was the ambassador of three messages from the miraculous image. More than 500 people were witnesses of this mystical episode, among them, on four occasions, the local bishop, Shojiro Ito of Niigata. He himself tasted the tears and noted their saline taste. He had the lacrimal fluid and the drops of blood analyzed at the Faculty of Medicine of Akita and declared their human nature. The blood gave off its pleasant odor.

The ecclesiastical approval: Bishop Ito (1984) and the confirmation of Cardinal Ratzinger (1988)

At first, despite the results, the bishop did not sign an official decree recognizing the apparitions. Only in 1984 did he send a written statement to the faithful of the diocese and set down a favorable testimony about the supernatural character of these events. He became definitively convinced of the authenticity of the phenomena when Sister Agnes called him and spoke with him. She had in fact been healed of her ear during prayer and could hear everything. On March 25 and on May 1, 1982, an Angel had announced to her that her hearing would return to normal.

From the Bishop we find these words.

“Now the time has come when I must do my duty; as Bishop of the diocese of Niigata I assume the responsibility of establishing what follows:

1. The manifestations concerning the statue of the Mother of God in Akita have shown every sign, through the repeated mystical demonstrations, of having an authentic supernatural character. Nothing can demonstrate that these had a natural origin at odds with the Christian virtues or that they are in contrast with the Christian faith.

2. Awaiting the final decision of the Holy See, the faithful are permitted to venerate the Mother of God in Akita

in the diocese of Niigata as a miraculous statue.”

The shedding of blood from the image of Our Lady of Akita was recognized on April 22, 1984, not without difficulty, thanks to the perseverance and spiritual conviction of the Bishop.

He goes twice to Rome, where reticence prevails, and he finally obtains from Cardinal Ratzinger the authorization to proclaim the authenticity of the fact before resigning for having reached the age limit for retirement. In April 1984 he concludes: “These facts, established after eleven years of study, are indisputable […]. Therefore, I authorize the veneration of Our Lady of Akita”. The formula that he had admitted in Rome was not entirely consistent with what he believed. In June 1988, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger declared these events worthy of belief by the faithful.

The apparitions of Our Lady of Akita and their message of conversion and penance belong to the tradition of Marian revelations studied in the light of the encyclical Redemptoris Mater of John Paul II, which presents Mary as mother and guide of humanity toward Christ.

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