Maria Mariano

The countries with Asia's largest Catholic population has taken a step closer to a possible outbreak approved the first historic Church of the Virgin Mary.

The first possible appearance approved by Marian Church in the Philippines refers to the alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary at a Carmelite postulant, Teresita Castillo, way back in 1948 in the park Carmelite Convent of Lipa, Batangas, Philippines. Thousands of rose petals miraculous would materialize from nothing in the monastery grounds at the time of the apparitions reported. Many healings have been reported and attributed to the petals. The Virgin Mary herself referred to as the Mediatrix "of all grace" apparitions.

The title of "Mediatrix of all graces" means the recognized role of the Virgin Mary as a distributor of the graces of God to human beings. Currently, there is a significant movement led by bishops, cardinals, priests, and millions of faithful to petition the pope to declare the fifth Marian Dogma, that of Mary as co-redeemer, Mediator and Advocate. If found, the fifth dogma will be among the articles of the Catholic faith that all Catholics are obliged to believe in. The current Marian dogmas include: Mary as Mother of God, the corporal Assumption of Mary into heaven, perpetual virginity of Mary and the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

The Lipa apparitions became the center of national attention in the Philippines. A crowd of Filipinos visited Lipa in the hope of catching a glimpse of the apparition, and praying to have the chance to receive a petal miraculous. The euphoria did not last long. Three years after the reported apparitions, the Church issued an official verdict: the apparitions are "not supernatural in nature" - in essence, a rejection of the apparitions. The statue of Mary Mediatrix of all graces in the place of occurrence was ordered hidden public veneration of the image has been banned. Devotion to Mary Mediatrix, however, did not melt over the years. In 1991, 40 years after the initial negative decision on appearances, then Archbishop of Lipa Mariano Gaviola issued a decree, finally allowing the image to be captured and displayed to the public in the chapel of the Carmelites of Lipa. Since then, thousands of pilgrims have visited the statue permanently.

On November 12, 2009, Archbishop Arguelles, DD, Bishop of Lipa, issued a decree related to major appearances. In this decree on the Lipa apparitions of the Virgin Mary , Archbishop strengthened the former Archbishop of Lipa Mariano Gaviola 1991 ruling that lifted a ban on public veneration of the image in Lipa Carmelite chapel. In the decree, the archbishop ordered that "all written or unwritten prohibitions curtain or decrease the devotion to Mary Mediatrix of all graces be lifted."

Similarly, the Archbishop ordered the formation of a theological commission to conduct a thorough study and investigation of all documents and evidence relating to apparitions. In an interview that appeared in Totus Tuus, Maria, a Web site about the Virgin Mary , the Archbishop said: "I think the phenomenon of Mediatrix is the best thing that ever happened to the church Lipa during the last hundred years and even since time immemorial. Lifting the ban is intended to dispel any doubts that the Archbishop Mariano Gaviola in 1991 already.