By Tim Binnall
A priest in Nigeria claims that the Virgin Mary recently appeared at his church and over 100 parishioners were on hand to witness the miraculous event. The peculiar incident reportedly occurred at the St Charles Lwanga Catholic Church in the city of Calabar last month and was revealed to the world shorty thereafter by Fr. Evaristus Bassey, who heads the parish, on his Twitter account. In detailing the wondrous event, he asserted that more than 100 people witnessed the visitation, including "a Protestant pastor who came to visit his cousin, the assistant priest." After first appearing at the church, Bassey recalled, "she moved up to the Shrine dedicated to her and then was taken up. It was amazing."
Along with his recounting of the visitation, the priest also including several photos (which can be seen in the video above) of what he contends to be the Virgin Mary, though conceded that "the rays around her were too bright for a clear picture." According to Bassey, there was no message imparted during the visit, which led him to theorize that "she came to assure" the congregation "of God's presence with us." A few days after sharing the amazing account, the priest provided an update to the story by way of insights from interviews that he conducted with some of the witnesses to the event, including the first individual who allegedly saw the Virgin Mary appear in the sky that day.
Saviour Asuquo told Bassey that his attention was initially drawn to a rainbow on the horizon that was so vivid that it "made him wonder what was up." Before he had much time to ponder that question, he noticed "a beam of light that came from the sky" and fell onto a spot in the church parking lot. When Asuquo looked back at where the rainbow had been, he saw "the figure of the Blessed Virgin Mary emerging" from that area and coming closer towards him. According to Bassey, "he saw very clearly a woman wearing a blinking crown and a rosary with lights blinking as well, and that all around her was light."
Looking over at a statue of the Virgin Mary, Asuquo marveled that "it did not in any way match the beauty of the woman," who proceeded to smile at him. The apparition then merged with the beam of light on the ground and illuminated the entire area, which led to the entire congregation coming out of the church to see what had caused the curious event. Another witness that Bassey spoke to was a young woman who insisted that "I saw the apparition very clearly" and, despite being doubted by her friends and family, was adamant that "I know what I saw." This was echoed by yet another observer, who told the priest "this wasn't a matter of seeing only the brightness of the sun, I saw her very clearly with my own eyes."
Alas, despite there being so many witnesses to the event, the handful of pictures from the visitation only show a glowing anomaly in the sky that seems to be in the shape of a figure. Responding to those who wondered why there were no videos from the incident, Bassey amusingly argued that "maybe they think it is like the visit of a celebrity, where you have time to take all the selfies you want." On the contrary, he said, "a supernatural event such as this fills you with a certain awe that you don't even think about reaching to your phone." He concluded the account by noting that some parishioners hope that the Virgin Mary will return with a message, but the priest mused that he is content with "the fact that she came with a smile," which he believes "is a positive indication."