Image of Our Lady of America on display in St. Louis basilica [Catholic Caucus]

The official statue of Our Lady of America stands in the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France (Old Cathedral)

ST. LOUIS (CNS)

A new official image of Our Lady of America, which stems from apparitions of Mary received by an Ohio woman religious, will be on display at the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France (Old Cathedral) through Sept. 8. The 9-foot statue of Our Lady of America, which includes its base, was first publicly displayed last November at the U.S. bishops' meeting in Baltimore, where St. Louis Archbishop Raymond L. Burke blessed it. The statue was expected to be taken to other U.S. cities throughout the rest of the year. Born in 1916, Sister Mary Ephrem (Mildred) Neuzil, a Sister of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus of Dayton, Ohio, began receiving private revelations from Mary as Our Lady of America Sept. 26, 1956, when she was stationed at the sisters' convent in Rome City, Ind.

Mary indicated to Sister Mary Ephrem that she had come in response to the United States' recognition of her Immaculate Conception, namely through the establishment of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. The shrine was designated a basilica in 1990. Mary also told Sister Mary Ephrem that the people of the United States should focus on a message of purity. Her first words to the woman religious were: "I am Our Lady of America. I desire that my children honor me, especially by the purity of their lives." The revelations continued through the end of the 1950s and also included messages from Christ, St. Joseph, St. Gabriel and St. Michael. Sister Mary Ephrem later became part of the sisters' contemplative branch in New Riegel, Ohio. When the order was suppressed in 1979, she became a member of the Contemplative Sisters of the Indwelling Trinity. She died Jan. 10, 2000, at the age of 83. During the time that she received the Marian apparitions, Sister Mary Ephrem also began meeting with Msgr. Paul F. Leibold, vicar general to then-Cincinnati Archbishop Karl Alter. The priest, who later became the archbishop of Cincinnati, asked Sister Mary Ephrem to record the messages, which were later approved by him and published in 1960, 1971 and 1989.

Archbishop Leibold also carried out the first of Our Lady's requests, which was to create a religious medal with the image of Our Lady of America and the coat of arms of the Christian family. Mary also inspired Sister Mary Ephrem to write a prayer in her honor, which received an imprimatur, which means "let it be printed," from Archbishop Leibold in 1963. The prayer also received the "nihil obstat," which means "nothing stands in the way," from then-Father Daniel E. Pilarczyk, who is now the archbishop of Cincinnati. Our Lady of America's ultimate request, however, was to have a statue in her name to be enshrined in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. She indicated that the proposed site within the shrine was to be a place for pilgrims and a special safeguard for the country.

Al Langsenkamp, an Indianapolis-based volunteer with the Our Lady of America Center in Fostoria, Ohio, said that request has not yet been fulfilled, partly because of the death of Archbishop Leibold in 1972 and a general unawareness today of the devotion. "I think in his passing the devotion remained with a relatively small group of the faithful," Langsenkamp told the St. Louis Review, archdiocesan newspaper. "The bishops for the most part have not fulfilled the request, because it was not widely known to them. In (Our Lady's) messages, she asks that the bishops do this." "The devotion has received a very warm welcome from the bishops as they become aware of it," he continued. One of those prelates is Archbishop Burke, who wrote a letter to his fellow bishops last May on the status of Our Lady of America.

Archbishop Burke wrote that he was able to confirm that the devotion had been approved by Archbishop Leibold and actively promoted by him. Over the years, other bishops have approved the devotion, according to Archbishop Burke, and have publicly participated in the devotion to Our Lady of America. "Although the devotion to Our Lady of America has remained constant over the years, in recent years, the devotion has spread very much and has been embraced by many with special fervor," he wrote. "Our Lady of America calls the people of our nation to the new evangelization through a renewed dedication to purity in love." Archbishop Burke also noted that the devotion to Our Lady of America and the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, who is considered "Empress of all the Americas," are "completely harmonious." In his May letter to his fellow bishops, Archbishop Burke noted that Pope John Paul II reminded Catholics that "Our Lady of Guadalupe, mother of America and star of the new evangelization, draws all of the nations of America into unity in carrying on the new evangelization."

"Our Lady of America calls the people of our nation to the new evangelization through a renewed dedication to purity in love," the archbishop wrote. Editor's Note: More information about the devotion to Our Lady of America is available online at www.ourladyofamerica.com.

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