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Miracles take place at
Altötting.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Altötting became very popular towards the end of the Fifteenth century, actually 1489, as a result of a major miracle. A little child, about three years old, had gotten too close to the edge of the river, and had fallen in. Not being able to swim, he drowned. When his mother found the child, she lost control of her senses for a moment, and then heard an inner voice telling her to rush the dead body of the child to the Holy Chapel of Our Lady. She ran for all she was worth to the Chapel and laid the body of her child on the Altar of Our Lady. People who were in the church at the time joined the mother in praying for a miracle, which would bring the child back to life. All said they felt an awesome presence coming from the image of Our Lady just prior to the miracle taking place. After praying and wailing for what seemed to be a long time, the mother felt life coming back into her child. She kept praying, and claiming the miracle. All the people in the Chapel joined in claiming the miracle. The child awoke and got up. The entire Chapel shouted and sang praises to Our Lady for having given this gift to them. Word spread through the little village, and very quickly, throughout all of Bavaria, and eventually Austria and the Holy Roman Empire. Pilgrims started flocking to the Shrine with the sick, praying for miracles. Not long after this first miracle, another miracle was given to the people, through the intercession of Our Lady of Altötting. A young farmer boy, about six years old, was helping to bring in the harvest with his family. The family wagon was loaded down with the crops being brought in. The young boy was on top, trying to be sure nothing fell off the wagon. However, they passed over a huge ditch, and the boy fell off the wagon. He fell beneath the wheels of the wagon. The weight of the crops and the wagon itself crushed the young boy. He died. The family, who were local people, recalled the account of the miracle which had taken place by praying to Our Lady at the Holy Chapel. They rushed the child to the Chapel, as the mother in the first instance did, and prayed and wept over the loss of their child. Again, there were other people in the church. Again, Our Mother Mary heard the prayers of a grieving mother, and felt the tears cascading down from her face to the body of her dead son. A miracle was given to these dear people; their boy came back to life. This was the beginning of the great movement of pilgrimages to the little Chapel of Our Lady. What began as a small group of pilgrims from the local area, blossomed out to parish pilgrimages, and then diocesan pilgrimages, to the point where annual pilgrimages are planned for special times. For instance, there is a pilgrimage from the diocese of Regensburg, about 170 kilometers (106 miles) from Altötting, which arrives every year on the Saturday before Pentecost Sunday. They start out on foot from their home town two or three days prior to that Saturday. Fr. Furtner, the Priest we interviewed at the Shrine, told us that most large pilgrimages to the Shrine are on foot. Why do so many come? They believe in the power of prayer. Miracles have happened here. Miracles continue to happen here. It’s hard to describe, but the entire outside of the little Chapel, protected by a covered alcove, is just completely filled with ex-votos, paintings of miraculous cures, healings, soldiers kept out of harm’s way. They’re not only along the entire outside wall, which goes in a circle, but on the overhang of the alcove as well. In looking through our research, we tried to determine how many paintings there were, but could not. It was in the high hundreds, and possibly in the thousands. The time frame goes from the Sixteenth century, through the Religious wars and the many wars Germany has been involved in, most recently, World War II. Our area of knowledge of the carnage of World War II extends only to those victims of the Nazi war machine other than Germans. However, when we come to Altötting, we become aware that many of the German soldiers who died as a result of the madness of Nazi Germany were Catholics, who didn’t want to fight, but had no choice. Many of them were from Bavaria, which is extremely Catholic. So naturally, they would turn to their Mother, our Mother Mary. And the ex-votos here are a sign of how She answered them. One of the most touching accounts of devotion to Our Lady of Altötting was told to us by Fr. Furtner, the custodian of the Shrine, when we went there to make a television program on Our Lady’s Shrine. It happened towards the end of World War II. The custodian of the Shrine at that time was Msgr. Adalbert Vogl. Our Lady had protected the Shrine and the village all during the war. But towards the end, the allies were bombing everything in the area. Msgr. Vogl went to the Americans and pleaded with them not to destroy the Shrine of Our Lady at Altötting. They agreed, and the Shrine was spared. But when Msgr. Vogl and the six lay people who accompanied him on his journey to the American troops, arrived back in Altötting, the Nazis killed them. They were executed on April 28, 1945, just two days before Adolf Hitler committed suicide in a bunker in Berlin, and ten days before the Act of Surrender by the Nazi forces in Europe. We asked our Priest, Fr. Furtner, if he knew why the Nazi commander killed these men. He knew on April 28 that the war was all but over. Why do something like that? Our Priest just shrugged his shoulders and suggested, “He was mad that they had lost the war.” Penny offered an observation which is so true. She said “I would like to, if I may, with respect, correct Father. The Germans did not kill the Monsignor here. But the Nazis did. And that’s really a distinction that, I think, is extremely important. Because Germans, who believed in Our Lord Jesus Christ, who were not deluded by a man who set himself up as god, continued to believe in the Lord and their Blessed Mother. And as Father said, they continued to come here; they never gave up hope. And I remember my own aunt telling me that her brothers were put in a concentration camp (Dachau) - that’s things we don’t know about, right here in Germany - because they were Catholics, and refused to deny Jesus Christ.” Devotion among Nobility to Our Lady of Altötting It began early in the history of the Shrine. As we mentioned, a royal family chose this place as their personal residency. It was they who dubbed Her the Patroness of Bavaria. This Holy Chapel, as it is called, became the Bavarian National Sanctuary. It was so important! Other members of royalty asked for their hearts to be placed in the Chapel in silver urns. As you look around this magnificent little Chapel, you will see these silver urns containing the hearts of various members of royalty of the Holy Roman Empire. Even more respect has been paid to Our Lady here by the thousands and thousands of pilgrims who have come every year. Visitors to the Shrine of Our Lady of Altötting will notice outside the Chapel hundreds of crosses, all different sizes, which lean against the walls of the outside. These have been brought from different parts of Europe, in petition to Our Lady, for some special intention or need. They are also carried around the exterior of the Chapel by pilgrims who come to Altötting. During the summertime, you would be surprised at the thousands of people who jam into the little Kappellplatz (Place of the Chapel) to take part in a candlelight procession. The last time we brought pilgrims to the Shrine, Fr. Furtner, who led the procession, asked us to pray a decade of the Rosary in English, as he introduced us as the Americans from Mother Angelica’s television. You know, we talk about pilgrimage groups in the 20,000 and 35,000 ranges, and it’s true. Till today, over a million pilgrims come to this Shrine every year. Now, at certain times, when it would just be impossible for everyone on a particular pilgrimage group to get into the Chapel, they have brought the Mother of God to the people. Many times, usually again during the warm weather, when the amount of pilgrims swell to great proportions, the statue of the Lady is taken out of the Chapel, and with the Blessed Sacrament following, She processes through the streets of the Kappellplatz, to bless all Her children, who have come and have patiently waited to feast their eyes on Her. In November, 1980, Our Lady at Altötting was given a special gift. One of Her most ardent admirers, Pope John Paul II, came as a pilgrim along with Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, to be with the people, (hundreds of thousands showed up) and to pay tribute and reverence to his Mother, our Mother. His reaction was the same as ours and that of all pilgrims who have ever gone to Altötting. He was awestruck, as we were, and always are when we return. Penny said to Mother Angelica on the television program we made here, “Mother, this place is awesome!” Taken from "The Many Faces of Mary." book II For more information about Our Lady of Banneux click here
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