Belgium

Belgium, a Christian land from the first centuries, has many shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Among the best known of these spiritual Marian destinations are two places that are renowned internationally to this day. They were both favored in the same year: 1933, six years before the Second World War.

• The shrine of Our Lady of Beauraing, where Mary appeared in the winter of 1932-33, dressed in white and crowned with a royal crown, with a heart of gold on her chest. She appeared 30 times as the Mother of God and the Queen of Heaven until January 3, 1933. The authenticity of these apparitions was recognized in 1949 by Lord Charue, Bishop of Namur.
• The shrine of Our Lady of Banneux, where Mary appeared 1933 as the “Virgin of the Poor,” is a Marian shrine and place of healing, visited annually by more than 600,000 pilgrims, is one of the most important in the country. The apparitions of Banneux received definite approval by the Church in 1949.

There are many other places of Marian pilgrimage, including Our Lady of Hal, or Our Lady of Montaigu, which are busy places of pilgrimage as well.

In general, these Marian shrines have seen a resurgence of visitors since the end of the twentieth century.