In 1946, Our Lady appeared in Pfaffenhofen, Germany. She asked that the place of the apparitions be called “Marienfried”, which means "Peace of Mary", therefore her title is best known by Our Lady of Marienfried. The apparitions happened to Barbara Ruess, then 22 years old, in a wood where they wanted to build a chapel in honor of Our Lady of Schoenstatt. The chapel was built shortly afterwards and also recalls this apparition. In these apparitions, Our Lady reveals herself the great Mediatrix of All Graces.
Apparition of May 13, 1940: It was the anniversary of the apparitions of Fatima and Monday of Pentecost. Barbara walks through the woods of her father near Pfaffenhofen and tries to find a crown of the Holy Rosary which she lost on the day of Pentecost. She wonders what mysteries the Rosary should pray, the glorious or the joyful. Suddenly, a beautiful Lady joins her and says:
- You are thinking that you must recite the crown. I want to teach you another Rosary, and so we will pray together.
- Excuse me, why do you know my thoughts? Who are you?
- It is not important to know. If you recite this Rosary with diligence, you will learn to know me better.
And the Lady taught the Rosary of the Immaculate to Barbara (placed at the end of this text). The Lady adds that it is always good to indicate an intention to pray, remembering that is a person or a community. Barbara notes a strange thing: the Lady does not pray to the whole Rosary, but limits herself to reciting the Our Father and the Glory. The Lady's face is so beautiful, full of purity and goodness. After the prayer, the Lady goes away.
First apparition, April 25, 1946: During the war in 1944, the parish priest gave the idea of making a promise to Our Lady: if she has protect Pfaffenhofen, the faithful would build a chapel in honor of the Virgin. Pfaffenhofen practically suffered no serious damage because the bombs that were dropped fell into the surrounding forest without exploding. At this point, it was necessary to decide where to build the chapel. On April 25, 1946, the parish priest and Barbara, 22 at the time, and Anna, aged 26, went to the forest to choose the most suitable place for the construction of the chapel dedicated to Our Lady. They weeded and cleaned the ground to open a clearing in the place they chose. Suddenly, Barbara overhears someone calling and stops. Anna continues to clear the floor. Then Barbara returns and says that the Lady who taught the Rosary of the Immaculate returned there and said:
- I am the sign of the living God. I imprint the Sign on the forehead of my children. The Star, who is satan, will pursue my signal, but my signal will overcome the Star. I will establish peace where confidence is greatest, and where men are taught that I can do everything with God. Then, when everyone believes in my power, peace will come. May the peace of Christ be with you all and with all those who pray here.
Barbara told all this in the parish. The following week, some people gave the chapel the name "Marienfried", which means "Peace of Mary".
Second apparition on May 25, 1946: Barbara and Ana return to the place of the apparition. And in the afternoon. They gather in prayer. Barbara sees an Angel asking her to look to the right. She saw the Lady again. The Lady was dressed all in white. She wore a white robe, like a shawl, his hair was dark, parted in half, and his eyes were very dark, her face radiated clarity and great kindness." Barbara recognizes who the Lady was and shouts," Mary!" The Lady said:
- I am the Great Mediator of Graces. As the world can find no mercy from the Father unless through the Son’s sacrifice, likewise, you will not be granted besides the Son unless through my intercession. If the Christ is so unknown, it is because I am not known. This is why the Father poured his cup of wrath on the peoples because they rejected his Son. The world has been dedicated to my Immaculate Heart, but the consecration became for many a terrifying responsibility. I ask the world to live this consecration. Have an infinite confidence in my Immaculate Heart! Believe that I can do everything beside the Son. Instead of your hearts full of sins, put my Immaculate Heart, then I will attract God’s strength, and the Father’s love will form again within you the Christ up to perfection. Accomplish my demands so that the Christ can reign soon as the King of Peace. The world must drink the chalice of wrath until the dregs because of the innumerable sins that offended His Heart. The star of the abysses will rise more furious than ever and will make terrifying devastations because it knows its time is short and because it sees that many have already joined my sign. On these, it has no power, even though it kills the bodies of many. But out of these sacrifices made for me comes my power to lead the remaining legion to triumph for the Christ. Some have already accepted to be marked by my sign, and they will always increase in number. To you, my children, I want to say: In the bloodiest days, don’t forget that precisely this cross is a grace, and thank the Father for his Grace, again and again! Pray and offer sacrifices for the sinners! Offer yourselves as well as your acts to the Father through me. Place yourselves entirely at my disposal! Pray the Rosary! Don’t pray so much for external goods! Much more matters today! Don’t wait, either, for signs or miracles! I want to act secretly as the Great Mediator of Graces. If you fulfill my requests, I want to conserve the peace of the heart. It is only on this peace that the peace of the peoples can be constituted. Then will the Christ reign on the peoples as the King of Peace. Care for my will to be known, I will give you the strength you will need.
Third apparition, June 25, 1946: This time, the priest also accompanies Barbara and Ana to the place of Marienfried. All three have so far kept a strict silence on events, to avoid sensationalism. Shortly after they gathered in prayer, Our Lady appeared and said:
- I am the Great Mediator of graces. The Father wants the world to acknowledge this position of His Maid. Men must trust that as the Holy Spirit’s permanent Spouse, I am the faithful Mediator of All Graces. My sign arrives. God wants it thus. Only my children recognize him because he is shown to them in secrecy, and for this they give glory to the Eternal. I cannot yet show my power to the world. I must retire with my children. I want to make miracles secretly, in the souls, until the number of sacrifices is complete. It is given to you to shorten the days of darkness. Your prayers and yours sacrifices will annihilate the image of the Beast. Then I will be able to reveal myself to the world for the glory of the Almighty. Embrace my sign so that all soon adore and honor God in Three Persons. Pray and offer through me! Pray continually! Pray the Rosary! Ask the Father for everything through my Immaculate Heart! If what you ask for is for his glory, He will give it to you. Don’t implore for perishable values, but ask for graces for individual souls, for your communities, for the peoples, so that all love and give back glory to the Divine Heart. Consecrate Saturdays to me, as I desired. Offer me lots of sacrifices! Make of your prayers a sacrifice! Be selfless! What matters today is to give glory and atonement to the Eternal. If you dedicate yourselves entirely to this, I will take care of all the rest. I want to load my children with crosses, heavy and deep as the sea, because I love them in my sacrificed Son. I beg you to be ready to carry your crosses, so that soon peace may reign. Embrace my sign so that soon the Holy Trinity be glorified. I’m asking men to fulfill, as soon as possible, my wishes for this is the will of the Heavenly Father, and because this is necessary for His Greatest Glory and for his magnificence, now and forever. The Father announces appalling suffering for those who do not want to submit to His will.
Barbel asked for an obvious sign for men to believe in her message. Our Lady replied:
- They could already see my miracles hidden. They have acknowledged that I am the admirable Mother and honor me by this name. I will only give signs if men do my will, then I will perform miracles much greater than the ones I have already done, and miracles in souls. I have given out external signs many times, and many people have come here just for these outward signs. We are facing a time when all who believe only in outward signs will be deceived. The signs will be for them only a cause of greater responsibility. Men will recognize and follow my message. And then, I will do the first and greatest miracles, which, however, will be visible only to my beloved children, because they will be fulfilled only in the concealment. It is necessary for my children to praise, glorify, and thank the Lord more. He created them precisely for this reason, for his glory. At the end of each Rosary these invocations are to be recited: ‘You are the great and faithful Mediatrix of all graces!’ It is necessary to pray much for sinners. For this, it is necessary that many souls put themselves at my disposal, so that I can give them the task of praying. There are many souls who are just waiting for the prayer of my children.
At that moment, immediately a huge group of Angels surrounded Our Lady, dressed in long white dresses, kneeling on the ground and bowing deeply. The Angels recited the hymn to the Holy Trinity that Barbara repeated to the next priest and he wrote it down later. So Barbara prayed the Holy Rosary, which Our Lady just recited the Our Father and Glory Be. When the court Angelica began to pray, the triple crown that Mary, the "Thrice Admirable," carried in his head, became radiant and illuminated the sky. Barbara says:
- When she gave the blessing opened his arms as the priest before the Consecration, and I then saw out of his hands only rays that have passed through these numbers and through us the rays were raised to his hands that was the figure and all become bright too, and the rays were coming out of his body, going through all around her, she had become all transparent and immersed in a splendor that can not be described. I could not find words to describe it forgot everything that was around, but he knew one thing: that she was the Mother of the Savior suddenly, my eyes began to ache and I swerved my gaze, and in this moment She disappeared.
Life of Barbara Rues: Barbara was the first of six siblings and was born on June 15, 1924 in the village of Pfaffenhofen. They became orphans of the mother in 1938. On December 8, 1938, Barbara consecrated herself to Our Lady as St. Louis de Montfort. Then she received mystical gifts as to atone for the souls of Purgatory, to see the sin situation of the faithful in the Mass and the stigmata of Jesus in her body. She married in 1952, had 5 children and led a normal life with her husband. He suffered many temptations and persecutions. After suffering multiple sclerosis in 1966, she died on November 4, 1996 in Gaisburen. In June 25, 1981, the apparitions of Our Lady in Medjugorje began with the title of "Queen of Peace" where she came to give messages on 25 days of each month.
