OUR LADY OF SAN DAMIANO

Mamma Rosa, Rosa Quattrini, allegedly saw the Virgin Mary from 1961 to her death in 1981 in San Damiano.  She had stated that the virgin told her to go to Padre Pio which she did in 1962.  Pio told her that she would be part of a great religious event far better even than looking after the spiritual wellbeing of the sick.  Clearly he was hinting at a vision. 

The book, San Damiano (S di Maria, Marian Centre, Hungerford, Switzerland, 1983) has been consulted for this examination of her claims.

There were too many visions. God would prefer you to live by faith when so few see visions which implies the less visions a person has the better.

In the first apparition, the Lady came disguised as a normal peasant girl and healed Rosa after saying the Angelus with its prayers to Mary with her (page 22). Now, would Mary pray to herself? And disguise herself which would be pointless and deceptive? The girl was collecting alms for Padre Pio and she told Rosa that if she trusted in Pio he would heal her (page 22). Rosa never had any evidence that this girl was Mary and yet she said she was Mary even before the girl came back to tell her she was right (page 25). So it casts doubt on Mama Rosa’s reliability. She was credulous. And Pio did many things that make him look like a callous fraud. Read my book, Stigmatic Sorcery to which you can link to from the homepage. He proved he was not genuine by telling Rosa that her visions were from God (page 35).

If Rosa was incapable of inventing the visions and messages (page 36, 37) then how come she was able to recall them and get the messages recorded? Her memory was just too good for comfort.

It is interesting that the blossoms on two trees which appeared suddenly could be explained without a miracle because the book admits one pear tree did not have pear tree blossoms on it! (page 32). I think somebody moved the blossoms!

Two priests went to her pretending to be civilians but she told them they were priests (page 42). It is not said how we can be sure she did not know some natural way. Perhaps somebody saw one priest’s cassock in the car and told her when she told him it was in the car?

The Virgin showed her approbation for the deceit of Fatima when she appeared with Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia in October 1969.

In 1967, the Lady said, “I announce that everyone should get ready large plastic water containers so that you can come and take plenty of water… and get small basins ready. When this terrible moment of discouragement comes - because people have no heard my word, there will be many horrible things – put this water into small basins and dip your face into them and you will be safe!” (page 86). This prophecy and warning is placed in a section called Purification and Punishments. Obviously, it is saying that the punishment was just around the corner – and years later it has still not come. Face dipping is a bizarre and crazy thing for the Virgin to command. Devotees say the prophecy never came to pass for it was conditional. But the Lady said when the disaster comes and not if it comes. Only false prophets make prophecies that are not clearly conditional. It is a good excuse when they fail.

Concerning the bearing of suffering out of love for God, the Virgin declared that God will help us carry our crosses and reminds us to be patient because we are only on earth a while and have all eternity to be happy (page 92). Why hurt people badly if you are going to help them carry their burden? And to console ourselves with the thought of Heaven is refusing to love God for no selfish reason.

In 1969, those who had no faith were accused of having no remorse for what they did wrong and of having no experience of loving God (page 92). But it is belief in God with its insistence on loving God alone that does that. I don’t like the stereotyping here.

In a 1970 message, the Lady said that Heaven is so great that “you will not longer remember your time on this earth, or of what you have done and suffered” (page 96). What is the use of living and bleeding in this world when you will forget? The God of the Lady is a savage.

The Lady forgot that her prayers were supposed to be the most powerful in Heaven where she was Queen when she said that the releasing of a soul from Purgatory was the biggest favour she could do for you for that soul would pray for you in Heaven (page 96). And it is not her that lets souls out but God. This contradicts the Catholic doctrine that Mary is the one who has the most influence over God.

She approved of the devotion of the nine First Fridays with the related promise of repentance and salvation from sin on one’s deathbed allowing one to sin as they wished (page 97).

The Virgin said that she would be near her children to inspire them (page 101). Who needs her if the Holy Spirit exists? Would God let a woman inspire us when he could do it himself? This is the spiritualism that is savagely denounced in the Bible.

The sacramental associated with San Damiano, is the handkerchief. Mama Rosa claimed that when they are blessed this strange blessing is taken away if they are ironed or cut! What a strange fussy superstitious view of God she had.

The Catholic Church, despite the visions seen by others at the shrine like the spinning sun and Jesus and Mary and the sudden blossoming of the pear tree, knows that it is all fakery. The pope refused to accept requests to do what the Lady wanted (page 124). The book explains that this was merely because he wished to wait until the Church decided if the visions were really of Mary but he could have supported the good fruits of the apparitions which is not declaring them true or false. He allows the messages of unauthenticated visions to be spread for the sake of the fruits.

The bishops of Piacenza were definite the vision reports were false and dangerous. Humberto Melchiodi issued a condemnation in 1968. Bishop Enrico Manfredini wrote in 1970, "The events of San Damiano, that is the pretended messages, visions and prodigies have nothing supernatural about them. The alleged proofs have no value. There exist on the contrary many indubitable contrary proofs." This is very strong so they must have over all been very sure.

There were warnings about the visionary’s disobedience which was serious enough to warrant banning her from the sacraments. Her priest was also found disobedient.

The defining and most famous miracles, the miracle of the blossoming trees which happened out of season, according to Professor Fregoni a specialist in the subject is dubious, “Autumnal blossoming of plat arborescents, which normally do not reblossom, could be independent of supernatural phenomena given that there be certain climatic conditions. Such seems to have been the case of the pear tree and the prune tree at San Damiano.”