On the evening of 21 August 1879, at about 8 o'clock, fifteen people, aged from five years to seventy-five included men, women, teenagers and children, witnessed this event.
The Blessed Virgin Mary was said to be beautiful, standing a few feet above the ground. She wore a white dress. She had a crown on her head. The crown was golden, sparkling, and glittering. She was described as "in prayer", with her eyes raised to heaven.
Saint Joseph, also wearing a white robe, stood on the Virgin's right hand. Behind the figures, to the left of Saint John was a plain altar. On the altar was a cross and a lamb, with angels around. The lamb is the symbol of Jesus. This symbol is from the religious phrase The Lamb of God)[1][2]
Those who saw the apparition stood in the rain for up to two hours.[3]
Evidence
An ecclesiastical inquiry was held to decide if the vision was true and not a mistake or fake.[4]
The evidence was found to be trustworthy and not a lie.[4] At a second Commission of inquiry in 1936, the surviving witnesses confirmed the evidence they gave to the first Commission.[1][5]
Every August, ten thousand pilgrims go to visit the Knock Shrine .[6]
The original little church is still there. A new Apparition chapel with statues of Our Lady, St Joseph, the lamb and St John the Evangelist, has been built next to it. Knock Basilica is a separate building showing a tapestry of the apparition.[5]
