Our Lady of Good Success Quito Ecuador

[Stone]

Continued:

Third Apparition of Our Lady

It was in the prison of the Convent that Our Lady chose to appear again. It happened January 16, 1599. In a brilliant light, Mother Mariana saw appearing a most beautiful Lady who said:

«I am Mary of Good Success, an invocation well known in Spain and one to whom you have often resorted. (…). The tribulation that my Most Holy Son has given you is a celestial gift to embellish your soul and to hold back the divine ire, so ready to unleash a terrible chastisement upon this ungrateful Colony. How many hidden crimes are committed in it! (…). In a short time, the Country in which you live will cease to be a Colony and will become a free Republic1. Then, known by the name of Ecuador, it will need heroic souls to sustain it in face of so many public and private calamities. Here, in this Convent, God will always find these souls, like hidden violets. Accursed would be Quito without this Convent! The most powerful king on earth with all his riches could not erect new buildings on this site, for this place belongs to God. In the 19th century, a truly Christian president (Garcia Moreno - ndr) will come; a man of character whom God Our Lord will give the palm of martyrdom on the square adjoining this Convent2 of mine. He will consecrate the Republic of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of my Most Holy Son and this consecration will sustain the Catholic Religion in the years that will follow, which will be ill-fated ones for the Church.

These years, during which the accursed sect of Masonry will take control of the civil government, will see a cruel persecution of all religious communities, and will also strike out violently against this one of mine. These unfortunate men will think the Convent destroyed, but God lives and I live, and we will raise up powerful defenders and set before these enemies difficulties impossible to conquer, and the triumph will be ours. (...).

Thus it is the wish of my Most Holy Son that you command a statue of me to be made, just as you see me now, and that you place it upon the Abbess’ chair so that I may govern my Convent. In my right hand, place the crosier and the keys to the cloister as a sign of my proprietorship and authority. In my left arm, place my Divine Child: first, so that the men understand how powerful I am in placating the Divine Justice and obtaining mercy and pardon for every sinner who comes to me with a contrite heart, for I am the Mother of Mercy and in me there is only goodness and love; and second, so that throughout time my daughters will understand that I am showing and giving them my most Holy Son and their God as a model of religious perfection. They should come to me, for I will lead them to Him».

To Mother Mariana’s doubts that even the most skilled sculptor could not make such a statue, Our Lady responded: «My daughter, I agree to what you said. My servant Francis with his own wounded hands will carve my statue and the angelic spirits will assist him. He himself will place me on his cord, the symbol of all his sons and daughters who belong so closely to me. As for the height of my form, you yourself will measure me with the seraphic cord that you wear around your waist: bring your cord to me and place one end of it in my hand. Then you should touch the other end of it to my foot (...). Here, my daughter, you have the measurement of the height of your Heavenly Mother. Tell this to my servant, Francisco del Castillo, and describe to him my features and bearing. He will do the exterior work on my statue...».

In this period, Mother Mariana had been jailed again with the Founding Mothers, but the same year, the Bishop of Quito, after an inquiry about the facts happened in the Convent, having realised his mistakes, wrote a note to Mother Mariana in which he stated: «... I order Your Reverence to be now and forever the one who governs and rule the Convent, above even the governing Abbess, who should consult you in everything and seek your counsel in all she does, obeying you as Mother and Founder...». The charity of Mother Mariana toward the rebel Sisters and particularly for their leader, moved her to ask Our Lord to receive the needed punishments to save her soul. So, in 1601, the rebel Sister fell severely ill and was cured with care by Mother Mariana, who started a five year period of expiation suffering for the rebel soul she wanted to save. At the conclusion of this period, the rebel Sister died and, straight after, Mother Mariana was elected Abbess for the third time (1606-1609), and again for the fourth time (1609-1612).


1. In fact, Ecuador was declared a Republic on August 19, 1809. The following years witnessed a terrible massacre of the nobility, even women and children being put to the sword. Independence was definitively secured May 22, 1820, after the battle of Pichincha. Since that time, Ecuador has been torn by internal dissentions.

2. The Catholic Gabriel Garcia Moreno had been president of Ecuador in the periods 1861-1865 and 1869-1875. He transformed his Country, freeing it from continuous revolutions and from its public debt, and reorganizing civil and religious affairs favoring the Catholic Church. In 1873, Garcia Moreno made a public consecration of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This act infuriated the Freemasons, and the German Grand Lodge gave an order for his death. As Our Lady forwarned, on August 6, 1875, on his way out of the Cathedral, he was struck down and killed by assassins, in the square of Quito adjoining the Convent.