Hundreds flock to Ala. field to visit woman who has 'visions' of Virgin Mary

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July 5, 2012

Hundreds flock to Ala. field to visit woman who has 'visions' of Virgin Mary

Associated Press Associated Press Thu Jul 05, 2012, 03:59 PM CDT

STERRETT, Ala. — A religious group is concluding a holiday-week event that drew thousands of people to a central Alabama pasture to be near a woman who claims to have visions of the Virgin Mary.

Believers from across the nation gathered this week at a Roman Catholic compound called Caritas of Birmingham to see Marija Pavlovic Lunetti. They spent hours praying in a Shelby County field near a statue of Christ’s mother.

Lunetti, 47, is among a group of people who first claimed to have visions of Mary in 1981 in the Bosnian town of Medjugorje, in southeastern Europe. She’s visited Alabama regularly since 1988.

Carmen Quintana spent three days traveling from Philadelphia to Birmingham to see Lunetti.

“It’s for everybody. There have been many, many Catholics that have come and felt the peace. The peace that you feel in our heart and prayer for all their families. Nobody comes back the same,” Quintana told WVTM-TV.

Although no one but Lunetti can see the apparitions while they are taking place, the crowd watches her eyes as she looks up to a fixed point in the air.

In an interview published earlier this week by The Birmingham News, Lunetti said Virgin Mary was aware of the economic crisis in Europe.

“She’s more preoccupied with spiritual (matters),” Lunetti said. “When there is a spiritual crisis, there is also an economic crisis.”

During Lunetti’s visit, the shoulders of the two-lane highway that runs through the Caritas of Birmingham property were covered with long lines of cars with tags from California, Florida, Louisiana, Texas and other states.

The Alabama-based group, which has defended itself against allegations from critics and former members of being a cult, has a huge publishing operation that sends materials worldwide promoting messages from Mary. Members live on the rural property near a massive, church-like building that includes a large direct-mail center.

The Roman Catholic church has not taken a position on the visions. Priests are prohibited from holding Mass at Caritas of Birmingham, but a nearby Catholic church was allowed to offer a special service to accommodate visitors.

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Hundreds flock to Ala. field to visit woman who has 'visions' of Virgin Mary

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