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Gianna Talone Sullivan | |
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| Born | 1957 (age 66–67) |
| Occupation(s) | Pharmacist, writer |
| Notable work | I Am Your Jesus of Mercy |
Gianna Talone Sullivan is a clinical pharmacist by profession and is the author of a series of books called I Am Your Jesus of Mercy that report visions of Jesus and Mary.
In 1991, Talone-Sullivan founded Mission of Mercy, a non-profit charitable organization that provides free medical care, dental care, and prescriptions to under-served populations. [1]
Talone claimed to have received 250 messages from Jesus between 1988 and 1995 which spoke about spiritual formation and the tenets of the Catholic faith. [2] On January 26, 1989, Talone described how Jesus taught her the difference between envy and jealousy, in that jealousy is pure hatred and that envy is the path that leads to jealousy.
The message she claimed to receive on December 13, 1989, carried a similar tone and advocated faithfulness. It stated that fidelity is the strongest bond between mankind and the Holy Trinity. The notions of self-abandonment to God and trust in Jesus are repeated throughout the messages.
She also reported over 3000 messages from Mary, whom she describes as a beautiful woman usually dressed in a white or gold robe, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. She says that sometimes, Mary holds a rosary; and on occasion, she carries the infant Jesus. Sometimes Mary speaks in English, and on a few occasions, in Italian. [3] On December 30, 1989, she wrote that the Blessed Virgin invited everyone to follow Jesus by praying with their hearts.
On August 19, 1992, she wrote a message that she attributed to Jesus: "I am truly guiding you if you trust that I am. This is self-abandonment to the Providence of God." The phrase "I am" appears frequently in the messages and is part of the title of the book series, I Am Your Jesus of Mercy.
In 1993, Talone-Sullivan re-located from Arizona to Fairfield, Pennsylvania, just outside Emmitsburg, Maryland, and began to share her messages during weekly meetings at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Emmitsburg. After attracting followers from across the country for seven years, the Archdiocese of Baltimore asked her to share her messages elsewhere. [4]
The message also emphasized the power of human prayers when they are united with the prayers of Mary. The message of July 3, 1997, attributed to the Virgin Mary directs everyone to pray for the Catholic Church and the Pope.
In the summer of 2004, a group of people invited Talone-Sullivan to hold a monthly meeting at a farm outside of Taneytown. Attendance at these meetings grew until they were moved to the Lynfield Complex in 2005. [5]
Her later messages that continued into 2007 are attributed to Our Lady of Emmitsburg and at times have the form of prophecies. The prophecies warn of turbulent times ahead and refer to four stages of Trials and Tribulations, Eucharistic Reign, Illumination and Purification.
On June 1, 2008, Talone-Sullivan delivered what has been termed the "message of the two suns". The message reads in part: "Even your governments and the Church authorities already have knowledge of the stars aligning and its implications upon you. You must not fear but must be prepared, primarily spiritually. After a while, you will see a time when there is another body in orbit around your solar system, coming between Earth and the Sun and leading to tremendous devastation. Approximately 60-70% of the world’s population, as you know it, will cease. Of those who survive, 60% of them could die of disease and starvation." [6]
The Phoenix, Arizona Bishop Thomas J. Obrien allowed these events to continue and did not approve or condemn them, after his 1990s investigations found nothing wrong. In many cases, almost the entire church congregations at St. Maria Goretti Church (on Thursday evenings) witnessed hearing the Virgin Mother Mary's voice, thanking them for their prayers.
On September 8, 2000, officials from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore issued a statement that they found no basis to support her messages as having an extraordinary source and found it impossible to permit Talone and her followers to hold any prayer services within the Catholic Church. The statement from the archdiocese regarding the alleged mystical events, stated "it finds elements in them that cannot be reconciled with the teaching of the Church, including material that deals with predictions for the future and visions of an apocalyptic nature". [7] The officials found the alleged apparitions as not of a supernatural origin and directed that the prayer service with the messages at St. Joseph's Church in Emmitsburg, Maryland be discontinued. [8]
On June 12, 2001, Cardinal William Keeler, of Baltimore's Archdiocese, convened a commission of three priests to interview witnesses and examine Sullivan's alleged visions. The commissioners spent one hour with Gianna alone and two more hours with mystical and Marian theologians Fr. Ed O'Connor,CSC Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi and Fr. Robert Faricy,SJ [9]
On June 7, 2003, having consulted with the Holy See and received appropriate authorization, Rev. Monsignor Richard W. Woy, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore issued a decree declaring the visions of Talone "constant de non supernaturalitate" and prohibiting any public activities relating to the alleged apparitions in the churches, oratories, or other property of the Archdiocese. [10] [11] This was issued in spite of strong defenses of the authenticity of these events by some notable Marian and mystical theologians: Fr. Rene Laurentin, [12] Fr. Edward O'Connor, CSC [13] [14] and Fr. Kieran Kavanaugh,OCD; [15] [16] Fr. Jacques Daley,O.S.B. [17] [18]
On October 8, 2008, Most Rev. Edwin O'Brien, Archbishop of Baltimore, issued a Pastoral Advisory warning the faithful that Talone's messages and revelations were not authentic and warned Talone-Sullivan to discontinue the distribution of her messages as gravely harmful to the spiritual life of the faithful. [19] This Pastoral Advisory was addressed "to the Christian faithful of the Archdiocese of Baltimore" and distributed to every Catholic Church in Maryland. The letter from Archbishop O’Brien warned Gianna Sullivan not to disseminate in any way, by her own person or by any other person, by electronic means or any other means, on any church property or in any public or private place any messages. He then warns others not to disseminate her messages because it is harmful to the church, and he hopes that this will stop the confusion of the faithful. The Archbishop's censure has been strongly and continually backed by the Vatican and Holy See, starting with a thorough review and statement by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. [20] [21]
The 250 lessons written from September 1988 to November 1995, which she attributed to Jesus, were gathered and printed as the first five volumes of the books I Am Your Jesus of Mercy. The sixth volume includes messages attributed to the Virgin Mary and ends with a message on January 7, 1999. The messages were originally published by the Riehle Foundation, and were later published by Queenship Publishing.[ citation needed ]
A group of supporters formed the Foundation of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary to disseminate her messages. In July 2005, Gianna Talone-Sullivan's husband Michael appears listed on the board of directors in the Articles of Incorporation of the Foundation of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. [22] Peter Blanchard is the foundation's treasurer, as well as a member of the foundation's board of directors. Though Talone-Sullivan has publicly asserted that the foundation operates independently, in December 2008, Blanchard said that he and his wife spoke to Sullivan almost daily. [6]
Our Lady of Fátima is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus, based on the Marian apparitions reported in 1917 by three shepherd children at the Cova da Iria in Fátima, Portugal. The three children were Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto. José Alves Correia da Silva, Bishop of Leiria, declared the events worthy of belief on 13 October 1930.
The Three Secrets of Fátima are a series of apocalyptic visions and prophecies reportedly given to three young Portuguese shepherds, Lúcia Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto, by a Marian apparition, starting on 13 May 1917. The three children claimed to have been visited by the Virgin Mary six times between May and October 1917. The apparition is now popularly known as Our Lady of Fátima.
The Immaculate Heart of Mary is a Catholic devotion which refers to the view of the interior life of Mary, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love for God the Father, her maternal love for her son Jesus Christ, and her motherly and compassionate love for all mankind. Traditionally, the Immaculate Heart is depicted pierced with seven swords or wounds, in homage to the seven dolors of Mary and roses, usually red or white, wrapped around the heart.
The consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by a reigning pope was requested during a Marian apparition by Our Lady of Fátima on 13 July 1917, according to Lúcia dos Santos, one of the three visionaries who claimed to have seen the apparition. Sister Lucia said that at different times the Blessed Virgin Mary had given her a message of promise that the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary would usher in a period of world peace.
The Miraculous Medal, also known as the Medal of Our Lady of Graces, is a devotional medal, the design of which was originated by Catherine Labouré following her apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal of Paris, France.
The Marian Movement of Priests (MMP) is a private association of Catholic clergy and lay associate members founded by Italian priest Fr. Stefano Gobbi in 1972. According to the MMP, its members now include over 400 Catholic cardinals and bishops, more than 100,000 Catholic priests, and several million lay Catholics worldwide.
A number of people have claimed to have had visions of Jesus Christ and personal conversations with him. Some people make similar claims regarding his mother, Mary. Discussions about the authenticity of these visions have often invited controversy. The Catholic Church endorses a fraction of these claims, and various visionaries it accepts have achieved beatification, or even sainthood.
Stefano Gobbi was an Italian Roman Catholic priest. He founded the worldwide Catholic movement, the Marian Movement of Priests following what he reported as an interior locution in 1972 at the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima.
Françoise Mélanie Calvat, religious name Mary of the Cross, was a French religious sister in the Roman Catholic church. She and Maximin Giraud were the two seers of Our Lady of La Salette.
The Mariology of the popes is the theological study of the influence that the popes have had on the development, formulation and transformation of the Roman Catholic Church's doctrines and devotions relating to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Mediatrix of all graces is a title that some in the Catholic Church give to the Blessed Virgin Mary; as the Mother of God, it includes the understanding that she mediates the Divine Grace. In addition to Mediatrix, other titles are given to her in the Church: Advocate, Helper, Benefactress. In a papal encyclical of 8 September 1894, Pope Leo XIII said: "The recourse we have to Mary in prayer follows upon the office she continuously fills by the side of the throne of God as Mediatrix of Divine grace."
The Lady of All Nations is a Catholic Marian title sometimes associated with apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Ida Peerdeman of Amsterdam, Netherlands. Peerdeman claimed to have received 56 visions of the Lady from 1945 to 1959.
Our Lady of Medjugorje, also called Queen of Peace and Mother of the Redeemer, is the title given to the visions of Mary, the mother of Jesus, said to have begun in 1981 to six Herzegovinian Croat teenagers in Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The visionaries are Ivan Dragičević, Ivanka Ivanković, Jakov Čolo, Marija Pavlović, Mirjana Dragičević and Vicka Ivanković. They ranged from ten to sixteen years old at the time of the first apparition.
Angelik Caruana is a resident of Birżebbuġa in Malta who has reported a series of visions of the Virgin Mary since 21 April 2006, including a number of times at a hill in Borġ in-Nadur where he delivered monthly messages to the public.
Mary, the Mediatrix of All Grace, also known as the Our Lady of Lipa, is an alleged Marian apparition that occurred within the Carmelite Monastery of Lipa, Batangas, Philippines. The event occurred to a former Carmelite postulant, Teresita Castillo. The original statue associated with the apparition is currently enshrined at the monastery.
The consecration and entrustment to the Virgin Mary is a personal or collective act of Marian devotion among Catholics, with the Latin terms oblatio, servitus, commendatio and dedicatio being used in this context. Consecration is an act by which a person is dedicated to a sacred service, or an act which separates an object, location or region from a common and profane mode to one for sacred use. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments clarifies that in this context, "It should be recalled, however, that the term "consecration" is used here in a broad and non-technical sense: the expression is use of 'consecrating children to Our Lady', by which is intended placing children under her protection and asking her maternal blessing for them".
Louis Decorsant (1866-1935) was a Catholic Priest principally known for promoting devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary based on the mystical experiences of the Belgian Franciscan Tertiary, Berthe Petit.
Pierina Gilli, was an Italian visionary who claimed to receive apparitions and messages from the Virgin Mary in 1947 and 1966. The Marian apparitions were originally determined by the local ordinary, after consultation with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), to be lacking in sufficient evidence of credibility. However, a process of review which began in 2013 and is ongoing as of 2022 has reached a provisional finding of the 'validity and exemplarity of the mystical-spiritual experience of Pierina, as well as the richness of her existential, humble and virtuous story.' Having reached a favourable view of the person of the visionary, the diocese is conducting a review of the theology of Pierina's writings in the light of Catholic teaching.
Emma C. de Guzman is a Filipino Roman Catholic widow, laywoman, stigmatist and claimed Marian visionary. She is the co-founder, along with the late Sister Soledad Gaviola, of the Catholic lay group association La Pieta, dedicated to a Marian devotion under the title Mother of Love, Peace and Joy. Guzman claims to have first seen the Virgin Mary on the Feast of the Nativity of Mary in 1991.
Our Lady of the Rosary of San Nicolás is, in Catholicism, a title of veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a reported private revelation to Gladys Quiroga de Motta, a middle-aged housewife, beginning in the 1980s in the city of San Nicolás de los Arroyos, Argentina. Quiroga said that she was tasked with promoting devotion to the Mother of God under this title, with an emphasis on key passages in the Bible and a particular mystical stellar symbolism.
