Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/24/07
BY MICHELLE GLADDEN
FREEHOLD BUREAU

HOWELL ? Our Lady of America is as much a dream come true as she is an apparition's request almost fulfilled.

Standing 9 feet high with contemplative eyes, a hesitant smile, bare feet and wearing a simply tailored white robe, the Our Lady of America, the Immaculate Virgin, is the nation's first canonically approved icon.

"It's very rare that God gives us a grace like that," said Rita Marquis of Howell, who was waiting outside St. Veronica's Roman Catholic Church for the statue's 6:15 p.m arrival. "I attended Mass earlier in the day, but I wanted to be here when she arrives."

Firefighters from Jackson fire companies and members of the Msg. John F. Baldwin Assembly Knights of Columbus escorted the statue through the church's parking lot, off the bed of the firetruck and into the church.

The statue is based on apparitions of the Virgin Mother to Sister Mary Ephrem (Mildred) Neuzil, who was a member of the Precious Blood of Sisters, Ohio, from 1933 to 1979. In 1979 she entered Contemplative of the Indwelling Trinity where she remained until her death in 2000, Anita Marovich of Howell said.

On Sept. 25, 1956, the Virgin Mother first appeared to Ephrem, who had been having "mystical spiritual experiences" since 1938, said Marovich, a 20-year St. Veronica's parishioner who grew up in New Riegel, Ohio, near Ephrem.

"I met her in the seventh grade," Marovich said. "She had a charismatic something about her that just draws you to her. She was very calm and very peaceful."

In her writings, Ephrem described the vision of the Virgin Mother as it appeared to her, Marovich said. Ephrem wrote that the apparition called upon her to have a medal with her (the Virgin Mother's) image on the front and the symbol of the "Christian Family" and the "Blessed Trinity" on the back, which was carried out by her longtime spiritual adviser Monsignor Paul Leibold, who later became the Archbishop of Cincinnati. Through her revelations, Ephrem stated that it was the Virgin Mary's wish to be honored under the title "Our Lady of America, the Immaculate Virgin," at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

"This is so important for us, for the church, America and for the world," Marovich said. "With all the hatred turned on America right now, with al-Qaeda, Jihad and others, she will be a safeguard for this country from all evil. That is why this next step is so important."

The next step is for the icon to be enthroned in the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

"Archbishop (Raymond) Burke of St. Louis has published a letter of opinion granting his approval," said the Rev. Angelo Geiger of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate order in Griswold, Conn., who has traveled the country with the statue. "Our Lady of America came to talk about the sanctification of the family.

"We hope it will be done by the end of the year, and she will be in a place of honor in the National Basilica."

Until then the the statue continues to travel the country, as it has since 2005, most recently making its way from Alabama and Ohio to New York for a Sept. 11 memorial ceremony. On Saturday, it was featured at the Festival of Faith in Newark, a unification of all churches in prayer for the recent deaths of three college students.

But this week, Our Lady of America will remain at St. Veronica's, open to the public from 7:30 a.m to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

"I usually go to daily Mass so I will see her daily," Marquis, 72, said.

Marquis was one of hundreds who attended the special Mass on Sunday evening at St. Veronica's to pay homage to the statue. She kept her eye on the icon as it was carried into the church.

"Our Lady of America," she said to herself in a soft voice as the statue drew nearer to where she had been standing in the crowd.

As it passed, Marquis lowered her head, knelt and made the sign of the cross. She waited until everyone had entered the church before making her way to one of the crowded pews.

The statue was placed to the right of a portrait of Jesus Christ in the church's sanctuary.

"Isn't she beautiful, the most beautiful," she said.

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