People have long wondered what the silent vision at Knock was intended to convey.  For some, it bore local
significance as some kind of statement regarding the change of language from Irish to English in churches and schools. 

Emmett O'Regan has fleshed out a theory regarding its potential eschatological message at his blog, Unveiling of the Apocalypse.

O'Regan sees the presence of St. John the Evangelist (with a book) as a hint that there is reference here to the Book of Revelation, "to announce the opening of the scroll sealed with seven seals".

Others have entertained the theory that the wordless vision and the stark altar were a foreshadowing of the Novus Ordo Mass that would be implemented following the Second Vatican Council.  Ironically, others have interpreted the exact opposite:  that the vision of the altar was express approval of the New Mass yet to come. 

Alas, even public visions are treated as private revelation.  And even more importantly, when interpretation is wide open, just about anything can be made to fit.  We may never know what the exact message was intended by the quiet, two-hour appearance of the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, St. John the Evangelist, and a slew of angels, but perhaps one day it will become clearly discerned by the Church.  

Until then, Knock remains a special shrine both to popes and people like you and I. 

Knock is a small town of less than 1000 residents in County Mayo, Ireland where the Blessed Mother is believed to have appeared along with Saint Joseph and Saint John the Evangelist on a rainy night,  August 21st, 1879.  Behind them was an unadorned white altar with a cross, a lamb and adoring angels (The picture above is a representation of the vision, located at the shrine in Knock).  Around twenty-five individuals witnessed the approved miraculous apparition, and yet what is most remarkable is the fact that, unlike other heavenly visits of the Blessed Mother, this one did not come with a spoken message.

The apparition was initially encountered by a villager, Mary Byrne, and the rectory housekeeper, Mary McLoughlin.  A farmer testified that he witnessed a glowing orb above the site from half a mile away.

A description of the event follows:

The vision of Mary was described as being beautiful, standing a few feet above the ground. She wore a white cloak, hanging in full folds and fastened at the neck. She was described as "deep in prayer", with her eyes raised to heaven, her hands raised to the shoulders or a little higher, the palms inclined slightly to the shoulders.

Saint Joseph, also wearing white robes, stood at the Virgin's right hand. His head was bent forward from the shoulders towards the Blessed Virgin. Saint John the Evangelist stood to the left of the Blessed Virgin. He was dressed in a long robe and wore a mitre. He was partly turned away from the other figures. Some witnesses reported that St. John appeared to be preaching and that he held open a large book in his left hand. To the left of St. John was an altar with a lamb on it with a cross standing on the altar behind the lamb.

Those who witnessed the apparition stood in the pouring rain for up to two hours reciting the Rosary. When the apparition began there was good light, but although it then became very dark, witnesses could still see the figures very clearly – they appeared to be the colour of a bright whitish light. The apparitions did not flicker or move in any way. The witnesses reported that the ground around the figures remained completely dry during the apparition although the wind was blowing from the south.  Soon the entire apparition wall was torn apart by pilgrims chipping out the cement, mortar, and stones for souvenirs and to use for cures.
Source: Wikipedia, accessed 2020-12-16

A commission was assembled to investigate the mysterious events, and determined that there was neither a natural explanation for the vision nor any hint whatsoever of deception on the part of witnesses.  People began traveling to the site from as far away as Chicago, and many medical miracles were attributed to the holy shrine.  

In due time, the the Shrine at Knock received special blessing from Pope Pius XII and Pope St. John XXIII, and visits from Pope St. Paul VI, Pope St. John Paul II, and Pope Francis.  St. Teresa of Calcutta also visited the site in 1993.  

Great Mary, 
Greatest of Marys, 
Greatest of Women, 
Mother of Eternal Glory, 
Mother of the Golden Light, 
Honor of the Sky, 
Temple of the Divinity, 
Fountain of the Gardens, 
Serence as the Moon, 
Bright as the Sun, 
Garden Enclosed, 
Temple of the Living God, 
Light of Nazareth, 
Beauty of the World, 
Queen of Life, 
Ladder of Heaven, 
Mother of God. 

Pray for us.