Our Lady of Beauraing at St. Edward

Our Lady of Beauraing Statue original
Visitors to St. Edward Church and School might overlook the beautiful statue of Our Lady of Beauraing, one of the lesser-known but Church-approved Marian apparitions of the twentieth century. She stands in front of the School. While many Catholics are familiar with Lourdes or Fatima, the story of Beauraing is a remarkable witness to Mary's call to prayer, conversion, and hope.
Our Lady of Beauraing Apparation

The Apparitions in Belgium

Between November 29, 1932, and January 3, 1933, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared thirty-three times to five children in the small village of Beauraing, Belgium. The visionaries were Fernande, Gilberte, and Albert Voisin, along with Andrée and Gilberte Degeimbre, ranging in age from nine to fifteen.

Many of the apparitions took place above a small hawthorn tree, while others occurred near a nearby holly bush. The children consistently described Our Lady as dressed in white with a golden crown and a brilliant golden heart shining from her chest. During the apparitions, she identified herself as:

  • The Immaculate Virgin
  • The Mother of God
  • The Queen of Heaven

Her messages were simple but profound. She urged the children—and all of us—to:

  • Always be good.
  • Pray constantly.
  • Pray much.
  • Love my Son.
  • Offer yourselves to God.

On one occasion she opened her arms, revealing her radiant heart, a powerful reminder of her maternal love and her desire to lead all people to Jesus Christ.

After careful theological and medical investigation, the Catholic Church officially recognized the supernatural character of the apparitions in 1949, allowing public devotion to Our Lady of Beauraing.

How a Belgian Devotion Came to Minnesota

The story of our statue begins after the Second World War.

Among a group of seventy children crossing the Atlantic by ship was the son of George Herter, whose Belgian-born wife had a deep devotion to Our Lady of Beauraing. When typhus broke out among the children aboard the ship, she placed a small piece of wood from the Beauraing hawthorn tree beneath her son's pillow and entrusted him to Mary's care.

According to the family account, he was the only child to recover.

Filled with gratitude, the Herter family eventually settled in Winona, Minnesota, where George Herter commissioned forty-nine statues of Our Lady of Beauraing. The statues were produced in Albert Lea, Minnesota, and distributed to churches, monasteries, and Catholic institutions throughout the United States.

Today these statues can be found in places such as Talkeetna, Alaska; Salt Lake City, Utah; Assisi Heights in Rochester, St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, and here at St. Edward Church in Minneota.

St. Edward's Our Lady of Beauraing Statue

Our parish is blessed to possess one of these historic statues.

Standing approximately 62 inches tall, it appears to be constructed of coarse plaster or concrete over an aluminum framework. It beautifully depicts the Virgin Mary with her golden crown and radiant heart, recalling the appearance described by the children of Beauraing.

Tradition also holds that a small piece of wood from the original Beauraing hawthorn tree was placed inside each of the forty-nine statues. While this tradition has not been definitively documented, it has been widely repeated over the years. If true, our statue would contain a second-class relic associated with the Beauraing apparitions, making it an especially significant object of devotion.

A Continuing Invitation

The message of Beauraing is as timely today as it was in 1932. In a world often marked by anxiety, division, and uncertainty, Mary continues to point us toward her Son with a simple invitation:

"Pray. Be good. Love my Son."

We invite you to spend a few moments in prayer before our statue of Our Lady of Beauraing, asking for her maternal intercession and entrusting your family, your intentions, and your heart to the Mother of God, whose radiant heart always leads us to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.