A STAND-OFF between Catholic Church authorities and a self-proclaimed visionary threatens to escalate into a major showdown next month.Dubliner Joe Coleman claims that the Virgin Mary appeared for a second time in three weeks at Knock Shrine on Saturday.
Around 15,000 followers gathered expectantly in the hope of witnessing a vision, with claims that the sun once again "danced in the sky".
But the clergy is alarmed at the level of support for these "sightings". Archbishop of Tuam Michael Neary deplored the proclaimed phenomenon as unhealthy and said it brought the Mayo shrine into disrepute.
Dr Neary said the Knock apparition in 1879 had been neither sought nor expected.
The crunch is likely to come on December 8, an important event in the church calendar as the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and also the date on which Mr Coleman has predicted a third apparition.
A crowd estimated to have been of between 12,000 to 15,000 gathered from all over Ireland and abroad on Saturday.
An apparition had been predicted for 3pm on Saturday by Mr Coleman, from Ballyfermot, the self-proclaimed "visionary of Our Blessed Lady".
Up to 4,000 thronged expectantly outside the Apparition Chapel, the spot of the original reported Knock apparition on August 21, 1879.
That historic apparition put Knock on the spiritual map and, unlike the recent phenomena, is officially approved by the Church.
By 3.20pm on Saturday, a sense of anticlimax was stirring among the crowd, most of whom looked constantly upwards with their cameras and mobile camera phones at the ready.
Hundreds left disappointed. One man, a native of Knock, scoffed at what he said resembled the "pagan art of sun worship".
But suddenly, there were shouts that the sun had been seen dancing close to the Basilica, and men, women and children rushed to get a glimpse.
This rush brought them to the Basilica, where Mr Coleman had forecast Our Lady would appear with a message to be announced by his fellow visionary, Keith Henderson.
Earlier it had been rumoured that stewards were under instruction from local clergy to close the Basilica doors.
There was also an apparent exchange between Mr Coleman and the manager of the Knock Shrine, Pat Lavelle. It is understood that Mr Coleman's request that a priest be present had been turned down.
Up to 7,000 people soon squeezed into the vast circular arena, where Mr Coleman and Mr Henderson were positioned before the altar.
Mr Henderson knelt rapt in prayer. Mr Coleman shifted between kneeling and standing, their eyes fixed beyond the altar. From time to time, Mr Coleman picked up a crucifix and kissed it. Their silence contrasted with growing chattering from the crowd.
Shortly before 2.30pm a woman took to the altar and called on the crowd to stop talking in the church.
"Sing a hymn," she ordered. After a rendition of 'Pray For The Wanderer' the woman began the Rosary, interspersed with lusty choruses of 'Ave Maria' and 'Were You There When They Crucified My Lord'.
Shortly before 3pm the woman, dressed in a pink jacket, left the altar but returned soon after dressed in white with a crucifix around her neck to announce that Mr Coleman had received a "message" that they recite the Sorrowful Mysteries.
At 3.15pm, a few people started moving out of the building, but this turned into a stampede as word spread that people outside were witnessing "the sun dancing".
Host
People were shouting to friends that they saw "something small and round" in the sky. One woman said she saw the sun take the form of the sacred Host.
There was a surge of people towards the car park. A security guard said this "hysteria" could have caused accidents, even deaths.
Outside the basilica, a group gathered round the woman in white, who told them that she had turned to Joe Coleman in the church and asked him if Our Lady was present. "She is," he had replied.
Mr Coleman left by car before 4pm, claiming he witnessed an apparition, as expected, and had received communication from the Virgin Mary.
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