Well, I survived last night, and nothing out of the ordinary happened. I wanted to see the Virgin Mary, but I didn’t. But long ago, someone else did, and the Blessed Mother’s been coming back ever since.
Sister Mildred Neuzil, known then as Sister Mary Ephrem, was a member of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood which ran the sanitarium in Rome City, Indiana. An assiduous group, they spend all day working, rarely speaking, except to patients and to each other about their tasks. In fact, they only had a half hour of free time every day, when they could chitchat about whatever suited their fancy.
On September 25, 1956, the Virgin Mary appeared to Sister Mildred, or “Millie” as she is affectionately known here, after private prayer. It’s said that Sister Millie told the Blessed mother that she didn’t have time to talk, as there was work to do. But Mary stayed with Millie the rest of the day, waiting attentively.
Mary said she wanted to be known as Our Lady of America, and cradled in her hands a replica of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. According to legend, Sister Millie was later able to accurately describe the basilica, even though it hadn’t been built at the time of the apparition. Mary said that she wanted a statue of herself to be enshrined in the basilica, which is still in process today.
Here is the church on the sanitarium grounds where the Virgin Mary appeared:
And here is a close-up of the exact spot. Note the swath of light in the lower right. It wasn’t there when I looked through he viewfinder, and remained in the picture, no matter from which direction I pointed the camera:
The Blessed Mother continued to appear to Sister Millie five more times in the coming weeks, and had many lessons to impart to her. Here’s one of my favorites:
“It is the United States that is to lead the world to peace, the peace of Christ, the peace that He brought with Him from heaven,” Sr. Mildred Mildred quoted the Virgin as saying. “Dear children, unless the United States accepts and carries out faithfully the mandate given to it by heaven to lead the world to peace, there will come upon it and all nations a great havoc of war and incredible suffering. If, however, the United States is faithful to this mandate from heaven and yet fails in the pursuit of peace because the rest of the world will not accept or cooperate, then the United States will not be burdened with the punishment about to fall…”
“If my desires are not fulfilled much suffering will come to this land. My faithful one, if my warnings are taken seriously and enough of my children strive constantly and faithfully to renew and reform themselves in their inward and outward lives, then there will be no nuclear war. What happens to the world depends upon those who live in it. There must be much more good than evil prevailing in order to prevent the holocaust that is so near approaching. Yet I tell you, my daughter, even should such a destruction happen because there were not enough souls who took my warning seriously, there will remain a remnant, untouched by the chaos who, having been faithful in following me and spreading my warnings, will gradually inhabit the earth again with their dedicated and holy lives.”
Have her desires been fulfilled? It’s a strong, and scary foretelling of the future of this country.
Anyhow, Sister Millie went to her priest, which told her to keep her apparitions to herself, lest others think she was crazy. She did, but when she told Bishop Paul F. Leibold of Cincinnati years later, he became convinced of their authenticity and published a book. Because she had guarded the secret so well, it was the first the people of Rome City learned of the apparitions.
To this day, the apparition is in the process of being approved, making it the first apparition of the Virgin Mary accepted by the Catholic Church in the United States.
The statue the Virgin Mary wanted has yet to be installed in the basilica, and there’s actually quite a bit of controversy around it. In the early 1970s, the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood ceased being contemplative, and took away their support of Sister Millie, who moved to Ohio with other sisters. (In 1976, they sold the sanitarum). In Ohio, Sister Millie and her compatriots lived as sisters, even though they were technically no longer part of an order, trying to further the cause of Our Lady of America.
Now, it’s a mess. Sister Millie died in 2000, and one of her comrades, Sister Joseph Therese has taken up the cause. But so have elements within the Church, and the two sides are fighting. In fact, there are now two statues trying to be placed in the basilica by three different organizations. The Catholic Church says Sister Joseph is not a real nun, and misrepresents the Church. But Sister Joseph says that the Church is not holding true to the vision of Our Lady of America. It’s all very complicated, and I’m going to start researching it for a news story.
But here’s a drawing of the statue planned for the basilica based on Sister Millie’s description:
And here’s a representation of the statue bought from Sister Joseph by a third party for Rome City, as she would not sell it to them knowingly:
Weird things are still happening in Rome City. It is said that this place can heal people, as a young boy was apparently cured of cancer a few years ago in this chapel:
And people with cameras report seeing orbs that are reportedly the Virgin Mary. At dusk, they can be seen coming from the sun and approaching the door of the church, as if to say, “This is my home.”
I took pictures of the sun at sunset, and got this on the camera. It seemed to circle Nick Chester, my guide and the site’s historian:
But there are also other things. One of the most interesting is the Wailing Room. When this was a retreat in the early 2000s, it was an average hotel room. But two years ago, strange drippings appeared on the wall.
The maid scrubbed them away, but two days later they returned. The drippings don’t start at the ceiling, and there is no difference between the pain in this room and any of the 480 other rooms in Rome City. But they drip continuously, and are often still wet to the touch. Here is a close-up of the drippings:
The owners stopped using it as a hotel room, and reportedly sent some of the substance to the lab, which said it was olive oil of Mediterranean origin. Weird.
Hundreds of pilgrims come to this site every month to press gauze to the walls and apply it to their ailing joints. They come, even though there are no advertisements of any kind to draw them. And the walls just keep oozing.
I don’t know what to make of them, but as Nick put it, “It’s true for those who come here and believe it. People will find what they want here.” That may sound skeptical, but Nick is a believer. He just knows that anyone can rationalize the occurrences as true or false, however they want to see it. I haven’t formed an opinion, but the sticky brown substance certainly was something else.
(By the way, I’ve seen what it looks like when oil paint is painted over with acrylic, and how it bleeds through. This did not look like that, if you’re wondering.)
On a completely unrelated note, I wanted to finish this posting with one of my favorite pictures of the day. It’s one of the stained-glass windows in the church, made in 1914 in Germany of traditional style. It depicts Jesus as a teenager. His parents lost him, and found him in the temple beginning his preaching to the elders there. Look at the gorgeous detail!
Note 11/22/08: There has been a lot of commenting on this post, and I have made a lot of these comments invisible. There is a big fight over whether what happened at Sylvan Springs was a valid apparition or not. That’s understandable. But the conversation has gotten out of control. Anything that is harassing will be deleted.
I really have enjoyed your blog on The Sanitarium of Rome City,Indiana. I was raised in Rome City and have lived here most of my adult life. I have never had the chance to take a tour of the building but have heard so many rumors about it while growing up. I found your blog very intersting and I love the pictures you have taken of it.
Sincerly
Kimberly Bailey
— Kimberly Bailey · Sep 1, 11:10 PM · #
Thanks for your blog on The Rome City, Indiana campus. I actually lived there while in the 5th grade and have very fond memories of that place.
— Heather · Oct 30, 06:52 PM · #
Matthew.
I suspect that the source of your information concerning Sister Millie derives from the current ownership of Sylvan Springs.
However, there are perhaps a few small facts that may not have been related to you.
Did you know:
-The Archival Statue of Our Lady of America, bequeathed by Sister Millie to Sister Joseph Therese, was stolen from Sister Therese by Albert Langsenkamp & Kevin McCarthy, friends and associates of the current ownership of Sylvan Springs?
- That Sister Millie hated Sylvan Springs and, in her own letters, describes she felt as if she had been surrounded by a “ring of evil” there and that the Blessed Mother likely came to Sister Millie there to console her?
- That Sister Millie continued to receive visitations from the Blessed Mother throughout her life and that, by far, the majority of those apparitions occurred at New Riegel and Fostoria, OH?
- That Albert Langsenkamp & Kevin McCarthy seized control of the devotion to the Blessed Mother, Our Lady of America, by a series of deceptions, frauds, and thefts?
- That Langsenkamp & McCarthy swindled approximately $750,000 from Sister Joseph Therese and Our Lady of America Center, Fostoria, OH, which derived from the liquidation of Key Bank stock certificates given to the Sisters of the Indwelling Trinity many years prior by the aunt of the late Archbishp Paul Liebold?
- That Langsenkamp & McCarthy similarly stole a rosewood crucifix, which once hung in the cloister of the Contemplative Sisters of the Indwelling Trinity?
- That Langsenamp & McCarthy stole from Sister Joseph Therese a hand-carved plaque of Our Lady of America, originally commissioned by the late Archbishop Paul Liebold and also bequeathed by Sister Millie ti Sister Joseph Therese?
- That Langsenkamp & McCarthy unlawfully seized control of Sister’s website found at www.ourladyofamerica.com with a fraudulent letter, upon which they forged Sister’s signature? (Sister has since recovered the website, which is now fully under her control)
- That Sister Joseph therese has been, and remains a Sister of the Catholic Church, notwithstanding the misrepresentations made to the Bishop of Toledo by Langsenkamp & McCarthy?
- That Langsenkamp & McCarthy made use of a dishonest Canon Lawyer, Alan Kershaw, in Rome, Italy to induce the Brokerage House of McDonald & Co., Indianapolis, IN to liquidate the stock certificates and suck out the funds, all the while happily endorsing Sister Joseph Therese as the sole surviving member of the Contemplative Sisters of the Indwelling Trinity?
- That Canon “lawyer” Alan Kershaw, a friend and asssociate of Langsenkamp & McCarthy, billed Sister $30,000.00 U.S for a bief meeting in Rome and a one-page letter endorsing her canonical status, all for the ultimate purpose of inducung the release of the funds from McDonald & Co. so that they could then plunder those funds?
- That Alan Kershaw directed Sister Joseph Therese to wire the $30,000.00 to the Vatican Bank account of Monsignor Pedro Lopez-Gallo, Kershaw’s “mentor?”
- That Monsignor Lopez-Gallo is stationed in North America and has not been to Rome in over thirty years and has no knolwedge of Kershaw, Langsenkamp, and McCarthy?
- That Sylvan Springs, formerly Kneipp Springs, was sold by the Sisters of the Precious Blood to The Way International, a reputed religious cult?
- That there is tangible, documentary evidence of all of the above?
Perhaps you may wish to examine all sides of this issue and you may very well be surprised at the outcome!
— Paul M Hartman · Nov 10, 08:50 PM · #
Certain of these assertions strain the credibility of the sourse of all of this information about “orbs” coming from outer space and knocking on the door to the chapel.
That sounds like another of Larry Young’s “visions”. Mr. Young claims to have heard voices and received “messages” from beyond concerning the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. If you search the web, you will find his letter to Michael Brown about his so-called prophetic “messages.”
Howevr, none of the alleged “prophecies” were fulfilled. So much for visions and hearing voices.
As for the matter of “orbs” from outer space, I suspect that they may be more of Larry Young’s “visions.” Heretofore, people have assocaied “orbs” with ghosts, ghouls, goblins, and space aliens. This is the first time I’ve ever heard anyone claim that these “orbs” are of Divine origin.
As for the “mysterious” drippings on the gray wall, as pictured above, it doesn’t take a Master’s degree in rocket science to figure all of this out.
Firstly, I don’t detect anything in the photo wich remotely resembles a “brown, sticky substance.” Sure looks to me like dried water, as in condensation.
I suspect that, if one were to truly delve into this “mystery,” one would find that a water pipe is running directly behind the plastered and painted walls and causing condensation to form. Another Sylvan Springs “mystery” solved.
As for the laboratory analysis of the “brown, sticky substance,” I would like to see the laboratory report and evidence of the chain of custody of the sample before I could swallow all that. No way, no how!
All of these misrepresentations are nothing more than an unskilled attempt at subtrefuge with the intended objective of separating a fool from his money.
— RIGHT ON! · Nov 14, 04:37 PM · #
Right On couldn’t be more ignorant.
Retired state police detectives have investigated the oil phenomena and found no local source for the oil…no pipes, no identifiable source. They also did the lab testing you questioned. I think they have better skills than a turned-out, discredited, ex-postal inspector like Paul M. Hartman (hey, where’s my mail? is there enough postage?)
That rosewood crucifix he is complaining about was discovered by Mr. Young on a visit to Fostoria in 2001 under a pile of lawnmower parts and was broken and covered with grease from being treated as garbage by Patricia Fuller. She gave it to Mr. Young because she only cared about money and saw Mr. Young as another wallet she could pick.
Mr. Young was wise to get away from her and her group. They are corrupt and have been told by the local bishop many times that she is not a nun and to stop calling herself “sister”.
!
— Kendra · Nov 17, 12:23 PM · #
A little obsessive aren’t you? Maybe you need to talk with someone who can give you professional guidance. What does any of this have to do with this blogsite and Matthew’s post?
Please take your grudge elsewhere.
— Jacob · Nov 20, 08:53 AM · #
Actually Larry (Jacob), it is nothing more than concern for the truth of the matter!
— Paul M. Hartman · Nov 20, 01:31 PM · #
To Paul/Ciao, etc.:As Jacob, Olivia, Kendra, Marybeth and others have stated:why don’t you move on? The entry Matthew wrote was in response to the myriad of people who are solely wanting to spread the word about the devotion to Our Lady of America. If anyone has referred to the Springs as “holy ground” it is people like me who have received countless blessings from visiting. No one ever asked for money or donations before during or after I went to Rome City. None of us are Larry, and all of us know that Larry is working only for the spread of the devotion. Otherwise he would have sold the property long ago. Unlike other sites he has never been “affiliated with” other groups promoting OLA or identified his blog as an “official” website. I’m sure some people doubted Noah’s prophecy too when he built an ark on dry land. But Noah was right! Larry does not walk around talking about messages or prophecies….his main message is to always be ready spiritually and stay close to the sacraments. You can print any hateful thing you think of on this or any other website, but it will NOT change the truth that many of us have discovered. Regardless of the Bishops or anyone else….it is Our Lady who is “calling” many people to this beautiful peaceful place.
“By Thy Holy and Immaculate Conception O Mary deliver us from evil!”
— pam j · Nov 20, 04:13 PM · #
If you wish to discover the truth about the attacks on the true and genuine devotion to Our Blessed Mother, please go to this blog at http://ourladyofamerica.blogspot.com
— True Believer · Nov 20, 10:37 PM · #
Paul/Ciao/Affirmed/True Believer
I am a believer and proponent of Our Lady of America. I have been to Rome City numerous times over the past several years and have taken many people, including priests, with me. Several non-believers experienced conversions while there and are now some of the most faith-strong Roman Catholics you will ever meet. The fruits are good!
I have witnessed the Miracle of the Sun on Holy Family Hill many times. The first time I was with Archbishop Leibold’s nephew (Paul) and his family from Ohio. It was spectacular! Paul wrote about his experience on SpiritDaily many years ago and he even mentions me being there. Many of the images that are placed on the OLTIV website have been witnessed by myself and those in my groups with our naked eye.
Although there is a donation box tucked away on the grounds, neither I nor anybody I have taken on my visits has ever been asked for money by anyone we have met there.
Before I became an advocate for victim’s rights, I spent years working in law enforcement dealing with mentally-affected suspects that were being held for trial or possible placement under court authority in one of our state’s mental health facilities.
I have seen your pattern of thought process exhibited in your commentary before and it is alarming that you are still “on the street” as we would say.
You have a lot of issues to sort out amongst your own group of personaes. Maybe you should take yourself and your group of “friends” in for counseling. It seems you have what those in the psychiatric field would describe as an “uhealthy obsession” with this matter which manifests itself in your inability to rationalize material facts as “normal” brains would do. You exhibit a clear “superiority complex” in your writings here and elsewhere that I have examined this past week.
I read Mr. Young’s letter to Michael Brown and even Michael Brown states in the preface of that piece, very clearly, that Mr. Young had made his concerns known MONTHS BEFORE 9/11/01. This was exactly what made Mr. Young’s letter pertinent and alarming to Michael Brown. Now you want to make Michael Brown, an independent journalist, complicitous in your imagined scenario?
Maybe this is a pattern with your ability to sort fact from fiction as was the case with your butchering of the Spirko investigation almost 25 years ago which the courts and parole board have clearly determined?
Apparently you still feel he is guilty but clearer thinking has prevailed and this innocent man is free after 24 years. I will be referring this particular case to our civil attorneys to determine what actions and remuneration may be due Mr. Spirko. If Mr. Spirko is able to mount a civil action against you and your associates, my best advice to you is to plead a mental defect as your defense and use some of your recent comments as evidence of this fact.
Aside from any civil matters, from the Catholic Church’s perspective, what you are doing on behalf of Patricia Fuller’s, aka Sr. Joseph Therese, claims against the two men in Indianapolis is running a very parallel course of warping facts and it is undermining any remaining credibility she may have with the bishops of this country if she truly wants to see Our Lady of America’s requests fulfilled in our lifetime. She does not need any association with your comments to be placed on top of her already precarious position with Bishops Blair and Ricken.
I feel she would be wise to distance herself from her association with you.
I hope you seek counseling.
— A Ramierez · Nov 21, 12:44 PM · #