JANONIS, LITHUANIA
(July 1962)

An 18-year old girl, Ramute Macvyte, was walking through fields of clover at 11:00 p.m. on Friday, July 13, 1962.  Coming from the barn past the cows, she saw an unusual light. As she got closer, she said that it resembled the big altar from the Skiemoniu parish.  Many candles were burning on it.  Standing on the altar was Holy Mary – wearing a white gown with blue ribbons.  Her hands were held as a priest saying Holy Mass.  Over her head were dark heavens where many stars glistened.  Her hair was blonde and fell to her feet.

Ramute was frightened and wanted to run home to tell her parents so that they could come see.  But, after starting to run home, she thought that she should ask Mary if she would wait for her to come back.  Turning around, she saw that everything had disappeared.  She tied up the cow and went home to tell her mother what she had seen.  But her mother suggested that she might have imagined it all.  Ramute insisted that it was true and had lasted for 5 minutes.

On Saturday, July 14, her mother told Grasilda Duntiene from Janonis what Ramute had seen.  Ramute also shared her story directly with this lady – and then all agreed that she should return to the same spot at the same time that night.  Despite asking her mother and sister Anna to go with her, they refused — only because it was raining.  So Ramute took her Rosary with her and left.  When she got to the corner of the barn, she became frightened and started reciting the Rosary.  Slowly she moved forward, and when she was near the well, Mary appeared to her.  She suddenly fell to her knees.  This time, Mary was standing on a little table covered with a white cloth with golden crosses.  Mary appeared exactly the same as the day before but with a crown on her head.  Her left hand was toward her breast and holding a branch.  She couldn’t see her feet (covered by the white robe) but leaned forward to kiss the area where her feet would be.

Ramute said,

“Why, Holy Mary, did you appear a second time to me?  Why don’t you appear to priests and bishops and holy people rather than to such an insignificant piece of dust?”

Mary:   “My pure child, you are worth it.”

R:         “Holy Mary, keep mankind from death and sickness.”

Mary:   “I will help mankind if man turns to prayer, and I will protect you from death; otherwise you would have died this month near St. James’ day (July 25). Friday would have been your day of death. Ask people not to eat meat on Fridays.  Ask those who believe my holy words to say a small prayer. To the non-believers, say nothing.”

Ramute said that Mary was crying golden tears which fell like 5-kopeck coins.

Around the table golden clover bloomed. She asked Mary if she could have some of each.

            “The clover and the tears are of no value.  I will do something greater to make people start to pray, and the whole world will sparkle and shimmer.  There is no greater fortune than what you have seen today.”

Ramute was crying the whole time, and Mary told her to stop and go home, happier, to awaken her brothers, sisters, and parents.  When they say their prayers, she is to tell them then what she has seen.

Mary:   “And now I leave you a long, healthy, happy life.”

R:         “When will you again appear?”

Mary:   “I will not appear here again.  I will appear in Egypt soon with two angels.  If anything goes wrong, come here to pray, and I will give you advice.”

Then Mary floated over her head and disappeared.  Ramute went home and did as Mary had asked.

On July 15 many uniformed military men chased people and beat them to keep them away from the apparition site.  The state authorities had forbidden people to go there to pray.  Yet, on July 25, Marijona Tamasoniene and her two daughters, Aldona and Elizabeth, and their children, Genute and Stasyte, traveled from Zaltiskiu to seek the site in order to pray there.  Cautioned by Ramute’s parents not to do so, they begged to hide instead in a haystack near the barn and pray there.  Ramute’s mother and sister, Anna, coaxed them to come out of the haystack, and, as they did, the haystack and clover disappeared, and a bright light appeared.  Ramute’s mother fell to her knees – feeling “as if she were thrown to the ground by its brilliant projections”.  All of them saw the strange light.  Anna ran into the house to tell Ramute and her father what she had seen.  The father ran out of the house just in time to see the light fading away.

One important aspect of these encounters was Mary’s announcement that she would soon appear in Egypt – which she did — just six years later!