Two Miraculous Apparitions of St. Michael
The Catholic Church has a long tradition of apparitions, those moments when the supernatural breaks into the everyday world to communicate a message or to offer assistance. Of course, Mary is rightly the queen of apparitions and there are numerous accounts of Mary’s appearance throughout world history. Jn his recent book, World of Marian Apparitions, Mariologist Wincenty Laszewsk goes through dozens of accounts that occurred in the last century. Yet, Mary is not the only one who appears to us in our world.
In the Lord’s providence, angels also appear to people in order to teach, protect, and, most importantly, deliver the messages of God. These angelic companions might appear in a personal way, like the guardian angel who rescues you from certain dangers, but there are also apparitions that change the course of history. St. Michael the Archangel is one such entity that has had an active role in guiding humanity back to Christ.
St. Michael was the angel who slew Lucifer and cast him out of paradise, but his work in spiritual warfare is still ongoing. As such, St. Michael often appears with his sword, a sure sign that people who see him have gazed upon an angelic warrior for God. While there are many accounts of St. Michael, let’s go over two famous stories of the archangel’s intervention.
Monte Gargano: St. Michael Protects the Faithful
There is a cave on the slopes of Monte Gargano in Apulia, Italy that has had a supernatural reputation since at least the time of the Romans. Pagans worshipped at the entrance of the cave long before Christianity came to the Italian peninsula, and it still had a mystical feeling after the conversion of the people.
In the fifth century, as the Roman Empire was coming apart in the West, a nobleman came to St. Lorenzo Maiorano, the bishop of nearby Siponto, with news of an odd occurrence. Depending on which account you read, either the nobleman or his servant shot an arrow at a bull who refused to leave the entrance of the cave only for the arrow to reverse and fly back. Either way, the nobleman was troubled and sought the bishop’s help. The saintly bishop knew that something was not right and immediately ordered the faithful to take on three days of prayer and penance.
At the end of the third day, the mighty St. Michael appeared to St. Lorenzo and commanded him, saying,
“Know ye that this man is so hurt by my will. I am Michael the archangel, which will that this place be worshipped on earth, and will have it surely kept. And therefore I have proved that I am keeper of this place by the demonstrance and showing of this thing.”
St. Lorenzo then made a procession to the entrance of the cave where he offered prayers and praise. The bishop was still nervous about entering the cave, given its reputation, but St. Micahel was not finished yet. Two years later, St. Micahel appeared again to promise the people protection from a barbarian invasion. After several days of prayer and penance, a strong storm of hail fell on the invading army and caused them to leave St. Lorenzo and his people alone.
