January 15th will see the opening of the celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the apparitions at Banneux, a village 25 kilometres from Liege in Belgium, of the Virgin that showed herself to the little 11-year-old Mariette as the "Virgin of the Poor". The first apparition of the Virgin in the garden of a poor house of working people, where the Beco family lived, dates back to 15th January 1933. In later apparitions, the Virgin asked that a water spring be dedicated to her, which she said was specially designed for "all the nations" and the "sick". The healings began straightaway in that year. The apparitions of the Virgin were officially recognised by the bishop of Liege, mgr. Louis-Joseph Kerkhofs, in 1949, and since then Banneax has become a pilgrims’ destination. For the 75th anniversary, the bishop of Liege, mgr. Aloys Jousten, sent a letter to the diocese, which will be read during the Sunday celebrations of 12th and 13th January. "At Banneax writes the bishop , the Virgin of the Poor shows us that there is a beatitude of the poor and invites the Christians of the diocese of Liege to be a fraternal Church, where everyone can be recognised and appreciated and can enjoy God’s joy, by working for the good of the poor".
