By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Carlos Silva, Roger Machin and other men carry a statue of Our Lady Guardian of the Faith into Mass.
MIAMI | Archbishop Thomas Wenski placed a tiny crown on the head of a statue of Our Lady Guardian of the Faith. The gesture was meant to officially recognize, in the Archdiocese of Miami, the apparitions of Patricia Talbot, an Ecuadoran woman whose visions of the Virgin Mary started in 1988 at age 16.
“I am the Guardian of the Faith, that’s how Our Lady identified herself,” said Talbot, who is affectionately known as Pachi. She was one of those present at the Mass Sept. 13 at St. Mary Cathedral.
On August 28, 2013, the bishop of Cuenca, Ecuador, also crowned Our Lady Guardian of the Faith, recognizing her on the silver anniversary of the start of Talbot’s apparitions.
At the Miami Mass, men carried a statue of Our Lady Guardian of the Faith into the church as the faithful waved white handkerchiefs in a form of greeting. Many women wore white in honor of the Virgin Mary, along with blue scarves, also a color associated with Mary.
The apparitions began in Talbot’s bedroom when she was a fashion model and student. They continued in various churches, chapels and her home. At the time, the attractive young woman’s life centered on runways — both fashion and airport — as she traveled the world modeling modern-day clothing fashioned from the traditional clothing of Ecuador.
“Early in the morning, I saw a beautiful light and Our Lady was in the center,” said Talbot. “I made a little shrine of pictures, statues and candles. The pictures and statues began exuding oil and droplets of blood formed on the crucifix.”
As in other apparitions, Mary’s message is to live the Gospel and be one with God, Talbot said. People should not focus on the sequence of events which are to unfold in the world, but they must prepare themselves diligently for the reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Talbot said that in 1989, Mary showed her a site where she wanted people to come and worship her. It was high in the Andes Mountains, in a place called El Cajas, her little piece of heaven. The site, about 25 miles from Cuenca, Talbot’s home town, is where Mary would pour forth her blessings on pilgrims. Eventually, a shrine will be built on the site.
“Our Lady asked that the area be reserved as a holy place, a sanctuary,” Talbot said.
She has taken a vow of silence at the request of her bishop and cannot speak publicly about the messages. A successful worldly career awaited her, but she and her husband have devoted their lives to helping the poor. The Association of Mother Mary, Guardian of the Faith, was founded as a result of Talbot’s visions. She even had two private audiences with St. John Paul II.
Talbot has traveled to Miami often and has many followers here. Several Rosary Cenacles have been established in the archdiocese, from Pinecrest to Lighthouse Point, in response to Mary’s messages, said Vivian Tezanos, representative of Florida’s Association of Mother Mary, Guardian of the Faith.
“Pachi is an instrument of the Holy Spirit who is bringing people back into the Church,” said Tezanos. “We are doing what Our Lady wants us to do.”
Tezanos obtained the large statue of Our Lady Guardian of the Faith on a visit to El Cajas. She had the statue in her home and has given it to St. Brendan Church in Miami, where the group’s spiritual director, Father Fernando Heria, is pastor. The messages from Mary conveyed by Talbot have been compiled into a book, “The Synthesis of Messages from the Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary Guardian of the Faith.”
“I am the Guardian of the Faith, that’s how Our Lady identified herself,” said Talbot, who is affectionately known as Pachi. She was one of those present at the Mass Sept. 13 at St. Mary Cathedral.
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Archbishop Thomas Wenski crowns Our Lady Guardian of the Faith during a Mass in her honor.
At the Miami Mass, men carried a statue of Our Lady Guardian of the Faith into the church as the faithful waved white handkerchiefs in a form of greeting. Many women wore white in honor of the Virgin Mary, along with blue scarves, also a color associated with Mary.
The apparitions began in Talbot’s bedroom when she was a fashion model and student. They continued in various churches, chapels and her home. At the time, the attractive young woman’s life centered on runways — both fashion and airport — as she traveled the world modeling modern-day clothing fashioned from the traditional clothing of Ecuador.
“Early in the morning, I saw a beautiful light and Our Lady was in the center,” said Talbot. “I made a little shrine of pictures, statues and candles. The pictures and statues began exuding oil and droplets of blood formed on the crucifix.”
As in other apparitions, Mary’s message is to live the Gospel and be one with God, Talbot said. People should not focus on the sequence of events which are to unfold in the world, but they must prepare themselves diligently for the reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Talbot said that in 1989, Mary showed her a site where she wanted people to come and worship her. It was high in the Andes Mountains, in a place called El Cajas, her little piece of heaven. The site, about 25 miles from Cuenca, Talbot’s home town, is where Mary would pour forth her blessings on pilgrims. Eventually, a shrine will be built on the site.
“Our Lady asked that the area be reserved as a holy place, a sanctuary,” Talbot said.
Photographer: MARLENE QUARONI | FC
Archbishop Thomas Wenski poses for a photo with Pachi Talbot at a reception following Mass.
Talbot has traveled to Miami often and has many followers here. Several Rosary Cenacles have been established in the archdiocese, from Pinecrest to Lighthouse Point, in response to Mary’s messages, said Vivian Tezanos, representative of Florida’s Association of Mother Mary, Guardian of the Faith.
“Pachi is an instrument of the Holy Spirit who is bringing people back into the Church,” said Tezanos. “We are doing what Our Lady wants us to do.”
Tezanos obtained the large statue of Our Lady Guardian of the Faith on a visit to El Cajas. She had the statue in her home and has given it to St. Brendan Church in Miami, where the group’s spiritual director, Father Fernando Heria, is pastor. The messages from Mary conveyed by Talbot have been compiled into a book, “The Synthesis of Messages from the Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary Guardian of the Faith.”
