The Lipa apparitions and rose-petal showers at the Carmelite Monastery, Lipa (1948)

The Monastery of Our Lady of Mount Carmel stands in Barrio Antipolo del Norte, Lipa, Batangas. The Discalced Carmelite nuns founded it on 31 May 1946. Its prioress was Mother Mary Cecilia of Jesus. Its newest postulant was Teresita Castillo, 21, youngest of seven children of Modesto Castillo, a former Governor of Batangas. She had entered without her family's permission.

It began in darkness. On 31 July 1948 she said "the Evil One" came to her cell. Accounts speak of foul odors and a terrifying voice. Then, on 7 August, a very sweet fragrance like that of white lilies.

12 September. About 5 p.m. In the garden, a vine shook though there was no wind. The next day it moved again. She saw a beautiful lady in a simple white dress with a cloth belt, hands clasped, a golden rosary hanging on her right hand. The Lady stood on clouds about two feet above the ground. Some sources date her first appearance earlier, to 18 August. Castillo reported 19 appearances in all, and four secrets. On 12 November 1948 the Lady named herself "Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace." The message referred to Fátima.

On 14 September the nuns found fresh rose petals of exceptional sweetness strewn around their rooms. The next day Auxiliary Bishop Alfredo Obviar blessed the site. "All experienced the fall of the rose petals."

In November the showers moved outside the walls. The Manila Times broke the story on 17 November. People watched the sky. A rose scent came first, they said. Retired Air Force General Godofredo Juliano saw "red rose petals, falling, not falling straight but sort of fluttering down." Lalyn Castro said "you could see it really came from the clouds." Some petals were said to bear images of the Virgin and Child and the Sacred Heart. At one point some 30,000 people stood inside the grounds.

Bishop Alfredo Verzosa began as a skeptic and approved the devotion on 6 December 1948. Rome was not convinced. On 28 March 1951 the Holy Office found the events "lack signs of supernatural character or origin," and Pope Pius XII confirmed it. A commission of six Filipino bishops, including Rufino Santos, signed on 11 April: "there was no supernatural intervention in the reported extraordinary happenings including the shower of rose petals in Lipa." The statue was withdrawn. Documents were ordered burned. Witnesses were bound to silence.

Believers never accepted it. In 1990 a nephew of Bishop Cesar Guerrero swore that his uncle signed under duress. Retired Bishop Godofredo Pedernal swore he had seen a shower in 1948. In 2015 Archbishop Ramon Arguelles declared the events "supernatural in character and worthy of belief." That December the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith reaffirmed the 1951 verdict. Its decree cites the prioress's written confession of her role in the "deception." Nuns testified they saw roses delivered to the convent and were told to burn petal-less stems. In March 2024 Archbishop Gilbert Garcera released the 1951 decree.

Lipa stands apart. Researcher Michael O'Neill called it "the singular case in history where you have a negative judgement, but the devotion is allowed." June Keithley's 1990 documentary The Woman Clothed with the Sun gathered the witnesses. Floy Quintos staged the story as Grace. Devotees still keep petals. Teresita Castillo died on 16 November 2016.