Paranormal record / 1949

The Heroldsbach Apparitions and Sun Miracle, Upper Franconia (1949-1952)

October 9, 1949 · Birch wood at the edge of the Schloss Thurn park, Heroldsbach, Forchheim district, Upper Franconia, Bavaria, Germany

35Partially documented Paranormal Being / humanoid 21 sources 10 videos

Sunday, 9 October 1949. Four girls were gathering autumn leaves near a small birch wood at the edge of the park of Schloss Thurn, in Heroldsbach. Above the trees they saw a luminous monogram. Then a woman dressed in white. "She is like transparent," they said. They believed she was the Mother of God. The visions came nearly daily for three years. On 8 December 1949, about 10,000 people watched the sun grow, turn and change colour. By the end, about 1.5 million pilgrims had come. The Church answered with a ban, a decree and excommunications. The children refused to recant.

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Key facts

When	October 9, 1949 to 1952
Time of day	not recorded
Where	Birch wood at the edge of the Schloss Thurn park, Heroldsbach, Forchheim district, Upper Franconia, Bavaria,Germany
Duration	three years of near-daily visions (9 October 1949 to 31 October 1952)
Witnesses	10,000 (mass sighting)
Witness roles	other
Found
Evidence	none confirmed
Investigations	Archdiocese of Bamberg commission (1949-1950),Vatican statement (2 October 1950),Roman decree (25 July 1951)
Status	disputed

The phenomenon

A luminous monogram about one metre high above the birch trees, then a woman dressed in white, "like transparent", hovering with a black rosary. Later the Virgin in a blue cloak and golden crown. On 8 December 1949 the sun grew, turned fast in a circle, changed colour and crackled for almost a quarter of an hour.

Size	about 1 m (luminous monogram about one metre high)
Colour	white, orange, blue, green, other colour
Surface	glowing
Sound	other sound
Motion	hovered
Duration	15 minutes

Context

Heroldsbach is a village in the Forchheim district of Upper Franconia, Bavaria. At the edge of the park of Schloss Thurn stood a small birch wood. The parish priest, Johannes Gailer, had served the village for 38 years.

Sources (21, most influential first)

West German Miracles: Catholic Mystics, Church Hierarchy, and Postwar Popular Culture · Zeithistorische Forschungen· 2009 · Academic / paper of record · academic
O'Sullivan 2009, PDF · Zeitgeschichte digital· 2009 · Academic / paper of record · academic
Heroldsbach · blattus.de (Martin Willing) · Wiki, blog, podcast · blog
Heroldsbach · kath-zdw.ch · Wiki, blog, podcast · blog
Die Marienerscheinungen von Heroldsbach und das Sonnenwunder vom 8.12.1949 · Christliches Forum (Felizitas Küble)· 2016 · Wiki, blog, podcast · blog

Reputability

35/100Partially documented

Keywords

People

Erika MüllerSeer, one of the four girls at the first vision
Kunigunde SchleicherSeer, one of the four girls at the first vision
Grete GügelSeer, one of the four girls at the first vision
Marie HeilmannSeer, one of the four girls at the first vision; excluded from the sacraments
Johannes GailerParish priest of Heroldsbach; reported the visions to Bamberg and witnessed the sun phenomenon
Johann Baptist WalzTheologian and eyewitness of the sun phenomenon; wrote a two-volume documentation
Josef Otto KolbArchbishop of Bamberg; 1952 pastoral letter warning against pilgrimages
Michael E. O'SullivanHistorian of the postwar German apparitions

Names

Fátima