On the rainy evening of August 21, 1879, fifteen people in the village of Knock, County Mayo, Ireland, saw the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist standing at the gable wall of their parish church, beside an altar with a Lamb and a cross, surrounded by angels. The apparition lasted about two hours, and no word was spoken. Knock became Ireland’s national Marian shrine, visited by Pope St. John Paul II and St. Teresa of Calcutta, and in 2021 Pope Francis recognized it as an international shrine of Marian and Eucharistic devotion. Below are the story of the apparition and what its silent images mean, the feast on August 17, a novena and prayers to Our Lady of Knock.
The apparition of August 21, 1879
Around eight o’clock on a wet Thursday evening, Mary McLoughlin, the parish priest’s housekeeper, and Mary Byrne noticed strange figures at the south gable of the church of St. John the Baptist in Knock. Soon others gathered: the witnesses ranged from a boy of six to a woman of seventy-five. In a bright light they saw:
- The Virgin Mary, in white garments with a brilliant crown, her hands raised as in prayer, her eyes lifted to heaven.
- St. Joseph on her right, his head bowed toward her.
- St. John the Evangelist on her left, dressed as a bishop, holding an open book and raising his right hand as if preaching.
- To their left, an altar with a Lamb standing on it and a cross behind, with angels hovering around.
The witnesses knelt in the pouring rain and prayed the Rosary. Although it rained heavily, the ground beneath the figures stayed dry. No words were spoken. Two Church commissions, in 1879 and 1936, examined the testimony of the witnesses and found it trustworthy.
The meaning of the silent apparition
Because Our Lady said nothing at Knock, its message is read in its images. The Lamb on the altar is Christ, the Lamb of God offered in the Mass; the angels adore him; Mary, Joseph and John stand in prayer around him. It is a picture of the Mass and of heaven’s worship, offered to a poor, famine-stricken people a generation after the Great Famine. Its message is hope, prayer and the Eucharist.
And I saw: and behold in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the ancients, a Lamb standing as it were slain, having seven horns and seven eyes: which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.
St. John, who saw the Lamb in the Apocalypse, is the disciple to whom Jesus entrusted his Mother:
Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen.
When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son.
After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.
A prayer to Our Lady of Knock
Written for this page:
Our Lady of Knock, Queen of Ireland,
you came in silence to a poor and suffering people,
standing with St. Joseph and St. John beside the Lamb of God.
Teach us to adore Jesus in the Eucharist,
to pray with patience when we have no words,
and to trust in God in every hardship.
Pray for our families, our emigrants and our sick,
and obtain for us the grace we ask: (name your intention). Amen.
A prayer for the sick at Knock
Many pilgrims come to Knock to pray for healing, and several cures have been reported there.
Our Lady of Knock, Health of the Sick,
I bring before you (name), who is ill.
Pray to your Son for healing, comfort and peace,
and keep us all close to the Lamb of God. Amen.
This prayer was written for this page. See the prayer for the sick.
Novena to Our Lady of Knock
To end on the eve of the feast, pray from August 8 to August 16; or, to end on the anniversary of the apparition, from August 12 to August 20. Each day:
- Pray the prayer to Our Lady of Knock above.
- Pray a decade of the Rosary, as the witnesses did in the rain.
- Spend a moment in silent adoration of Jesus, the Lamb of God.
- End with an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be.
Pilgrimage to Knock
Knock Shrine in County Mayo welcomes about a million and a half pilgrims a year. The original gable wall is now enclosed in a glass chapel with white marble figures of the apparition. Pope St. John Paul II came for the centenary in 1979 and raised the shrine church to a basilica, and St. Teresa of Calcutta visited in 1993. In 2021 Pope Francis gave Knock the status of an International Shrine of Special Eucharistic and Marian Devotion.
Feast day
- Our Lady of Knock: August 17, a feast in Ireland.
- Anniversary of the apparition: August 21.
- The annual Knock Novena at the shrine is held each August, leading up to the anniversary.
Frequently asked questions
When is the feast of Our Lady of Knock?
August 17 in the Irish liturgical calendar. The apparition took place on August 21, 1879.
What did Our Lady say at Knock?
Nothing. The apparition at Knock was silent; its message is given through the images of Mary, Joseph, John and the Lamb on the altar.
Is the Knock apparition approved?
Yes. Two Church commissions found the witnesses credible, and popes have visited and honored the shrine, which Pope Francis declared an international shrine in 2021.
Who saw the apparition at Knock?
Fifteen people of the village, men, women and children, aged from about six to seventy-five.
More Marian prayers
- Marian feast days
- Rosary prayers
- St. Brigid prayer
- St. Patrick prayer
- Eucharistic adoration prayers
- Our Lady of Guadalupe novena
Texts and sources
- Scripture: Apocalypse 5:6; John 19:25–27, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The account of the apparition follows the depositions of the witnesses taken by the Church commission of 1879.
- The prayers and novena were written for this page.