Background
The Visionary
Born on the Feast of the Epiphany in 1977, Louis Christropher Courtis is a member of the Ukranian Catholic Orthodox Church. He lives with his parents and works as a substitute teacher’s aide. He has had no formal religious training. Our Lady began appearing to him privately in 1995 and Our Lord in 1997.
During the apparitions, Chris, in a state of ecstasy, sees real, live, 3
dimensional figures, hears them audibly and repeats their message word for word.
Occasionally Chris describes what he is seeing in the apparition in his own
words. The messages are tape recorded as they are spoken, transcribed, and
reviewed by Chris’ spiritual director before being released.
Chris is under the spiritual direction of a Catholic priest. The bishop of the
diocese has been notified of the apparitions but has not made any comment or
initiated any investigation.
The Prayer Meetings
In March 2000, Our Lady asked Chris to form a prayer group to pray with her for her intentions and where she and Jesus could appear publicly and give their messages. He agreed and arrangements were made for the group to meet in a private home. Thirty-one persons from 17 parishes attended that first meeting on April 13, 2000. Since that time Jesus and Mary have been appearing to Chris Courtis at a public prayer meeting on the 13th of every month during the recitation of 15 decades of the Rosary. Beginning in February 2001, Mary also began appearing publicly to Chris on the 24th of each month to give additional messages.
As instructed by Our Lady, the regular monthly prayer meetings and apparitions
stopped December 24, 2005. However, God the Father, Jesus and Mary have said
they will return each year. God the Father will appear publicly to Chris each
April 13, Jesus will appear on April 13 and April 24, and Mary will appear on
January 6, April 13, April 25, May 25, October 13, and December 24.
Update:
On December 24, 2008, Our Lady asked the prayer group to meet on April 13th,
April 24th, 25th, May 25th, and December 25, 2008.
On March 15, 2008, Our Lady asked that the prayer group also meet on the second
day of each month so that she and St. Joseph could appear “to foster devotion to
his Most Chaste Heart and also to make people aware of his most powerful
intercession.”
Overview of Messages – It’s all about returning to the Father!
For the first 4 years (April 2000- April 2004), Jesus appeared as Jesus, Lord and Lover of the Divine Will, and Mary appeared as Mary, Mother and Queen of the Divine Will. They said they came to lead us back to the Heavenly Father and to the Kingdom of the Divine and Most Holy Will of God. They gave instructions on living, loving, and praying in the Divine Will and fostering devotion to the Sacred Heart of God the Father.
On April 13, 2001, the first anniversary of the apparitions, God the Father
appeared to Chris, saying, “I come from Heaven to love you and to ask you in
prayer to return to Me!” From April 2001 to the present, He has given us many
instructions regarding devotion to His Most Fatherly Sacred Heart. They include
the Feast of the Sacred Heart of God the Father (the day before the feast of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary), the Blue Scapular of
God the Father, and the First Mondays in honor of His Sacred Heart. (See
Devotion Index) He also established Gaithersburg, MD as the Center of the Sacred
Heart of God the Father. He says he will appear on April 13th every year until
he chooses not to do so.
In June 2004, Jesus and Mary began appearing under the title of Your Jesus of
Mercy and Mother of Mercy to emphasize the need for love and mercy as
essential to living in the Divine Will. They have given us a Mother of Mercy
Chaplet, 4 novenas, a feast day (May 25th), included “Mother of Mercy” in the
Litany of the Blessed Mother, and have given special blessings and graces to an
original oil painting of the Mother of Mercy with the Child Jesus.
(See Devotion Index)
On the 24th of each month, between June 2004 and December 2005, Our Lady also
appeared publicly to Chris under her titles of 18 apparition sites around the
world and gave additional messages.