Sanctuary of Our Lady of Banneux

Sprimont, Belgium, Belgium

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The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Banneux is a major Roman Catholic Marian shrine in the small hamlet of Banneux, part of the municipality of Sprimont in the province of Liège, Wallonia, Belgium, known as the “Shrine of the Virgin of the Poor” and a place of prayer, pilgrimage and healing.

Between 15 January and 2 March 1933, the Virgin Mary reportedly appeared eight times to 11‑year‑old Mariette Beco, who later became well known as “Mariette Bero”; in these apparitions Mary identified herself as the Mother of the Redeemer, called herself the “Virgin of the Poor”, urged people to pray and to trust in Christ as the source of all grace, and showed Mariette a spring (source) as a symbol of Jesus as the living water, inviting her to put her hands in the water.

The Church officially approved the authenticity of the apparitions in 1949, and since then Banneux has become one of the most important Marian pilgrimage sites in Europe, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, including many sick people and groups coming for special “triduum” gatherings for the suffering and the sick.

The sanctuary consists of several main elements: the Chapel of the Apparitions built on the exact spot where Mary appeared to Mariette, with the spring visible nearby; a large modern church and basilica; a network of chapels and small shrines in the forest; a Way of the Cross; a hospital for pilgrims seeking healing; and information and prayer areas, all set in a peaceful, wooded landscape.