Our Lady of Beauraing (1932–1933)

33 Apparitions Beauraing, Belgium Recognized in 1949

Beauraing's school garden and sanctuary setting remain central to the devotion to Our Lady of the Golden Heart. Official sanctuary image

Dates

November 29, 1932 to January 3, 1933

The official sanctuary history summarizes the case as more than thirty apparitions over five winter weeks.

Visionaries

Five children

Fernande, Gilberte, and Albert Voisin, plus Andrée and Gilberte Degeimbre, are named in the official shrine account.

Recognition

Public devotion authorized in 1943; authenticity recognized in 1949

The shrine’s public presentation preserves both stages of the diocesan judgment.

Distinctive feature

The Golden Heart and the hawthorn tree

The sanctuary repeatedly ties the title and site memory to the illuminated heart revealed on December 29 and to the garden hawthorn.

Source note Beauraing’s public file is unusually dateable for a winter apparition cycle

The sanctuary fixes 33 apparitions between November 29, 1932 and January 3, 1933, preserves short recurring messages, and records the two public diocesan milestones of 1943 and 1949.

Beauraing sanctuary account Open source

The story

From November 29, 1932 to January 3, 1933, five children in Beauraing, Belgium reported seeing the Virgin Mary 33 times.^[1]

The official sanctuary account emphasizes several recurring features:

• the apparitions took place near the hawthorn tree in the school garden^[1]
• the children increasingly described Mary as Our Lady of the Golden Heart^[1]
• the apparition asked for prayer, pilgrimage, sacrifice, and love of Christ^[1]

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Primary-source file

Official apparition account Narrative of the 33 apparitions

The sanctuary account gives the dates, the five children, the recurring messages, and the recognition dates of 1943 and 1949.

sanctuairedebeauraing.be Official sanctuary dossier Statue, hawthorn, votive chapel, and shrine layout

This page documents how the apparition garden was fixed into statues, chapels, confession spaces, and basilica structures.

sanctuairedebeauraing.be Official pilgrimage life Current liturgies, adoration, confessions, museum, and pilgrim reception

The preparation page shows that Beauraing still functions as a working sanctuary with daily offices, confession, and constant pilgrim infrastructure.

sanctuairedebeauraing.be

Publicly documented chronology

The children and the course of the apparitions

The official sanctuary narrative places the apparitions in a small school garden squeezed between the road and the railway rather than in a dramatic mountain or forest setting.^[1]

The five visionaries were:

• Fernande Voisin (15)
• Gilberte Voisin (13)
• Albert Voisin (11)
• Andrée Degeimbre (14)
• Gilberte Degeimbre (9)^[1]

According to the sanctuary history, the first sighting on November 29, 1932 occurred above the railway bridge. By the following nights the apparitions had become associated above all with the hawthorn tree near the garden gate, which remains the central devotional point of the shrine.^{[1] [2]}

The official sanctuary presentation also preserves several dated moments in the sequence:

• on December 2, the children first heard Mary ask, “Be good”^[1]
• on December 17, the request came for “a chapel”^{[1] [2]}
• on December 21, Mary identified herself as the Immaculate Virgin^[1]
• on December 23, the children were told, “Would you like my Son? Love me, then. Sacrifice yourselves for me.”^[1]
• on December 29, the children said they saw Mary’s heart illuminated like gold, which became the shrine’s defining title^{[1] [4]}
• on January 3, 1933, the final apparition included the promise, “I will convert sinners.”^[1]

The same account preserves several details about the public setting: large crowds gathered, adults searched the surroundings, and the children repeatedly fell to their knees and remained fixed on the same point during the reported ecstasies.^[1]

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Recorded details

The public shrine record consistently links Beauraing to:

• five named child witnesses^{[1] [4]}
• the school garden and hawthorn tree^{[1] [2]}
• the request for a chapel and pilgrimage^[1]
• the title Our Lady of the Golden Heart^{[1] [4]}

The official sanctuary presentation treats the hawthorn, the illuminated heart seen on December 29, and the compact garden setting as the three visual markers that continue to define Beauraing.^{[1] [2] [4]}

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Formal diocesan recognition and shrine continuity

The official sanctuary account states that:

• public devotion was authorized in 1943
• the authenticity of the facts was recognized on July 2, 1949 by Bishop André-Marie Charue^[1]

The sanctuary pages also preserve the later development of the site itself:

• the statue made from the children’s indications was modeled in 1945 and inaugurated in 1946^[2]
• the requested votive chapel was built from 1947 to 1954^[2]
• John Paul II prayed in the garden and celebrated Mass at Beauraing in 1985^[4]
• the church of the shrine was raised to the rank of minor basilica in 2013^[4]

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The sanctuary today

The current sanctuary preparation page shows that Beauraing remains active as a pilgrimage site with:

• daily Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours during the week^[3]
• daily adoration and regular confession availability^[3]
• an on-site Marian museum, projection room, information point, lodging, and group reception^[3]

Because the apparitions were tied so closely to the school garden, the shrine’s devotional geography remains centered on the hawthorn, the votive chapel, and the compact route through the apparition grounds.^[2]

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References

1. Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Beauraing. “Bref récit des apparitions de Beauraing.” Official sanctuary account describing the 33 apparitions to five children, the messages, the title “Our Lady of the Golden Heart,” and the 1943 / 1949 recognition history. Available at: https://sanctuairedebeauraing.be/recit-des-apparitions/
2. Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Beauraing. “Découvrir le sanctuaire.” Official sanctuary page documenting the apparition statue, the surviving hawthorn, the votive chapel, and the physical layout of the shrine built around the apparition garden. Available at: https://sanctuairedebeauraing.be/decouvrir-le-sanctuaire/
3. Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Beauraing. “Je prépare mon pèlerinage.” Official sanctuary page listing current liturgies, adoration, confessions, museum hours, pilgrim services, and lodging infrastructure. Available at: https://sanctuairedebeauraing.be/preparer-son-pelerinage/
4. Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Beauraing. “Accueil.” Official shrine presentation summarizing the five visionaries, the Golden Heart on December 29, the growth of the sanctuary, the 1985 visit of John Paul II, and minor basilica status in 2013. Available at: https://sanctuairedebeauraing.be/