On the evening of August 21, 1879, fifteen villagers from the small Irish parish of Knock — children, young women, men, and the elderly — saw an apparition on the gable wall of the parish church. The figures were brilliantly luminous and stood slightly above the ground, undimmed by the heavy rain falling around them.
At the centre stood the Blessed Virgin Mary, crowned, with hands lifted in prayer. To her right stood St. Joseph, bowed slightly toward her. To her left stood St. John the Evangelist in vesture, holding an open book. Behind them stood an altar with a Lamb upon it, surrounded by adoring angels.
The vision lasted nearly two hours. None of the figures spoke. The witnesses, ranging in age from 5 to 75, were examined by two Church commissions of inquiry (1879 and 1936); both found their testimony 'trustworthy and satisfactory.' Knock is now a national Marian shrine of Ireland and receives over one million pilgrims annually.