During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Our Lady of Good Success appeared in Quito, Ecuador to a Spanish nun whose little-known but extraordinary life has a direct connection with our days.
“In those times the atmosphere will be saturated with the spirit of impurity which, like a filthy sea, will engulf the streets and public places with incredible license.… Innocence will scarcely be found in children, or modesty in women.
In the years between 1594 and 1634, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a cloistered Conceptionist sister in Quito, Ecuador named Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres. During these forty years, Our Lady appeared to her asking that she wished to be known under the title of Nuestra Senora del Buen Suceso which in English translates to Our Lady of Good Success. She spoke to Mother Mariana about the future times that were to come for the Catholic Church particularly during the 20th Century. Our Blessed Mother described for her the grave crisis that would take place then in the Church and also society in general. In fact, the gravity of this crisis was conveyed so distinctly that it caused this poor sister to die from the effects of watching what was to happen to the Church in the future.
What was it that this good nun saw that caused her to die from the knowledge of the future?
Our Lady told Mother Mariana that God was ready to punish the world for three main sins: blasphemy, impurity and heresy. Our Lady of Good Success prophesized to Mother Mariana about the “total corruption of customs” occurring at the end of the 19th and greater part of the 20th centuries due to the reign of Satan in society “through Masonic sects”. In this vision, Our Lady foretold that in these terrible times the sacraments would lose their importance and would not be held in high esteem among the faithful due to those who held a “position of authority”. In these times , these people would be used as tools of the devil to destroy the Church. Due to this deprivation of both sanctifying and sacramental graces amongst the faithful, many souls would be lost. Society itself would suffer greatly. A tremendous loss of vocations would be experienced.
“Unbridled passions will give way to a total corruption of customs because Satan will reign through the Masonic sects, targeting the children in particular to ensure general corruption.
“Unhappy, the children of those times! Seldom will they receive the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. As for the sacrament of Penance, they will confess only while attending Catholic schools, which the devil will do his utmost to destroy by means of persons in authority.
“The same will occur with Holy Communion. Oh, how it hurts me to tell you that there will be many and enormous public and hidden sacrileges!
“In those times, the sacrament of Extreme Unction will be largely ignored.… Many will die without receiving it, being thereby deprived of innumerable graces, consolation, and strength in the great leap from time to eternity.
“The sacrament of Matrimony, which symbolizes the union of Christ with the Church, will be thoroughly attacked and profaned. Masonry, then reigning, will implement iniquitous laws aimed at extinguishing this sacrament. They will make it easy for all to live in sin, thus multiplying the birth of illegitimate children without the Church’s blessing….
“Secular education will contribute to a scarcity of priestly and religious vocations.”
“The holy sacrament of Holy Orders will be ridiculed, oppressed, and despised, for in this both the Church and God Himself are oppressed and reviled, since He is represented by His priests.
“The devil will work to persecute the ministers of the Lord in every way, working with baneful cunning to destroy the spirit of their vocation and corrupting many. Those who will thus scandalize the Christian flock will bring upon all priests the hatred of bad Christians and the enemies of the One, Holy, Roman Catholic, and Apostolic Church. This apparent triumph of Satan will cause enormous suffering to the good pastors of the Church…and to the Supreme Pastor and Vicar of Christ on earth who, a prisoner in the Vatican, will shed secret and bitter tears in the presence of God Our Lord, asking for light, sanctity, and perfection for all the clergy of the world, to whom he is King and Father.”
“Unhappy times will come wherein those who should fearlessly defend the rights of the Church will instead, blinded despite the light, give their hand to the Church’s enemies and do their bidding. But when [evil] seems triumphant and when authority abuses its power, committing all manner of injustice and oppressing the weak, their ruin shall be near. They will fall and crash to the ground.
“Then will the Church, joyful and triumphant, like a young girl, reawaken and be comfortably cradled in the arms of my most dear and elect son of those times. If he lends an ear to the inspirations of grace–one of which will be the reading of these great mercies that my Son and I have had toward you–we shall fill him with graces and very special gifts and will make him great on earth and much greater in Heaven. There we have reserved a precious seat for him because, heedless of men, he will have fought for truth and ceaselessly defended the rights of the Church, deserving to be called ‘martyr.’”
“At the end of the nineteenth century and throughout a great part of the twentieth, many heresies will be propagated in these lands.…
“The small number of souls who will secretly safeguard the treasure of Faith and virtues will suffer a cruel, unspeakable, and long martyrdom. Many will descend to their graves through the violence of suffering and will be counted among the martyrs who sacrificed themselves for the country and the Church.”
Devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary will Save the World
“To be delivered from the slavery of these heresies, those whom the merciful love of my Son has destined for this restoration will need great will-power, perseverance, courage, and confidence in God. To try the faith and trust of these just ones, there will be times when all will seem lost and paralyzed. It will then be the happy beginning of the complete restoration….
“In those times the atmosphere will be saturated with the spirit of impurity which, like a filthy sea, will engulf the streets and public places with incredible license.… Innocence will scarcely be found in children, or modesty in women.
“He who should speak reasonably will remain silent.
“There shall be scarcely any virgin souls in the world. The delicate flower of virginity will seek refuge in the cloisters.…Without virginity, fire from heaven will be needed to purify these lands.…
“Sects, having permeated all social classes, will find ways of introducing themselves into the very heart of homes to corrupt the innocence of children. The children’s hearts will be dainty morsels to regale the devil.…
“Religious communities will remain to sustain the Church and work with courage for the salvation of souls.… The secular clergy will fall far short of what is expected of them because they will not pursue their sacred duty. Losing the divine compass, they will stray from the way of priestly ministry mapped out for them by God and will become devoted to money, seeking it too earnestly.
“Pray constantly, implore tirelessly, and weep bitter tears in the seclusion of your heart, beseeching the Eucharistic Heart of my most holy Son to take pity on His ministers and to end as soon as possible these unhappy times by sending to His Church the Prelate who shall restore the spirit of her priests.”
One of the most striking of the prophetic visions occurred on the Feast of the Purification, February 2, 1634, the 40th anniversary of the first appearance of Our Lady of Good Success to Mother Mariana. Mother Mariana was praying in the upper choir loft before the Blessed Sacrament, the Sanctuary lamp went out. Mother Mariana was left in complete darkness. The extinguishing of the Sanctuary Light signified the dire straits the Church would be in during this future epoch.
On this day as well, the Child Jesus prophesized to Mother Mariana the following (which lends credence to the other prophecies as we have seen these prophecies have already been fulfilled):
1. “The Dogma of the Immaculate Conception would be proclaimed during a time when the Church will be strongly attacked and my Vicar will find himself a prisoner”
2. “This will also be the case with the Dogma of the faith of the Transit or Assumption, body and soul into Heaven of My Most Holy Mother…”
3. “I will preserve this Church, so beloved by Me, until the consummation of time. It will be strongly attacked, but never conquered. For, if men are lacking, from Heaven will I send down legions of Angels for its conservation, defense and triumph. Then He added: “A thousand times cursed be the heretics and their followers who place in doubt these mysteries concerning Me and My Mother. Let them be cursed! And let their eternal abode be the center of the earth, together with the father of the lie, Lucifer, and his henchmen, amidst the fire created by Divine Ire for the rebellious angels and the men who follow them, severing themselves from the truth outside the Catholic Church.”
Due to the extreme wickedness that Mother Mariana saw in these visions of our era, she fainted and remained unconscious for two days. The doctor, unable to revive her, expected her death to be at hand. But Mother Mariana miraculously awoke and returned to health to live another year.
A Statue Made by the Archangels
Our Lady of Good Success also asked that a statue be made to her likeness for the solace of the people stating:
“…now I ask and command you to have a statue to be made for the consolation and preservation of my convent and for those faithful souls of that epoch during which there will be a great devotion to me, for I am the Queen of Heaven under many invocations… With the making of this statue I will favor not only my convent, but also the people of Quito— and all the people throughout the centuries.”
Our Lady of Good Success also told Mother Mariana that this statue was to be made, for these reasons:
“First so that men in the future might realize how powerful I am in placating Divine Justice and obtaining mercy and pardon for every sinner who comes to me with a contrite heart. For I am the Mother of Mercy and in me there is only goodness and love.”
“And second …when tribulations of spirit and sufferings of the body oppress them and they seem to be drowning in this bottomless sea let them gaze at my holy image and I will always be there ready to listen to their cries and soothe their pain. Tell them that they should always run to their Mother with confidence and love…”
Our Lady of Good Success had requested that a certain sculptor, Francisco del Castillo, who was known not only for his artistic ability but also for his virtue and devotion to the Blessed Mother, create the statue. This sculptor worked long and hard on this statue. When he was about to put the finishing coat of paint on the statue he decided he would go to find the best paints he could acquire that would be the most fitting for the faces of Mother of God and the Infant Jesus.
While he was gone something miraculous happened. From the very first apparition, Our Lady had promised that she, herself, would see to the completion of this statue. While the sculptor was away, Mother Mariana and the other sisters went to the choir loft to implore Our Lady of Good Success to keep her promise.
Later, that night, Mother Mariana found the upper choir loft, illuminated with heavenly brilliance. The Archangels, Michael, Raphael and Gabriel appeared and bowed reverently before the Blessed Trinity as if acceding to a command. Then they stood before the Queen of Heaven and saluted her. The Archangels, along with St. Francis, drew near to the statue to miraculously finish it. Instantaneously completed, the statue was enveloped in light brighter than the sun and became animated as Our Queen and Mother entered into it singing the “Magnificat”. This most lovely of all visions took place at 3 o’clock on the morning of January 16, 1611.
When the Bishop was told of this miraculous occurrence, he ordered “ad aeternum” that a feast should be preceded by a Nine Day Novena to Our Lady of Good Success beginning on January 24 culminating with her feast day on Candlemas Day, February 2 each year. And so it was and continues to be venerated and honored this same way each year. Our Lady specifically requested that her name be “Mary of Good Success of the Purification and Candlemas” and that this date, February 2, should be especially remembered since this date had always brought “great gifts and mercies” from Our Lady. (Read the latest Prophetic Words given on this past palindrome 02.02.2020 by Our Lady in Medjugorje here.)
Finally, in closing, the words of Bishop Salvador de Ribera of Quito are printed below to demonstrate the ecclesiastical approval of this beautiful and timely devotion. On Feb 2, 1611, the day of the formal institution of the official devotion, the good bishop bestowed upon Our Lady of Good Success the keys of the cloister and the crosier into the hands of the miraculous statue with great reverence and honor, invoked her saying:
“My Lady, I deliver to Thee the Church… My Lady and my Mother, I deliver to Thee my soul. Open to me the doors of Heaven, for the life remaining to me is quite brief… Queen of Heaven and Earth, Thou who dost remain in Thy sanctuary governing Thy beloved flock, do not forget Thy poor children who are pilgrims on this earth, exposed to falls at every step. Let Thy arm sustain us and let the sweet love of Thy maternal Heart console us in our deep tribulations.”
The graces and miracles that occurred during Mother Mariana’s life and after her death through the intercession of Our Lady of Good Success are too numerous to mention here. There were many other prophesies that have come to pass as well. Mother Mariana de Jesus was a mystic, prophetess, seer, and victim soul, who lived in Quito, Ecuador during its foundation as a Colony of Spain. Her life parallels only the greatest of the Church’s canonized saints such as St. Theresa of Avila and St. Catherine Siena. The details of all of her life’s sufferings accumulated into one lifelong martyrdom.
Blessed Mother, pray for us.
Blessed Saint Mother Mariana , pray for us.
St. Michael the Archangel, protect us from the plans of the devil.
Blessed Saint Joseph, most chaste spouse of Mary, pray for us.
Thank you for the reminder of this great prophecy and connecting the dots with Medjugorje. You’re my favorite spirit theologian!
A prophetic people cannot overlook the prophesies of our times coming out of Medjugorje. We must SEE what the Spirit is saying to the church in our time. The prophesies of today are but a re-discovery of the past. There is much that has been hidden away that will come to light in our day.