Yankilla is a sleepy little country town nestling in a picturesque valley about one and half hours drive south of Adelaide in South Australia. In August 1994 parishioner Susan Fehlburg first noticed the image of Madonna and child on the wall of the Anglican Christ Church. The image appears in what look like a patch of unevenness in the plasterwork above and to the right of the altar. In July 1996 Fr Andrew reported it in a local church paper. Since then the news of the apparition has travelled around the world.

It is almost impossible to get a good photograph of the Apparition, and although artists have tried, none have yet been able to capture the peace and heavenly beauty of Our Lady of Yankalilla. It is best to begin by describing the Apparition as ‘cameo-like.’

Our Lady can clearly be seen. The features of her face…her eyes, her nose and mouth are uncannily clear. She is in a slight profile with her gaze downwards towards the tabernacle to the right. How appropriate that Our Lady is near her son in the sacramental Body and Blood of Jesus. Her gaze is towards it and she is directing our attention to her son, Jesus. “Do whatever he tells you.” Here in Yankalilla, Our Lady, the Queen Mother, is seated to the right of the Royal Throne and intercedes for us to her Son as Advocate.

The Apparition is a living creed. ‘Christ is born. Christ has died. Christ is risen.’ You see in Our Lady’s arms the new born baby…Christ is born. But then in recent years, a ‘pieta’ has appeared…Our Lady holding the crucified saviour in her arms…Christ has died. Finally, Our Lady is gazing at the Resurrected body of Jesus in the tabernacle…Christ is risen.

At the bottom of the Apparition is a convincing image of a rose, a symbol of Mary. Mary is truly present here. In this holy place there is frequently an overwhelming floral odor. It is inexplicable and can only be attributed to the presence of the Blessed Mother.

But the Apparition is perceived to be evolving, constantly changing. In 1999, Shrine pilgrims began to notice an image of a man’s face taking form just behind Our Lady, seemingly looking over her shoulder. The man is beaded, very masculine in appearance, with long dark hair. We believe this is St Joseph, present with Jesus and Mary completing the Holy Family.

 

The Meaning Of Yankalilla is a place which Our Lady has chosen through which Australians can seek reconciliation with God, in our own country.

Yankalilla is unique. But to fully understand the meaning of the Marian Age through which we are passing, it is necessary to place Yankalilla in the context of other Marian Shrines around the world. Our Lady is the Ambassador of Heaven and she is appearing at an unprecedented number of places throughout the world. Mary is the New Eve. As Eve was the companion to Adam, so Mary is the companion to Christ through time and eternity. “All generations shall call me blessed.”

The Blessed Mother’s mission is to call people back to her son, Jesus, and to this end she is a John the Baptist figure for this present generation. Mankind is teetering on a precipice and it is Mary who has come at this last moment to call us back to God.

Yankalilla has become a place of deep mysticism and high spirituality, a worldwide pilgrimage site, a place of legends, of tears and joy, of reconciliation and hope for the coming Springtime of the Church.

Shrine of Our Lady of Yankalilla [Facebook].