Our Lady of Gietrzwald

The apparitions began on June 27, 1877, and continued through September 16, 1877, with 160 apparitions in total. The two visionaries were questioned separately and their accounts were consistent. Our Lady appeared seated on a throne with the Christ Child, surrounded by angels. She spoke in the local Warmian Polish dialect, which was significant because the region was under Prussian rule and the German authorities were suppressing Polish language and culture. The apparitions drew enormous crowds — up to 50,000 people at a time — and became a rallying point for Polish Catholic identity under foreign occupation.