The Church of the Apparition was built on the site where the 1896 apparitions were seen. Dutiful worshippers are always found praying at the chapel built to enclose the scene. Above the altar is a sculptural representation of what the miracle-spotters saw.
One night in August 1879, Mary McLoughlin and Mary Beirne from Knock, noticed three glowing figures near the local church. Drawing closer they recognised one as Mary mother of Jesus. Mary Beirne alerted her family and soon other people from town gathered, noticing an altar with a young lamb, a cross and according to one boy, angels floating above. The vision remained for several hours, was witnessed independently by a farmer half a mile away as a glowing light, and gradually gained credence in the eyes of the Vatican, culminating in a papal visit in 1979.
