Searching for Mary: An Exploration of Marian Apparitions Across the U.S. [Paperback]

Mark Garvey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1998

Thousands of people are flocking to sites where apparitions of the Virgin Mary are said to be appearing. This growing phenomenon has become more than just a following. Searching for Mary is a personal account of Mark Garvey's travels to nine sites across the United States-from Bayside, New York, to Conyers, Georgia, to California City, California-where the visions have been seen. Through conversations with those attending the events, the mystery, spectacle, uncertainty, and absurdity that is often a part of this Marian worship is revealed. Casting a critical, journalistic eye on the thriving congregation, Garvey puts the cults of Mary in psychological and historical perspective. Providing the intellectual background necessary for a full understanding of what draws believers in, Garvey also discloses the questionable validity of the apparitions and the disapproval of the Catholic Church. Searching for Mary is an enlightening look at a fascinating phenomenon nearly as old as Christianity itself.
• This is an ever-growing phenomenon; apparitions continue to be reported all over the world.
• Mark Garvey's unique, worldly, personal approach is witty and endearing, appealing to Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
• Searching for Mary is the only book of its kind.
• Garvey visits nine sites throughout the United States, giving this book regional appeal.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Join Mark Garvey as he journeys across the U.S. (from Conyers, Georgia, to Bayside, New York, to Necedah, Wisconsin) seeking resolution to the mystery shrouding the Marian apparitions of our century. Garvey engages the reader with his first person account and intellectual address of not only the apparition phenomena, but the often mundane people to whom Mary seems so drawn to impart her messages, as well as the modern pilgrims who brave rain, cold, and vast distances for their faith. Garvey's observations are equitably balanced; from one pilgrim's warning that UFOs are the vehicles of the devil's workers to Garvey's personal encounters with spiritual mystery during his expedition, insuring that Searching for Mary is not simple tabloid journalism, but a glimpse into the mystical heritage still clasped in the hearts of some followers of the Catholic faith. -- Brian Patterson

From Publishers Weekly

Thousands of pilgrims flock annually to sites around the world where the Blessed Virgin is purported to have appeared. Garvey, a Catholic, is both skeptical of and fascinated by the reports of these various appearances. In a journalistic travelogue, he reports the words of the various Marys according to their visionaries as well as the words and actions of their devotees. As Garvey reports it, the Blessed Mother is often creative in her manifestations as she appears on water towers in Ohio and corn barns in Georgia. According to Garvey, most Marian apparitions bear little or no resemblance to the Mary of the New Testament. For example, in one of her manifestations, Mary barely manages to restrain her Son's wrath at humankind. From his experience, Garvey concludes: "Like plenty of other religious ideas, fervor for private revelation seems to be less about faith than about control." Because Garvey approaches these apparitions with an evenhanded critical approach, his book is one of the best of the many recently published books on Marian apparitions.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Plume; First Edition edition (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452279526
• ISBN-13: 978-0452279520
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,147,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mark Garvey lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. In his day job, he is an executive editor publishing technical and how-to books for a large Boston-based publisher. His freelance writing has touched on many subjects, including purported apparitions of the Virgin Mary, the deaths of Bonnie and Clyde, and cutting-edge music technology. His latest book, Stylized: A Slightly Obsessive History of Strunk & White's The Elements of Style, is a history of and homage to the famous little book of writing advice and the men who created it.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Skepticism at its best, June 28, 2001

By 

C. Conlee (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Searching for Mary: An Exploration of Marian Apparitions Across the U.S. (Paperback)

This book is wonderful is you wish to disparage and ridicule marian apparitions; indeed, Mr. Garvey takes you on a tour of all the bogus, sad, uninspired and demented "appartion" sites in America. What he fails to do is show Church-approved, or even Church-approvable apparition sites. True, he is working in the American apparition milieu where Church-approved apparition sites are few and far between; but reading this book, one might come away with the impression that Marian Apparitions are laughable, at best. For a more counterbalanced look at the phenomena read about Fatima, a fully Church approved apparition. For the truly skeptical, I recommend "Encountering Mary" by Sandra L. Zimdars-Swartz, a remarkable book which both believers and skeptics can appreciate. However, the book in question delivers nothing but snide commentary at a phenomena which has brought countless millions to a life of greater holiness.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, September 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Searching for Mary: An Exploration of Marian Apparitions Across the U.S. (Paperback)

Mark Garvey writes with real generosity of spirit about a phenomenon that is appealing yet ultimately hard to believe. He understands what people compels so many to search for Mary in late 20th-century America. His reporting is mostly even-handed and sympathetic toward those he observes--although he clearly likes some visionaries and seekers better than others. A very worthwhile read for anyone interested in the interaction of spirituality and popular culture.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shoe Leather Observer, April 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Searching for Mary: An Exploration of Marian Apparitions Across the U.S. (Paperback)

I give Mark Garvey credit for actually personally going to these various sites in the U.S. and observing what went on, with in some cases personal interviews with the seers themselves. Yet he saved his biggest punch for last in the last chapter when he visited Necedah, Wisconsin. I was moved by his descriptions of the torment that Mary Ann Van Hoof experienced. Otherwise, Mark Garvey is really funny and he had me laughing out loud at some of his comments. I take my hat off to this man for venturing into this field of inquiry. He has done religious people of the U.S. a service in writing this book.