One of the more curious — and perhaps least-known — reported appearances of the Blessed Mother occurred in the United States about 50 years ago, and it’s still prompting debate among the faithful.

She’s called “Our Lady of America,” and there’s a report on the status of this apparition in a Washington state newspaper:

She wore a robe of pure white and a white veil reaching almost to her waist. On her head rested a brilliant, gold crown.

Then she is reported to have spoken these words: “I am Our Lady of America. I desire that my children honor me, especially by the purity of their lives.”

That vision of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, reportedly occurred slightly more than 50 years ago at what today is commonly known as Sylvan Springs in Rome City, Ind..

Whether Mary appeared there continues to prompt debate today. But it’s also has been drawing people to Sylvan Springs to pray, and some visitors report experiencing spiritual or physical healings.

“This is holy ground,” said Irvin Kloska, who comes to Sylvan Springs frequently to pray and to pray over people seeking healing.

The Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend is aware of the situation at Sylvan Springs but does not believe it warrants investigation at this time, Bishop John M. D’Arcy said.

Most of the reported healings have come in the last few years, said D’Arcy and Brian MacMichael, the director of the diocese’s Office of Worship. The church moves slowly in evaluating such claims, in part to see if the site has staying power, MacMichael said.

D’Arcy also has concerns about people solely seeking out miracles.

“God comes to us through the ordinary, through the bread and wine (of Communion) and through the pastor as shepherd,” D’Arcy said. “As a pastor, I would say people should seek (the) ordinary means Christ has given to the church and not seek signs and wonders.”

A grassroots effort led largely by lay people, however, continues to lobby U.S. Catholic bishops to approve recognizing Mary as Our Lady of America.

While the Catholic Church recognizes there is only one Mary, Catholics honor her with many different titles, said the Rev. Thomas A. Thompson of the Marian Library at the University of Dayton, a Catholic university in Dayton, Ohio. The titles express the closeness of Mary, especially to a geographic area.

The church leaves it to the local bishop to decide whether an appearance, or apparition, actually has taken place, Thompson said.

Local bishops have ruled Mary has appeared at least nine times on Earth since her death, including as Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531 near Mexico City; as Our Lady of Lourdes in 1858 in southern France; as Our Lady of Knock in 1879 in Knock, Ireland; and as Our Lady of Fatima in 1917 at Fatima in Portugal, according to the University of Dayton’s “The Mary Page” Web site.

The first reported apparition at Sylvan Springs took place on Sept. 25, 1956.

At the time, the property – originally known as Kneipp Springs or Kneipp Sanitarium – was operated by the Sisters of the Precious Blood, a Catholic religious congregation of women based then and now in Dayton, Ohio.

The sisters, who had staffed the site since 1901, provided people with a place to relax, refresh themselves and get “treatments” in the natural spring water that still flows on the grounds, the booklet “Kneipp Sanitarium, Rome City, Ind. 1930” said.

On that day in 1956, Precious Blood member Sister Mary Ephrem said Mary appeared to her during evening prayer. The next morning, Ephrem said Mary appeared to her again after the morning Mass.

Ephrem later said, in 1954 and 1955 at other locations, she had received messages from an unseen Jesus Christ and Mary, and as well as from St. Michael and the angel Gabriel.

During Mary’s first reported appearance at Sylvan Springs, Ephrem said Mary looked like the description of Our Lady of Lourdes. The next morning and thereafter, Mary appeared in white robes as Our Lady of America, Ephrem wrote later while putting on paper her experiences and the messages she reportedly received from Mary.

The second day – Sept. 26, 1956 – Ephrem said Mary urged her to convey a message to “my children in America”: “I wish it to be the country dedicated to my purity. The wonders I will work will be wonders of the soul. … I desire, through my children in America, to further the cause of faith and purity among peoples and nations.”

Ephrem, who died in January 2000, previously said Mary continued to appear to her after she left Rome City to serve in other locations. Among the messages she reportedly received, Ephrem said Mary said the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., should be “a place of special pilgrimage.” Mary also requested she be honored there as “Our Lady of America, the Immaculate Virgin.” (To read the messages in full, go to this link.

There’s much more at the link right here, with more background on the alleged apparition and the investigation into it.

I have no idea whether this apparition is authentic — I have my doubts about Medjugorge, too — but I have no doubt that America needs Our Lady, no matter what title she is given, now more than ever.