Founder of the Marian Movement of Priests
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Fr. Gobbi founded the Marian Movement of Priests in 1972 after receiving locutions from Our Lady asking for priests to consecrate themselves to her Immaculate Heart. This occurred at the time many priests began leaving the priesthood and Marian devotion was in decline. Fr. Gobbi's movement grew and spread quickly. He was a friend to other mystics, Bl. John Paul II, as well as the false mystic, Fr. Gino, an Italian stigmatic now discredited due to homosexual behavior and other canonical infractions. I'm not sure if Gobbi knew Fr. Maciel or not. Fr. Gobbi also believed Medjugorje was authentic and offered his own predictions about the secrets - he believed Our Lady had told him. Gobbi's locutions were deemed 'private meditations' by some authorities, although it is my understanding that the CDF never officially ruled on the phenomena, and the Marian Movement remains an active organization in good standing.
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A personal encounter.
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Fr. Gobbi visited the Twin Cities a couple of times, I think at the invitation by the late Fr. Thomas Pingatore, who was very devoted to the Movement. I saw Fr. Gobbi once at old St. Ambrose, and I think once at St. John's on the East side of St. Paul. I have no recollection of either event except the one at St. Ambrose. One of my Italian friends was there - she is also my sister-in-law's sister. Anyway we were standing at the back of the church when Gobbi came in and he greeted us. After he passed I pulled out a rosary made of rose petals I happened to have with me and I whispered excitedly, "Mary Ann! Can you smell the roses just now when Fr. Gobbi passed?"
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"O my God! Yes! Terry! - And - and- I think the rosary smells of roses too!" her eyes flooded with tears by then.
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I then held my beads up to my nose, inhaled and exclaimed, "Oh! My! Gosh! Roses! Mary Ann! The rosary smells just like roses!" And I held the beads out for her to smell and pulled them back before she could get a closer look.
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So. Do you think I told her that the rosary was made of scented rose petals squashed into little brown-red beads? Or do you think I let her believe it was a miracle?
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I'm not telling.
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More seriously, prayers for Fr. Gobbi - he was certainly a devoted servant of Our Lady.
Terry,
ReplyDeleteYou're BAD! tricking your gullible relatives. Anyhow I was all into Fr. Gobbi's "messages" when I was in seminary in the mid to late 90's, but when he predicted all kind of dire things for the year 2000 and they of course didn't come true, I stopped looking at them. One thing I must say on behalf of the Marian movement- most of the people who were into the cenacles were solid and continue to be solid Catholics devoted to our Lady and most importantly having a great love for the Church, priests and the Eucharist. May he R.I.P.
Fr. Richard, I agree - most of the people who followed or are involved in the Movement are very solid Catholics. The core of the Movement is solidly based upon the best aspects of the Fatima message and devotion to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart. It seems to me Fr. Gobbi was very sincere, and very Italian.
ReplyDeleteMay he rest in peace. I belonged to a cenacle prayer group for awhile and have been thinking of starting one of my own now that it has dissolved. I don't know about the messages, all I know is that I had never prayed the Rosary more devoutly than I did with that group.
ReplyDeleteMay Father gobbi Rest in Peace// I am from Puerto Rico and I have been directing a cenacle in my home town since nov. 1992 until this present moment and all i know is that everyone who attends one of this group prayers do receive a lot s blessing from God and Mary and if this a work of man ,it wouldn't have lasted toooooo long so I do believe this marian Movements does come from our beloved mother Mary with the guidance of the Holy trinity // i have a lots of holy testimonies and even miracle .. but most of all a lots ofs laity have strenght their faith through it so god Bless father Stefano gobbi and the holy catholic church//
ReplyDeleteMay Father gobbi Rest in Peace// I am from Puerto Rico and I have been directing a cenacle in my home town since nov. 1992 until this present moment and all i know is that everyone who attends one of this group prayers do receive a lot s blessing from God and Mary and if this a work of man ,it wouldn't have lasted toooooo long so I do believe this marian Movements does come from our beloved mother Mary with the guidance of the Holy trinity // i have a lots of holy testimonies and even miracle .. but most of all a lots ofs laity have strenght their faith through it so god Bless father Stefano gobbi and the holy catholic church//
ReplyDeleteGod Bless You All!
ReplyDeleteThere were many Messages from Our Blessed Mother about the Purification of the World being completed by the year 2000 or just before - and then Our Lady also expressed through Messages at the coming of the millennium, that "because of the response to Her Call, along with Her own pleading on our part, God had extended the Time of Mercy" so that more souls could convert before the Greater Events of the Purification occur.