The Apparitions at Turzovka

Bishop Pavel M. Hnilica, Matúš Lašut and
Fr. Rene Laurentin at Mt. Zivcak, Turzovka

The messages given to Matúš Lašut (variously spelt as Matous Lasuta , Matthias Laschut, etc), which he reportedly recieved from the Virgin Mary at Turzovka, in former Czechoslovakia in 1958, also forewarn of a future catasrophic tsunami event caused by a mountain being thrown into the sea. While the apparitions of Our Lady at Turzovka have yet to be approved by the Church, it is a strong candidate for future recognition, due to the various miracles and healings reported at this site (see the link after the message below for a list of the miracles). Unfortunately, it can sometimes take many years for Marian apparitions to acheive formal Church approval, such as those of Our Lady of Laus - which occurred between 1664-1718, but were only officially recognised in 2008, or those of Our Lady of Good Help in Wisconsin, which took place in 1859, but were first approved in 2010. So while any apparitions still awaiting Church approval should always be considered with discernment, they should not be entirely dismissed either. 
Lašut first experienced the apparitions on 1st June 1958, while working as a forester at U Obrozku, Turzovka. He was walking through the woods, and had stopped to pray at a statue of Our Lady on a pine tree when he saw a beautiful woman arrayed in white garments who appeared to be floating in the air over a small cloud. The woman pointed to a tableux beside the pine, and Matous saw a map of the world depicted on it.


The following is a first-hand account of Matúš' experiences:


I saw a picture of the globe, or better yet a plane representing the map of the world. Below the map I noticed a black board. Whenever I did not understand something an explanation would appear on it similar to movie subtitles... I saw a total of seven different clips:
1st clip: The map was three coloured- blue, green and yellow. The symbolic meaning of the green colour was "goodness", of the yellow "evil"... Afterwards a Demand appeared on the board: Repent! Pray for priests and the religious! Pray the Rosary!
2nd clip: I saw on the map that the yellow colour was spreading and the green was retreating, evil gaining and goodness losing ground.
3rd clip: The yellow colour has already flooded the entire world. A yellow and fiery rain was falling from the sky, as if yellow glistening pieces of tin were falling. The picture represented the sins of the entire world, multiplying of evil and its consequences. A warning appeared on the board:
If people do not amend, terrible disasters will come - separately and grouped - and people will die in many different ways.
4th clip: I saw explosions in the sea near the coast. Gigantic explosions hurled great masses of matter from its depths which flooded the earth. Wherever they fell, life ceased to exist. A warning appeared on the board: If people do not amend, they will die!
5th & 6th clips: These parts of the revelation I judged that I ought to leave for myself as a personal secret: the knowledge of them would not benefit people.
7th clip: It showed what the earth would look like if people converted and lived according to God's commandments. The earth was illuminated by the sun rays. It was covered in brilliant greenery and many beautiful flowers. Happiness, harmony and peace could be seen everywhere. The appearance of the Immaculate Conception with a magnificent Rosary in Her hand and with Her right hand outstretched as if protecting nations, radiated above the earth.


(The full text can be found here)


Another website gives a different third-person account of these events, which contains the same general content as the material above, but with a few additions:


Our Lady then signaled Matous to look in the direction of the pine; he looked and saw a tableaux showing the globe, then all the different countries on earth were displayed. Different colours now appeared on the map, some green some yellow. The water was blue. An inscription explained that the green spots indicate countries where the population is good and the yellow spots denote countries marked for destruction owing to the bad behaviour of the people. The high country is more green and the flat land more yellow. Matous sees the yellow invading and covering more countries while the green is retreating. The message was that the world is getting worse and worse. Then an inscription emerged from the words “Do penance” By and by the yellow colour had invaded all lands. Then powerful explosions burst forth over the water and land. A dense rain of small leaves fall to the earth, and upon reaching the ground, these turned into flames. Soon all the touched soil is covered by fire. Matous sees this as a punishment by God. From the indications on the map, Matous can make out which countries will be destroyed and which ones will be protected under Mary’s mantle. However the seer is not permitted to communicate these precisions to any person except to the Holy Father in Rome...


Matous was made to see the great punishment to befall the world if mankind does not return to God. The description of the chastizement was made known to the seer; yet Our Lady also said that prayer can hold off the justice of God. Matous describes it thus: (i) The sun will cease to warm, there will be cold summers with poor harvests (ii) there will be terrible floods and other misfortunes through the elements (iii) there will be earthquakes and mountains will move (iv) Churches will collapse, houses will move and be carried away by the floods...


(See here for the full text).


The messages given to Matúš Lašut contain some very strong parallels with our earlier material concerning the threat of a mega-tsunami from the collapse of the volcano Cumbre Vieja in the Canary Islands, which we have linked to the “huge mountain, burning with fire” being thrown into the sea in Rev 8:8 (see the earlier post Mega-tsunami). The phrase "I saw explosions in the sea near the coast. Gigantic explosions hurled great masses of matter from its depths which flooded the earth" sounds remarkably evocative of a a powerful volcanic eruption causing a lateral collapse, which in turn generates a mega-tsunami. As does the latter message, which describes "terrible floods and other misfortunes through the elements... there will be earthquakes and mountains will move... Churches will collapse, houses will move and be carried away by the floods..."


Another element given here sounds very similar to the warning in the Second Secret of Fatima that "various nations will be annihilated": "From the indications on the map, Matous can make out which countries will be destroyed and which ones will be protected under Mary’s mantle". Compare this to the conclusions made earlier in the post John Paul II - The Third Secret and a Prophecy of a Mega-tsunami?. Could this be the so-called "minor chastisement" of various Catholic prophecies?


Although the Bishop of Nitra issued a pastoral letter at the time, forbidding members of the diocese from taking part in the pilgrimages to Turzovka, this must be understood in the context that this part of Slovakia was still behind the Iron Curtain at this time, and therefore was part of the old communist order. The local communist regime was vehemently against the apparitions, and arrested Matúš, subjecting him to torture in a bid to force him to retract his claims. After his release he was then committed to a mental institution, and when doctors established that he was clinically sane, he was again imprisoned. The shrine at Mt. Zivcak was destroyed by the Communist Youth, and once it was rebuilt, the crowds of pilgrims making their way to Turzovka were frequently obstructed by the local authorities. The pastoral letter by the Bishop of Nitra was most likely urging the members of the diocese not to attend pilgrimages to the site of the apparitions in order to avoid conflict with the local communist government, and was not an official condemnation of the apparitions.
Lašut had very little to gain from these claims, and a great deal to lose - including his very own liberty and immediate access to his family. It is hard to imagine a family man concocting such a story merely for personal  fame. And the fact that many miracles have been connected to these apparitions further helps to bolster their authenticity.


You can find additional material on this subject at the Sanctus Christopher blog here.