Our Lady of All Nations

March 25 was the Feast of the Annunciation. On this particular year, 1945, it fell on Palm Sunday. This is such an important season in our Church. But in those times, during the final days of the war, thoughts were not focused on Palm Sunday, or the Feast of the Annunciation, or even Easter, for that matter. Ida Peerdeman, the woman to whom Our Lady chose to come, called it a 'hunger winter.' Priests would visit private homes, rather than take a chance on Nazi retaliation for trying to perform religious ceremonies, like Masses, especially not in public places, like churches. On that day, Fr. Frehe, who had been Ida's spiritual director for many years, chose to visit Ida and her family, as he had done many times in the past.

The sisters and the Priest sat in the drawing-room, speaking of many things. We would imagine the condition of the war was the major topic of discussion. It seemed that their prayers were being answered; the enemy was being trounced by the foreign allies. Whatever it was, the visionary stated that they were in 'deep conversation.'