On 21 August 1879 15 villagers saw a ghostly image on the gable wall of a church in Knock, Co Mayo, Ireland. The apparition which lasted 2 hours comprised of three figures. Mary, the mother of Jesus who was crowned, her husband Joseph, and John the evangelist who was holding a book. To their left was a lamb on an alter with a cross surrounded by angels. The presence of the lamb and the cross is unique among the other nine known visions of Mary and supposedly signifies Jesus figuratively as a lamb to the slaughter.
A villager must have identified the third figure as John the evangalist because this was passed around among the people who saw the vision. Tradition identifies John the evangelist as the apostle John and credits him with writing the gospel of John and the book of revelation though this has been disputed by some scholars. The presence of the book however may represent authorship.
The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are similar in content being historical and biographical in character, while the gospel of John contains 90% unique material and is considered to be more theological and spiritual. John was the only apostle to escape martyrdom but he is believed to have been exiled for his faith to the Greek island of Patmos around the year 95 ordinary time where he wrote the book of revelation (though some scholars say the author could have been John the presbyter, an early minister).
According to the gospel of John, following Jesus’s death he entered the tomb to find the body had disappeared. According to christian tradition Jesus rose from the dead but it is possible that his body was taken from the borrowed tomb by his friends and buried elsewhere.
The book of revelation contains letters to early christian churches in the asian part of modern day Turkey, urging them to maintain faith and resist compromise. Scholars have viewed revelation as a message warning early christians not to assimilate into roman culture, and the presence of John holding a book could be similarly interpreted with regard to a british united Ireland.
The village at Knock contains a shrine and pilgrimage centre that offers a peaceful and contemplative place. There are 5 churches in the shrine and beautiful art work depicts the vision.