Beco told her family and parish priest of seeing a Lady in white who declared herself to be the "Virgin of the Poor", saying "I come to relieve suffering" and "Believe in me and I will believe in you".

Mariette Beco was 11 and a half years old when she reported eight Marian apparitions in 1933 in Banneux, Belgium, a hamlet about 15 kilometres (10 mi) southeast of the city of Liège.

They lived in a modest working-class house on the outskirts of the village, near a large pine forest.

A woman in white stood in the garden of their house and called to her to come out with a wave of her hand.

At some point, Mariette kneeled by a ditch, in front of a puddle of water coming from a spring.

On 2 March 1933, during a rainy day, Mariette was praying her third rosary when, around 7 p.m., it suddenly stopped raining and the Virgin appeared.

"[3] Mariette became at the time the object of local derision, with even her grandmother and aunt making fun of her.

[5] After the apparitions, Mariette decided to remain a private person, married and led a quiet family life.

Today, the small spring yields about 2,000 gallons of water a day with many reports of miraculous healings.

[11] On 21 May 1985, during his trip to Belgium, Pope John Paul II visited the sanctuary of Banneux and presided over a mass.