By Gretchen Keiser

Several thousand people prayed the 15-decade rosary outside a Rockdale County farmhouse Sunday afternoon while a reported apparition of Mary was taking place.

Crowds were so large that the street was temporarily blocked off by Rockdale County sheriff’s deputies because there was no room for arriving people to park their cars. Eight chartered buses from Florida and South Carolina and more than a thousand cars had already arrived before noon.

Those arriving later parked their cars along Route 138 or on side streets and walked a half-mile or more to the White Road site where Nancy Fowler, a Conyers resident and housewife, reportedly experiences apparitions of Mary. While the events on the thirteenth of the month have attracted more attention recently, the October date, coinciding with a Marian season and a Sunday, contributed to the large numbers of people. Families with children, parish groups from neighboring states, elderly and handicapped people and many ethnic groups were among the diverse crowd. A quiet atmosphere prevailed, punctuated occasionally by a blaring car horn as someone passing by protested the presence of the huge crowd in an otherwise rural area.

A visiting South Carolina woman was taken to the hospital after becoming ill at the site.

The house where Mrs. Fowler prays is set in acres of pasture that became a mammoth parking lot for the day. The attendees stood outside in the hot sun or sat on blankets or folding chairs as they recited the prayers of the rosary in Spanish and English. Intermittently a description of the “apparition” would be given and at the conclusion of the rosary a “message for the United States of America” was given.

The message asked people to “renew your commitment to put God first in your life. Put your life in order. Pray, America, pray.”

Marian LoVerde, who came from Boca Raton, Florida with a busload of people, said she came because of “the hunger to see the Blessed Mother or even be close to where she is.”

Curiosity drew a number of people who said that they did not experience any markedly supernatural events, but thought they were “blessed.” Grace Wilson, a great-grandmother from Gastonia, North Carolina, said, “I know miracles happen. I came because I believe it does happen and here America is in such a mess.” Without prayer, she said, “America is doomed.”

Bui Van Tam, who came with some of his family and others from Our Lady of Vietnam mission, said it was a matter of “faith” but he found it a “very emotional” experience.

At the conclusion of the rosary and reported apparition, Mrs. Fowler came outside and answered questions people asked her about every detail of her experiences. Asked by one person about a “coming chastisement,” Mrs. Fowler said she could speak only about Jesus’ “love and mercy.”

“I would say the answer to this question is try to imitate Jesus in every behavior and thought, word and deed. Be His love to the world. I do not focus on punishments because Our Lord does not either. I can only speak of him in terms of love, mercy, compassion, forgiveness, gentleness,” she said.