By Thea Jarvis

Snow spread a cold blanket over pilgrims scheduled to witness an alleged apparition of the Blessed Mother to Conyers resident Nancy Fowler on March 13. Although 70,000 people were expected by county officials, the snow dramatically reduced the numbers and caused the eventual dismantling of the day’s plans.

Reg Griffin, assistant to Rockdale County Commission Chairman Randy Poynter, said the snow-heavy day “worked out well, all things considered.”

Griffin estimated a turnout of between 7,000 and 10,000 people at the site of the alleged apparitions.

“It was hard to tell,” he said, because so many remained in their cars.

People began arriving around six that morning to find parking places, Griffin said. At approximately 9 a.m., the event was canceled by Our Loving Mother’s Children, Inc., in conjunction with the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Department.

“They actually made the call,” he said, without county pressure.

Somewhere around 2 p.m., Griffin recalled, county official received word that some 100 people were stranded. Buses had dropped them off at the site and were unable or unwilling to return.

“Some (buses) just refused to come back” because of unsafe road conditions, he said. The county used community service buses to transport about half the pilgrims six miles down the road to St. Pius X Church on Highway 20.

“Our primary concern was that everybody was safe,” Griffin said. “It was an extremely cold day. We were concerned about people being exposed to the elements.”

Because Our Loving Mother’s Children, Inc., had complied with country instructions to hire 24 off-duty deputies and extra firemen, Griffin felt the day, though abnormal, went reasonably well.

“It could have been a real mess,” he said. “We certainly made some progress working more closely with (Our Loving Mother’s Children, Inc.).”

Asked if he considered events surrounding the alleged apparitions a church-state confrontation, commission chairman Randy Poynter said, “It’s very close.”

“I have a very real sense of (the) church-state” issue, he said. “We walk very fine lines.”

Our Loving Mother’s Children, Inc., is not affiliated with the church. In January 1992, Archbishop James P. Lyke, OFM, directed that archdiocesan priests and parishes were not to lead or sponsor pilgrimages to the alleged apparition site. Archbishop Lyke expressed “grave doubt” about the authenticity of the alleged apparitions.

County officials have acted “strictly out of concern for the public” in enforcing regulations, Poynter’s assistant said. “We’re not asking any more of (event organizers and supporters) than of any other involved in a mass gathering.”

Griffin admitted the county is “between a rock and a hard place” in trying to please people. “Restaurant owners, hotels love it” and are booked up as far away as McDonough every month.

But when improperly parked vehicles were impounded n February, out of town mail called county leaders “the Judases of Rockdale,” Griffin said.

At the same time, homeowners who have regularly put up with blocked streets and driveways, locals who face a monthly siege of standstill traffic, expect action.

Sal Serio, an attorney and White Road homeowner, said he has “continually told the county they needed to make these people come into compliance with zoning rules.”

The growth of the monthly event has been no surprise to Serio, a parishioner at St. Pius X Church in Conyers, who warned county officials it “was going to get bigger and bigger.”

“It’s a business, functioning as a business,” he said. The surge in numbers of people visiting the site only means the event is being successfully marketed by “bright entrepreneurs, promoters” who charter buses, issue press releases and distribute flyers.

Serio is concerned about “the exploitation of people,” he said, noting that the alleged apparition site and adjacent acreage – “in excess of half a million dollars worth of property” – is owned by Virginia resident Bob Hughes under Hughes’ individual retirement account.

“This raises a red flag,” Serio said.

Attorney Steve DeBaun, an Immaculate Heart of Mary parishioner who represents Our Loving Mother’s Children, Inc., believes Hughes’ interest is “more from the standpoint of an individual who believes in what is occurring.”

Hughes’ ownership of the land under his personal retirement account is “more an act of faith, hardly an investment,” DeBaun said, adding that the group has “no other plan” for future development. They have acted out of concern of safety, he explained, erecting only temporary structures to comply with county regulations.

“The cost of allowing this to occur is pretty substantial,” he said of the monthly visits of thousands to witness the alleged apparitions. “Funds are only being used for that purpose.”

The health and safety of visitors is “a very high priority,” he said, as are the directives of church authorities in the archdiocese.

DeBaun verified that he had heard the alleged apparitions may not continue, and indeed, “may end by the end of the year,” though he says this has not been an official statement by the group he represents.

His job, he said, is to ensure that Our Loving Mother’s Children acts in compliance with state law.

“They could have a full scrutiny” and would pass easily, since the organization operates legally, DeBaun said.

“The county has been very cooperative,” participating in “open dialogue” with the group. Moreover, “If the archdiocese said they want to do a complete investigation, there would be no hesitation.”

DeBaun said he understands the concerns of homeowners.

“I can sympathize with them,” he said. If the alleged apparitions do come to an end in the near future, “I would assume the crowds will dissipate.”