Christ, Mary, and Physical Appearances

Status
Not open for further replies.
When Our Lady appeared to Adele Brise in Wisconsin in the bishop-approved apparition of “Our Lady of Good Help”, she was blonde and fair. Pretty sure Our Lady of La Salette (Vatican approved) was too.

I realize this thread is about how Mary and Jesus looked while on earth, but both of them can and do look any way they want now.
 
I also read that Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared as an Aztec woman.
 
Yes, I believe they say she looked “mestizo” which would be mixed Spanish and indigenous (Aztec) descent.

Edited to add, when she appeared in Kibeho, Rwanda (Vatican approved), to Rwandan young people, she reportedly looked somewhere between black, white and mulatto.

In general, when Mary appears, she tends to look like the race/ ethnicity of whoever she is appearing to.
From what I’ve seen of Jesus apparitions, the same applies.
 
Last edited:
Tis_Bearself said:
In general, when Mary appears, she tends to look like the race/ ethnicity of whoever she is appearing to.
From what I’ve seen of Jesus apparitions, the same applies.
Click to expand...
They are wise to be culturally sensitive to their audience.
 
Honestly, there’s no good way to discern Christ’s physical appearance. I believe it comes down to the eye of the beholder.

I personally don’t have a “fixed” image of Christ. Instead I meditate upon certain aspects of His person like His wounds or scars, His dual nature, His virtues and grace, etc. so my mental image of Christ shifts from one instance of prayer to the next. One moment I could picture a Germanic Christ from a Carl Bloch painting and the next some tan-skinned, white-haired, fiery-eyed Ancient of Days image with scars in His flesh.
 
I don’t know why, but for a long time I’ve had a private mental image of Jesus as a shortish, broad-shouldered, physically powerful, bandy-legged fellow. The sort of face one could call ugly if not for deep-set, memorable eyes. Nearly the precise opposite of the glorious, plausible “angel of light” who once tempted Him in the desert. And when I try to picture the blessed Virgin, I tend to imagine certain gawky, yet adorable and good-hearted, Jewish teenage girls I have encountered.

I don’t imagine that these private mental images are a whit more valid or more accurate than any of the artistic renderings of the past millennia. But for me, they have a sort of uncanny plausibility that’s hard to shake.
 
Can’t remember the actress, but I thought the Mary from Mel Gibson’s Passion of Christ was quite authentic looking–authentic meaning how I’d picture a rather normal looking Jewish woman of the time. I suspect Mary, Jesus, and Joseph were just kind of plain looking, normal every day people–not beautiful, not ugly, because both extremes would stand out.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top