The Visionary Rani John

Two thousand years ago, God the Son became incarnate to redeem us from our sins, to perfect the divine revelations, and to make His graces and teachings available to everyone in the world until the end of the world through His Church. In order to help us understand and accept the revealed truths, God sometimes uses extraordinary means: especially, signs and messages through the Mother of the Saviour and of the Church. The true signs and messages through Mary never add anything new to the existing teachings of the Church or alter them but help us understand them more deeply and practice them more diligently.

The mass conversion following the Marian sign in Guadalupe in the 16th century is a good example. Therefore, we must not ignore the true Marian signs and messages simply because we already have the public revelation but must clearly understand their critical practical importance for each one of us and for the whole Church. God wishes to save everyone and the world from disaster, because He loves us so much, and, therefore, is sending us His precious and urgent messages through our Heavenly Mother.

It has been noted that there are 321 stigmatists in the history of the Church. Sixty two of whom are declared either as saints or blesseds by her. The stigmatists are those specially chosen by God and they do have the mystical experience of the passion of Jesus. Today among the visionaries of Our Blessed Mother Rani John of Kanchikode, Palakkad, Kerala is well known as she is also a stigmatist. From 1996 to 2002 she received 4 messages from Our Lord and 47 messages from Our Lady for the whole world.

Rani John’s family

Rani was born on May 2nd, 1970 at Mannampetta in the diocese of Trissur in the state of Kerala in India. Antony and Annamma were her parents. Rani is the youngest daughter in the family of Panthalookaran. She has six elder sisters. Five of them are leading family life and one is a religious nun. Sr. Philsy Panthalookaran is the nun belonging to the congregation of the Little Servants of Divine Providence. Rani’s parents and her dear ones inculcated in her devotion to the Holy Eucharist and Our Blessed Mother. From her younger days onwards she had a number of mystical experiences. Her first mystical experience was on the day of her First Communion on May 15th, 1977.

At the age of 15, she joined the convent to become a religious. Remaining in the convent she did her pre degree course. She took science as her main subject for her two year pre degree course. After the pre degree course she was asked to do her nursing course remaining in another convent. During the course of this studies, she had illness including typhoid and poor eye sight. This caused difficulty in continuing her studies. It was then that she was given an opportunity to take part in a retreat. During that retreat, a Priest prayed for her and advised her that she had a very unique and different call from God other than becoming a nun and a nurse. She was also specially advised to offer up all her pains and sufferings to the Lord and to wait patiently for the realisation of God’s plan for her.

After Rani left the convent, remaining in her home at Mannampetta she offered up all her pains and sufferings to the Lord and waited patiently for the realisation of God’s special call and plan for her. On October 21st, 1992 she got married to John George Palooparambil. John was born on December 27th, 1962. His parents were George and Josephine. John too was the youngest in the family. He has three brothers and a sister, all leading family life. John belongs to the parish of Good shepherd church of the diocese of Palakkad. After her marriage Rani John settled down at Kanchikode, Palakkad. John, her husband is a simple and unassuming person. He is indeed a very devout catholic and a Marian devotee. John and Rani have a daughter named sneha John and she was born on August 7th, 1993. At present she is doing her Higher Secondary School studies at Kanchikode. John, Rani and Sneha are deeply spiritual.

After Rani’s marriage she had a number of mystical experiences. The advice of the Priest that Rani had a very unique call from God was specially realized on November 2nd, 1996 when she received the miraculous Rosary from Our Lady at Her shrine in Velankanni, Tamil Nadu. The following extraordinary miraculous mystical experiences of Rani which are explained in the following pages make us realize that God had a special plan for her. In fact God chose Rani John at a particular time in her life to do an extraordinary task for Him, a task which brought with it the heavy cross of suffering. From 1996 to 2002 Rani John received 51 messages from Our Lord and Our Lady for the whole world.

The various miraculous photos that are presented according to the different themes in the following pages also definitely help us to convince that God made use of Rani John and her family as His special instrument to communicate His divine plan for his people. God in His abounding mercy wants us to have a fuller and deeper understanding of His messages through these visible signs of the miraculous photos.

Rev. Fr. Thomas Pazheparambil SDB former Rector and Professor of Chemistry of Sacred Heart College, Tirupattur under the university of Madras has observed about Rani John in his book entitled ‘Eucharistic Miracles’ on page 51 the following: “However if you visit her home today you may find her sweeping the house, carrying water, cooking for the family and doing other household jobs. She looks just ordinary. St. Francis de Sales wrote his famous book ‘Introduction to the Devout Life’. In it he tells his beloved Philothea: You as a housewife will sanctify yourself by doing your ordinary daily duties for the love of God. St. Francis will be happy to know that in Mrs. Rani John, he has a replica of his Philothea, because so simple and yet so holy is Rani John.” This is very true about her. John as a husband and head of the family gives her all support to follow the footsteps of the Lord. He is very unassuming, humble and prayerful. Their daughter Sneha is a very devout child and lives a life of prayer trusting in God’s providence and the Maternal care of Our Blessed Mother. Rani John continues to get personal messages from Our Lord and Our Lady. According to the personal messages that she gets, Rani, her husband John and Sneha John do pray for the sanctification of the people of God particularly Priests and religious.

Rani John’s various Miraculous Experiences

Rani John is not only a gifted visionary but also a person with very special mystical and extraordinary miraculous experiences. Some of her extraordinary miraculous experiences are the following:

1. Reception of the Miraculous Holy Rosary from Our Lady of Velankanni
2. Stigmata experiences
3. Eucharistic Miracles
4. Miraculous reception of the Holy Communion
5. Tears of blood were shed from the picture of Jesus placed in her house.
6. Fragrant oil flowed from the picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe placed on the wall of her house.
7. Anointing of the sweet fragrance during moments of prayer
8. Experience of getting milk and honey in the palm of her hand during moments of prayer.
9. The vision and the message on the picture of Our lady of Kanchikode

It was possible to take the videos and photos of these extraordinary mystical experiences. You can refer to the photo pages that follow this article for a better understanding of the above mentioned extraordinary mystical experiences.

Reception of the Miraculous Holy Rosary

In 1996 on November 2nd, Rani John and her family went for a pilgrimage to the shrine of Velankanni in Tamil Nadu. While she was praying in the shrine before the statue of Our Lady of Velankanni, She had the apparition of Our Blessed Mother. Our Lady of Velankanni gave her a miraculous Rosary which has strong unearthly sweet fragrance. This Rosary is preserved in the prayer room of their house at Kanchikode.

Rev. Dr. George Nedungatt S.J. the professor at the Pontifical Oriental Institute, Rome has written a book entitled “Crucified with Christ for all”. In this book he refers the following in pages 235-236, “Another living mystic is Rani John of Kanchikode, Palakkad, Kerala, also blessed by periodic stigmata and several apparitions of the Heavenly Mother, who announces Her presence often with a sweet but strong unearthly fragrance… Rani, whose simplicity and sincerity are beyond doubt, says that the fragrance is but a temporary sign by which the Heavenly Mother intends to draw the attention of her children to her constant presence and to her message of love calling for prayer. Rani John’s story along with that of Julia Kim of Naju, Korea was reported on the Italian television, after expert scrutiny, on the serial called ‘Miracoli’ programmed by Rete 4 on 19th May 2002.” Hence it is clear that the anointing of the fragrance is a special sign of the presence of Our Blessed Mother.

Eucharistic Miracles

Through out the history of the Catholic Church, God has manifested his real presence by performing Eucharistic miracles, particularly in times of apostasy and loss of faith. There have occurred incidents in which the Flesh and Blood of Jesus hidden under the outward appearances of bread and wine become openly visible and perceptible to the human senses of sight, taste, touch and smell.

Rani John had three times the divine experiences of the Eucharistic miracle. When she received the Holy Communion during Holy Mass, the sacred Host became visible red living flesh and blood on her tongue. This miracle took place twice in the Good Shepherd parish church at Kanchikode on October 26th, 1997 and on November 2nd, 1997. On October 26st, 1997, the Holy Eucharist was presided over by the Bishop of the diocese of Palakkad . On November 2nd, 1997, the Holy Mass was celebrated by Rev. Fr. Abraham Kadiyakuzhy, the spiritual Director of Rani John and he gave her the Holy Communion on her tongue. Rev. Fr. Joseph Pulavelil, the parish priest of Kanchikode was a witness of the two miracles that took place there. The third Eucharistic Miracle took place on February 12th, 1998 during a Bible convention at Potta, Chalakudy, Trissur. The main celebrant of that Holy Mass was the Archbishop of the diocese of Trissur and he gave her the communion on her tongue. These three miracles were witnessed by many people including many priests and religious.

Miraculous reception of the Holy Communion

From 1996 onwards, she had the miraculous experience of receiving the Holy communion from Jesus Himself thirteen times. She could see Jesus appearing to her and giving her Holy Communion on her tongue. Those who were with her at that time could only see the Holy Communion on her tongue during these miraculous experiences. This is to enable us to understand that the Holy Communion is the nectar of the Divine Grace. Many saints have lived only on the Holy Communion for many years. The Holy Eucharist is the gift of our Blessed Mother for us as she is the Mother of the Eucharist.

Miraculous reception of the Holy Communion

From 1996 onwards Rani John had the stigmata experience twenty five times. During the experience of stigmata, Rani John had the mystical experience of having the vision of the passion of Jesus. At that time the five wounds of Jesus would appear on her body and she too suffers along with Jesus. The pain would last for three to four hours or at times even for a day. These were witnessed by many people, including a Bishop, priests and many religious. The stigmata experiences took place on all Good Fridays to enable us to deeply believe in the reality of the passion of Jesus. The video of this stigmata experience of Rani John is available.

Tears of Blood

On March 1st and 6th 1997 and on May 1st, 1997 from the picture of Jesus enthroned in her house tears of blood were shed .This indicates the symbol of God’s love for us sinners. He wants us sinners to repent and convert ourselves. It is very clear from the message given on May 1st, 1997.

Fragrant oil

From the picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe placed on her house tears of fragrant oil flowed on January 9th, 2000. Many witnessed this experience and the video of this experience was also taken and it is available. The above experience indicates Our Lady’s sorrow because of the heavy weight of the sins of humanity. By shedding her holy tears she is praying for true conversion of her children from a life of sin.

Flow of Milk and Honey and the anointing of the fragrance

On August 15, 1997, milk flowed from the miraculous Rosary given by our Blessed Virgin. On several occasions during moments of prayer, milk and honey were poured in the palm of Rani’s hand. At that time the anointing of the fragrance of the Rosary was experienced by many. These experiences took place more than seventy times. Milk and honey are the signs of the maternal care of our Lady. From November 2nd, 1996 to December 31st, 2003, the anointing of the fragrance of the Rosary was experienced in her house and outside during moments of prayer. This is truly the experience of the special sign of the presence of our Blessed Mother.

The vision and the message on the Picture of Our Lady of Kanchikode

In the message given to Rani John on November 2nd, 2001 Our Blessed Mother gave the message that she would crush the head of the serpent. In order to realise it, she requests our cooperation and our prayers by giving us the two divine weapons of the devotion to the Eucharist and the devotion to the Holy Rosary. In the same message Mother Mary asked Rani John to get the picture of Our Lady of Kanchikode painted depicting the importance of the two divine weapons of the Eucharist and the Rosary. This painting of the Picture of Our lady of Kanchikode was completed on October 9th, 2004.

Reflections based on Testimony

I am an eye witness of the miracle of the Holy Communion which became visible red living flesh and blood on her tongue on February 12th, 1998 during the Bible convention at Potta, chalakudy and her stigmata experiences . I have also seen the miracle of the sign of the cross imprinted on Rani’s forehead during moments of prayer. The anointing of the fragrance, tears of blood shed from the picture of Jesus enthroned in her house, the external signs of milk and honey and other divine signs were also witnessed by me. Rev. Dr. Mathew Vaniakizhakel V.C., the Bishop of Satna, Fr. Abraham Kadiyakuzhy, Fr. Devassy Panthalookaran, Fr. Joy Thottankara MCBS, Fr. Vincent Ollukkaran, Sr. Lillia Maria Alookaran, Sr. Francitta Pazhukkathara, Raphael Alankarath, Lissy Raphael Alankarath, Bro.Joseph Raphael Alankarath OFM, Nishin Geo, Jose Kavungal, Rani Jose Kavungal, Antin Jose Kavungal, Sr.Mary Gifty Kavungal, Rolson Paul Pulikan, Thomas Chittilappilly, the family of Dr. James Chacko Kayyalaparambil and the members of the families of the sisters of Rani and that of her husband John’s brothers and sister are other witnesses of the same. Many priests and sisters are also witnesses of the above experiences. Having had a first hand experience of the above miraculous mystical experiences of Rani John, I have been closely observing, studying and reflecting on these experiences for the past thirteen years. Rev. Msgr. C.J. Varkey the founder of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Immaculate concluded that the visionary Rani John is a modern mystic. After having studied critically and reflected on the messages given to her I am certain that all her experiences are genuine and she is modern mystic. Having studied in detail the 51 messages, I found nothing in conflict with the teachings and traditions of the Catholic Church. The Church today is observing and studying the 51 messages she received and the various visible mystical experiences.

I have come to know from the messages of Our Lady of Kanchikode and from the personal messages the visionary Rani John has received that the ministry of Kanchikode is also primarily to pray for the sanctification of priests and religious. This is done specially by silently enduring all the sufferings the Lord allows in their life. In the history of the church, it is a fact that the visionaries of the virgin Mary and mystics have had a lot of misunderstandings and sufferings on account of the disbelief about the mystical experiences on the part of some rationalists and critics. As is the case of many mystics through out history, Rani and her husband John had to undergo the heavy cross of suffering. In the midst of the heavy cross of sufferings such as physical pain, sicknesses, tensions, misunderstandings, negative reactions of the disbelief of the rationalists etc, Rani John and her family grew deeper in faith experiencing true spiritual joy.

From the fruits we come to know the tree. Rani, her husband John and Sneha live a very simple life. Their prayer life and their willingness to adhere to God’s will in all their difficult situations and their serenity of life are clear signs of the fruits of the Holy Spirit in their life and are indicators of their true spirituality. It is said that suffering is the best form of prayer. It is also our faith that God gives sufferings to those whom He loves specially. I have also known personally from them that they are happy to take up daily any suffering cheerfully with an open heart for the sake of saving souls. Every day they pray that they may have a share of sufferings to offer up to the Lord for the salvation of souls. Indeed true Marian devotion consists in offering everything to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is an undeniable truth that the above mentioned miraculous signs and experiences have led people to prayer, true repentance and conversion to a better life. This is also a proof of the genuineness of the above miraculous signs and divine experiences.

Messages of Our Lady of Kanchikode

Jesus and Our Blessed Mother gave 51 messages to Rani John. She was able to write the messages either by hearing the voice of Jesus and Mary or by seeing the messages of Jesus and Mary in visions. When Rani John was not well she was not able to write the three messages given by Our Lady. At that time Our Lady held the right hand of Rani John and made her write these three messages. These three messages were given by Our Lady on the following dates: May 31st, 1998, December 1998, 1999 and on June 10th, 2000. The core of the 51 messages is to attain salvation of souls through prayer, penance and reparation. The Holy Eucharist, the sacrament of Confession, Holy Rosary, Fasting and the Word of God are the five divine weapons to attain salvation. A deep study and reflection on the 51 messages that Rani John received would enable us to be better devotees of Jesus and Mary.

People flock to Our Lady of Kanchikode

For the past 13 years, every Wednesday prayer services are conducted in the prayer room of Our Lady of Kanchikode. Many from the different parts of Kerala , other States of India and abroad come to this Marian centre to pray. On all important feast days of Our Blessed Mother and on the anniversary of the reception of the miraculous Rosary on November 2nd, special prayer services are conducted in this centre. A big crowd turns up for prayer on these days. For the past five years on November 2nd, the anniversary of the reception of the miraculous Rosary, the Bishop of the diocese of Palakkad gave special permission to celebrate the Holy Eucharist in this Marian prayer centre.

Conclusion

The above brief introduction on the visionary with the various details enables us to understand better the context and the messages. The Visionary Rani John’s description of her mystical experiences also help us to understand more clearly the messages and the divine experiences. I congratulate Rev. Fr. Abraham Kadiyakuzhy the Rector of At. Antony’s Pilgrim Centre, Manthara, Ponkunnam and the spiritual Director of Rani John in publishing this book. I sincerely thank Prof. Paulson Chalissery, the Principal of Don Bosco College, Mannuthy for cooperating with me in translating the messages into English. I also specially thank Bobby Jose and Liza Powells for their unique contribution in the work of translation. May God bless them for their patient work in making theses messages available to the English speaking world. May these Messages of Our Lady of Kanchikode reach every nook and corner of the world through this book.

Fr. Joe Kallupura SDB
Principal
Don Bosco HSS
Mannuthy
Trissur 680 651

(March 25th, 2010)