Woman said she was often visited by the Virgin Mary
HOLLYWOOD – For 25 years, Rosa Lopez’s monthly house guest caused traffic on her street, people to faint in her backyard and the clouds above to take mysterious shapes. The Virgin Mary first visited Lopez’s backyard in 1990, the Hollywood mother of two said. Five years later, the apparition appeared and continued to come back monthly to share messages through Lopez.
Thousands would line 66th Avenue, pulling up folding chairs and opening umbrellas, to sit in the street and wait outside Lopez’s home. Some would even travel from around the world to drink and bottle the water from the fountain in front of her house, which they claimed had healing powers.
On Monday, dozens of roses — pink, red, yellow, orange, green and white — were piled high on the white, stone fountain in honor of the self-proclaimed prophet who died at age 81 in her home Saturday.
Her daughter, Cari Jimenez, said Lopez was so concerned about helping others, she didn’t worry about her five-year struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.
“She wasn’t taking care of herself because she was taking care of others,” Jimenez said. “She was last on her list.”
People came to Lopez’s home and told others about how she cured them of debilitating illnesses through prayers and touch. On the website for her volunteer organization, called the Our Loving Mother’s Foundation of Hollywood, testimonials from believers share details about Lopez’s healing powers.
“The lady of the house started to heal the people in the room. Some had cancer and others had completely different illnesses, yet she took care of each of them one by one,” wrote one. “I was the last one and waited patiently. As she placed her hand on my back, my spinal cord felt like it was being closed like a zipper.”
Pat Cogneta was one of 30 volunteers who helped Lopez. He said he saw Lopez’s heavenly abilities firsthand. In 1998, he witnessed a doctor with a brain tumor visit Lopez’s home before he went into surgery. He said the doctor came back days later and said X-ray tests revealed the tumor was gone and scar tissue as if he had already been operated on.
“Rosa anointed him, and next thing, he came back and he said he was fine,” Cogneta said.
Cogneta and his wife used to drive to Georgia to visit a prophet there but wished there was a closer way to reach God. His wife heard about Lopez at work, and after visiting her home once, Cogneta knew she was the real deal.
Lopez used donations given to her by visitors to build houses in Ecuador and Colombia, Jimenez said. She tried to visit yearly to meet with families in need, often giving them a place to sleep.
“It’s not that she made miracles, God made miracles,” Jimenez said. “If you came to her, and you believed in her, then you saw the miracles. Faith moves mountains.”
Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. today at Forest Lawn South Funeral Home & Cemetery, at 2401 Davie Road, Davie. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Forest Lawn.