Are angels real? Are they truly around us? We often don’t hear about angels and when we do, the stories are often secularized or commercialized. The truth is, angels still walk among us and each story of a true encounter with one is quite unique and amazing. Angels are spiritual beings with a much different frequency compared to humans. Increasing your present awareness of angels is one of the best ways to start noticing their presence. On mountain slopes, on desolate rural highways and airplane cockpits are just a few of the places where ordinary people have felt the real presence of God’s angels at work in their lives. Angel signs are all around us and can come in a variety of ways depending on your current challenges, next steps or the questions you’ve asked. Here are six true stories of heavenly visitors.

Lillie Leonardi’s story may seem unbelievable to some, but the former FBI officer, who retired after suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder linked to her role in the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks is adamant about what she witnessed. Leonardi said she saw legions of angels guarding the Pennsylvania site where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed. When she arrived at the site just three hours after the crash, she was struck by numerous elements. She was so startled, she kept it to herself out of fear that her co-workers would think she lost her mind.

“I started seeing shimmery lights…and it was kind of misty and that’s when I first saw angels there,” Leonardi said. “And I didn’t say anything to the guys because you can imagine if I would have said, ‘I just saw angels on the crash site,’ they’d have called the office and they’d have said, ‘She lost her mind and tell her to go home.’”

They were dressed as if they were in warrior garb like a Roman centurion, she said. There were so many of them, you couldn’t see their faces. She continued to see flickers of light, each angel guarding the crash site. Her hope in sharing her story is that people would know that God was present on 9/11.