Mary has been appearing for centuries, but how does the Church respond to them? Mark Reidy investigates.
According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared to the Apostle, James the Greater, on 2 January in the year 40 in present day Zaragoza, Spain. Since then, there have been hundreds, possibly even thousands of reported sightings, with 386 alleged incidents being investigated by the Church throughout the 20th century. Only a handful have been granted official recognition.
But the Vatican, at least publicly, has always been reticent in focusing too much attention on these supernatural claims. She explains why in the Catechism: “Christ, the Son of God made man, is the Father’s one, perfect, and unsurpassable Word. In Him, He has said everything; there will be no other word than this one”(65).
Her caution is more specifically addressed in the following paragraph with a quote from St John of the Cross: “Any person questioning God or desiring some vision or revelation would be guilty not only of foolish behaviour but also of offending Him, by not fixing his eyes entirely upon Christ and by living with the desire for some other novelty”.
In other words, the Church is unwavering in Her understanding that there will be no further revelation “before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ” (CCC66). The Church acknowledges that there have been many “private” revelations throughout the ages and that some of these have even been officially recognised, but She is unequivocal in Her understanding that even those which the Church has authorised do not belong or add anything to the deposit of faith. “It is not their role”, the Catechism states, “to improve or complete Christ’s definitive Revelation, but to help [people] live more fully by it in a certain period of history” (CCC67).
With this understanding in mind it becomes easier to perceive why the Church hierarchy appears content to keep claims of alleged encounters at a comfortable distance. There is, after all, nothing they can add to the deposit of faith already in their possession but they do have the potential to confuse or mislead the faithful.
Not renowned for speed, the Church seemed to be particularly and understandably cautious in Her approach to a topic as contentious and controversial as supernatural apparitions.
In an interview with Catholic News Service earlier this year, Father Salvatore Perrella, a theologian who serves as an expert for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith – the Vatican body that is sometimes called to oversee investigations into reported apparitions – said it plain and simply: “The process is never brief”.
He highlighted the case of Robinsonville, Wisconsin – the first time the Church had confirmed an apparition in the US – as an example.
In December 2010 the local Bishop declared the Marian apparitions received by Adele Brise in1859 to, “exhibit the substance of supernatural character” and to be “worthy of belief (although not obligatory) by the Christian faithful”. Although that process took 151 years to receive the Diocesan Bishop’s approval, Fr Perrella stated, it is was just half of the 300 years it took for the apparitions of Our Lady of Laus in France to receive CDF recognition in 2008.
The local Bishop gave the Laus apparition approval in 1665 but this only allowed devotion inspired by the apparition to proceed – it did not recognise it as a supernatural event.
Last century saw an increased number of reported visions, locutions, weeping/bleeding statues as well as a rapid rise in their dissemination thanks to the pace of modern, global communication.
In 1978, the CDF responded by releasing Norms of the Congregation for Proceeding in Judging Alleged Apparitions and Revelations.
These guidelines were established to provide a uniform approach to the process of discernment and the investigation of reported apparitions and mysterious happenings. They were designed to assist those scrutinising alleged claims, particularly diocesan Bishops who, in most cases, had to determine whether a more thorough investigation was required.
The document provides lists of both positive and negative criteria to help determine the authenticity of reported cases. It provides guidelines in evaluating such aspects as: the personal qualities displayed by the person or people involved – their mental and psychological health, moral life, obedience to Church authority, ability to return to their normal faith life, any pursuit of financial or material gain – and possibility of mass hysteria. The guidelines also address the content of the alleged revelations – do they align with the faith and morals taught by the Church and whether they are free of doctrinal error – as well as assessing the spiritual fruits which endure as a result, such as the spirit of prayer, conversions and signs of charity.
The initial investigation, which is instigated by the diocesan Bishop, either on his own initiative or at the request of the faithful, can include a commission of experts, such as theologians, canonists, psychologists and doctors.
Once the Bishop’s investigation is complete, he will come to one of three conclusions, says Fr Perrella. He can determine the apparition to be true and worthy of belief, untrue (which leaves open the possibility of an appeal), or he can say that he is unable, at the moment, to make a determination and will need to investigate further.
If the Bishop reaches a positive conclusion, cautionary permission to participate in any surrounding devotions can be granted indicating that, for the moment, there is nothing opposed to it. Ultimately, final judgement and determination needs to be given, giving approval or condemning the event, which, as in the case of Laus, can take centuries to determine.
If further investigation is required, the case can be brought to the country’s Bishops’ Conference. If a conclusion still cannot be reached, then the matter is turned over to the Pope who delegates the CDF to assist. The CDF may provide advice, appoint a commissioner or set up a commission to investigate.
Fr Perrella points out that the Bishop of the diocese where the apparitions have been reported is in charge of the investigation at every step.
He says that the case of Medjugore in Bosnia-Herzegovina is an example of the country’s Bishops requesting the intervention of the CDF. The Congregation responded in 2010 by establishing a commission to investigate the claims of the six people who have said that Mary has been appearing to them since 1981.
Fr Perrella says that while the Church approaches each claim with “maximum prudence and investigative rigour”, Her invitation to others is to the Gospel and not to a fixation on lesser events.
The Church never requires the faithful to believe in any Marian apparitions, not even those that She has officially recognised.
While the Church affirms that because Mary was assumed into heaven, body and soul, it is possible that she can appear in bodily form, Fr Perrella emphasises that she always comes as “God’s Ambassador, charged with a specific message for a specific time and place” and never on her own accord.
Her appearance is not meant to result in her glorification, he said, but of God’s.
Guadalupe, Mexico (1531)
Title: Our Lady of Guadalupe
Approved: 1555 by
Archbishop Alonso de Montufar
Visionary: San Juan Diego (57), Juan Bernardino
First Apparition: 9 Dec 1531
Last Apparition: 12 Dec 1531
Number of Apparitions: 5
Summary: Mary proclaimed herself, “the Mother of the true God who gives life” and left her image permanently upon the tilma of Juan Diego, a recent convert to Christianity.
Quito, Ecuador (1594)
Title: Our Lady of Good Success
Approved: 2 Feb 1611 by
Bishop Salvador de Riber
Visionary: Venerable Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres (31)
First Apparition: 2 Feb 1594
Last Apparition: 8 Dec 1634
Number of Apparitions: 4
Summary: Our Lady of Good Success appeared to Spanish-born Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres at her Conceptionist Royal Convent in Quito, Ecuador. She requested that a statue be made in her likeness and warned of diminishing faith and vocations in the 20th century.
Siluva, Lithuania (1608)
Title: Our Lady of Siluva
Approved: 17 Aug 1775 by
Pope Pius VI
Visionaries: four children
First Apparition: 1608
Last Apparition: 1612
Number of Apparitions: Many over four years
Summary: One summer day, in 1608, a number of children were playing while tending their sheep in a field on the outskirts of the village of Siluva. They beheld a beautiful young woman standing on the rock holding a baby in her arms and weeping bitterly. The town, which had lost its Catholic identity to the Calvinists over the course of 80 years, was restored to the Faith.
Laus, France (1664)
Title: Our Lady of Laus / Our Lady of Happy Meetings
Approved: 4 May 2008 by Bishop Jean-Michel di Falco of the Diocese of Gap
Visionary: Benoite (Benedicta) Rencurel (17)
First Apparition: 1664
Last Apparition: 1718
Number of Apparitions: Many (over 54 years)
Summary: Benoite Rencurel, a poor shepherdess, was born in 1647. The Virgin Mary started appearing to her in 1664 and continued visiting her throughout the rest of her life. The Blessed Mother told her to “pray continuously for sinners.”
Paris, France (1830)
Title: Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
Approved: 1836 by
Archbishop de Quelen of Paris
Visionary: St Catherine Laboure (24)
First Apparition: 18 Jul 1830
Last Apparition: 27 Nov 1830
Number of Apparitions: 3
Summary: In the chapel of the Daughters of Charity of St.Vincent de Paul, Mary showed herself three times to novice Catherine Laboure. Laboure said she was commissioned by the Virgin to have the medal of the Immaculate Conception or “Miraculous Medal” made in order to spread devotion to Our Lady.
Rome, Italy (1842)
Title: Our Lady of Zion
Approved: 3 Jun 1842 by the Vicar General of Pope Gregory XVI, Cardinal Patrizi
Visionary: Marie Alphonse Ratisbonne (28)
Sole Apparition: 20 Jan 1842
Summary: Marie Alphonse Ratisbonne, an anti-Catholic Jew, befriended a baron in Rome and began wearing the Miraculous Medal as a simple test. On 20 Jan 1842, while waiting for the baron in the Church Sant Andrea delle Fratte, Ratisbonne encountered a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He converted to Catholicism, joined the priesthood, and began a ministry for the conversion of Jews.
La Salette, France (1846)
Title: Our Lady of La Salette
Approved: 16 Nov 1851 by
Mgr de Bruillard
Visionaries: Maximin Giraud (11), Melanie Mathieu (14)
Sole Apparition: 19 Sep 1846
Summary: Six thousand feet up in the French Alps, Mary is believed to have come to Maximin and Melanie while they tended sheep. Her appearance in sorrow and tears called for conversion and penance for sins.
Lourdes, France, (1858)
Title: Our Lady of Lourdes
Approved: 18 Jan 1862 by Bertrand Severe Laurence, Bishop of Tarbes
Visionary: St Bernadette Soubirous (14)
First Apparition: 11 Feb 1858
Last Apparition: 16 July 1858
Number of Apparitions: 18
Summary: At the Grotto of Massabielle, the Virgin showed herself 18 times to Bernadette Soubirous. Under the title “the Immaculate Conception,” she called for penance and prayer for the conversion of sinners.
Wisconsin, USA (1859)
Title: Our Lady of Good Help
Approved: 8 Dec 2010 by
Bishop David L Ricken
Visionaries: Adele Brise (28)
First Apparition: 8 Oct 1859
Last Apparition: 17 Oct 1859
Number of Apparitions: 3
Summary: Our Lady appeared three times to a Belgian farmwoman and asked her to pray for the conversion of sinners and encouraged her to evangelise and catechise the local people.
Pontmain, France (1871)
Title: Our Lady of Hope
Approved: Feb 1875 by
Bishop Laval
Visionaries:
Eugene Barbadette (12) Francoise Richer (11)
Jeanne-Marie Lebosse (9) Eugene Friteau (6)
Sole Apparition: 17 Jan 1871
Summary: Mary appeared on a farm to students at the nearby convent school. Mary’s message was written on a banner that unfurled from her feet: “But pray my children. God will hear you in a short time. My Son allows Himself to be moved by compassion.”
Gietrzwald, Poland (1877)
Title: Our Lady of Gietrzwald
Approved: Bishop Filip Krementz 1878,
Warmian Bishop, Jozef Drzazga 11 Sep 1977
Visionaries:
Justyna Szafrynska (13)
Barbara Samulowska (12)
First Apparition: 27 Jun 1877
Last Apparition: 16 Sep 1877
Number of Apparitions: 9
Summary: In 1877, the Virgin Mary appeared to two girls over the course of three months and encouraged a return to prayer.
Knock, Ireland (1879)
Title: Our Lady of Knock
Approved: In 1936, Archbishop of Tuam, Dr Gilmartin’s investigative commission returns a positive verdict.
Visionaries: 15
Sole Apparition: 21 Aug 1879
Summary: During a pouring rain, the figures of Mary, Joseph, John the Apostle and a lamb on a plain altar appeared over the gable of the village chapel, enveloped in a bright light. None of them spoke. At least 15 people, between the ages of 5 and 75, saw the apparition.
Castelpetroso, Italy (1888)
Title: Our Lady of Sorrows
Approved: 1889 by Mgr Macarone-Palmieri, Bishop of the diocese of Bojano
Visionaries: Two shepherdesses – Fabiana Cecchino (35) and Serafina Giovanna Valentino (33)
First Apparition: 22 Mar 1888
Last Apparition: June 1890
Number of Apparitions: Many
Summary: Two women had a vision of Mary: first, as the Pieta and; later, as Our Lady of Sorrows in a cave at Castelpetroso, Italy.
Fatima, Portugal (1917)
Title: Our Lady of Fatima / Our Lady of the Rosary
Approved: 13 October 1930
Visionaries:
Lucia dos Santos (9)
Jacinta Marto (8)
Francisco Marto (7)
First Apparition: 13 May 1917
Last Apparition: 13 Oct 1917
Number of Apparitions: 6
Summary: While tending sheep, Lucia de Santos and her two cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, reported six apparitions of Mary, who identified herself as “Our Lady of the Rosary.” Mary urged prayer of the Rosary, penance for the conversion of sinners and consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart.
Beauraing, Belgium (1932)
Title: The Virgin with the Golden Heart
Approved: 2 Jul 1949 by
the Bishop of Namur
Visionaries:
Fernande Voisin (15)
Andree Degeimbre (14)
Albert Voisin (11)
Gilberte Voisin (11)
Gilberte Degeimbre (9)
First Apparition: 29 Nov 1932
Last Apparition: 3 Jan 1933
Number of Apparitions: 33
Summary: Mary is believed to have come 33 times to the playground of a convent school to five children. Identifying herself as “the Immaculate Virgin” and “Mother of God, Queen of Heaven,” she called for prayer for the conversion of sinners.
Banneux, Belgium (1933)
Title: The Virgin of the Poor
Approved: 19 Mar 1942 by Bishop Kerkhofs of Liege; 22 Aug 1949
Visionary: Mariette Beco (11)
First Apparition: 15 Jan 1933
Last Apparition: 2 Mar 1933
Number of Apparitions: 8
Summary: In a garden behind the Beco family’s cottage, the Blessed Mother is said to have appeared to Mariette Beco eight times. Calling herself the “Virgin of the Poor,” Mary promised to intercede for the poor, the sick and the suffering.
Amsterdam, Netherlands (1945)
Title: Our Lady of All Nations
Approved: 31 May 2002 by Bishop Jozef Marianus Punt of Haarlem
Visionary: Ida Peederman
First Apparition: 25 Mar 1945
Last Apparition: 31 May 1959
Number of Apparitions: 56
Summary: During a series of 56 apparitions, over 14 years, prophecies were given to Ida Peederman along with an image of the Blessed Mother and a prayer. The revelations emphasise the importance of the Eucharist.
Akita, Japan (1973)
Title: Our Lady of Akita
Approved: 22 Apr 1984 approved by Bishop John Shoojiroo Ito of Niigata. In 1988, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger allowed Ito’s pastoral letter and its dissemination to the faithful.
Visionary: Sr Agnes Sasagawa (43)
First Apparition: 6 Jul 1973
Last Apparition: 13 Oct 1973
Summary: Sr Agnes Sasagawa of the Handmaids of the Eucharist received 101 messages emanating from a bleeding wooden statue of Mary.
Betania, Venezuela (1976)
Title: Reconciler of People and Nations
Approved: 21 Nov 1987 by Bishop Pio Bello Ricardo. Declared a sanctuary 26 May 2009 by Bishop Freddy J Fuenmayor.
Visionary: Maria Esperanza
First Apparition: 25 Mar 1976
Last Apparition: 8 Dec 1989
Number of Apparitions: 30
Summary: Maria Esperanza of Betania, Venezuela witnessed 30 apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary over the course of 15 years. The Virgin called herself the “Reconciler of People and Nations” and warned of impending war and suffering.
Cuapa, Nicaragua (1980)
Title: Our Lady of Cuapa
Approved: 13 Nov 1982 by Bishop Pablo Antonio Vega
Visionary: Bernardo Martinez
First Apparition: 15 Apr 1980
Last Apparition: 13 Oct 1980
Number of Apparitions: 4+
Summary: Church sacristan Bernardo Martinez entered an old chapel and observed a supernatural light illuminating from a statue of the Blessed Virgin. The Virgin later appeared clothed in white and asked for the daily Rosary with Biblical citations and to have the First Saturday Devotions renewed. She also warned of future sufferings for Nicaragua if the people didn’t change.
Kibeho, Rwanda (1981
Title: “Nyina wa Jambo” (Mother of the Word)
Approved: 29 Jun 2001 (Bishop Augustine Imago of Gikongoro)
Visionaries:
Alphonsine Mumureke (17)
Nathalie Mukamazimpaka (20)
Marie Claire Mukangango (21)
First Apparition: 28 Nov 1981
Last Apparition: 28 Nov 1989
Number of Apparitions: Many
Summary: The apparitions began in November 1981 when six young girls and one boy claimed to see the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus. But only the visions of the first three – Alphonsine, Nathalie and Marie Claire – have received Bishop Misago’s solemn approval. Because there were reservations about the other four visionaries, and the supposed visions of Jesus, Bishop Misago didn’t confirm the authenticity of either those visions or visionaries.
San Nicolas, Argentina (1983)
Title: Our Lady of the Rosary
Approved: 14 Nov 1990, by the Bishop of San Nicolas, Monsignor Domingo Castagna
Visionary: Gladys de Motta
First Apparition: 25 Sep 1983
Last Apparition: 11 Feb 1990
Number of Apparitions: 1816
Summary: An ordinary housewife, mother and grandmother who had no formal education and no knowledge of the Bible or theology, claimed that she was visited by the Blessed Mother daily for a period of over six years.
Note: This compilation is taken mainly from website, The Miracle Hunters, with verification from numerous other sources; no official Vatican list of approved apparitions could be found. The above list does not include Coptic Approved Apparitions.