Marian apparitions are events in which the Virgin Mary is purported to have supernaturally appeared to one or more persons, typically Catholics, in various settings. They are often given names based on the town in which they were reported, or on the sobriquet which was given to Mary on the occasion of the apparition, or on her reported clothing and hairstyle. They have been interpreted as psychological (pareidolia), and as religious phenomena, occasionally as theophanies.

Apparitions sometimes recur at the same site over an extended period of time. In the majority of Marian apparitions only a few people can see Mary. The exception to this is at Zeitoun, where thousands claimed to have seen her over a period of three years.

Catholic belief

According to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, the era of public revelation ended with the death of the last Apostle and when the New Testament was finished. A Marian apparition, if deemed genuine by Church authority, is treated as private revelation that may emphasize some facet of the received public revelation for a specific purpose, but it can never add anything new. At most the Church will confirm an apparition as worthy of belief, but belief is never required. The Holy See has officially confirmed the apparitions at Guadalupe, La Salette, Paris (Miraculous Medal), Lourdes, Fatima, Pontmain, Beauraing, Banneux, and Knock. John Delaney, A Woman Clothed with the Sun

Not all claims of visitations are dealt with favourably by the Catholic Church. For example, purported apparitions of Our Lady, Jesus Christ and various saints at Bayside, New York have not been condoned or sanctioned in any way, nor those at the Necedah Shrine in Necedah, Wisconsin. The behavior of Mesdames Veronica Lueken and Mary Ann Van Hoof, who claimed these heavenly favors, was deemed not to compare favorably with the "quiet pragmatism" of Bernadette Soubirous — Church authorities are said to use Bernadette as a model by which to judge all who purport to have visitations. Indeed, both women engaged in repeated attacks on the church hierarchy, and Mrs Van Hoof subsequently left Catholicism for an "Old Catholic" schismatic church.

Possibly the best-known apparition sites are Lourdes and Fatima. Over sixty out of thousands of reported spontaneous healings at the Lourdes Spring have been classified as "inexplicable" by the physicians of the Lourdes Bureau, a medical centre set up by the Church to assess possible miracles. The so-called Three Secrets of Fatima received a great deal of attention in the press.

Criteria for evaluating apparitions

In 1974 the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued "Norms of the Congregation for Proceeding in Judging Alleged Apparitions and Revelations" containing the following provisions:

• The diocesan bishop can initiate a process on his own initiative or at the request of the faithful to investigate the facts of an alleged apparition. The bishop may refrain from looking into it if he chooses, especially if he thinks that not much will come of the event.
• The national conference of bishops may intervene if the local diocesan bishop refers it to him or if the event becomes important nationally or at least in more than one diocese.
• The Apostolic See (the Vatican) can also intervene at the request of the local bishop himself, at the request of a group of the faithful, or on its own initiative.

The steps in the investigation are mandated as follows: An initial evaluation of the facts of the alleged event, based on both positive and negative criteria:

Positive Criteria

1. moral certainty (the certainty required to act morally in a situation of doubt) or at least great probability as to the existence of a private revelation at the end of a serious investigation into the case

2. evaluation of the personal qualities of the person in question (mental balance, honesty, moral life, sincerity, obedience to Church authority, willingness to practice faith in the normal way, etc.)
3. evaluation of the content of the revelations themselves (that they do not disagree with faith and morals of the Church, freedom from theological errors)
4. the revelation results in healthy devotion and spiritual fruits in people's lives (greater prayer, greater conversion of heart, works of charity that result, etc.)

After this initial investigation, if the occurrence meets the criteria, positive and negative, an initial cautionary permission can be granted that basically states: "for the moment, there is nothing opposed to it." This permits public participation in the devotion in regard to the alleged apparition.

Ultimately, a final judgment and determination needs to be given, giving approval or condemnation of the event.

The source for the entire section above is EWTN Catholic Q&A: Apparitions

Papal Marian apparitions

It has been claimed that apparitions were experienced by a number of popes, including Pope Leo XIII in 1884, Pope Pius XII at various stages during his papacy, and Pope John Paul II in 1981, while he recovered from an assassination attempt which occurred on the anniversary of the Fatima apparition. John Paul II's particular devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary was indicated in his coat of Arms (image, left), which contains a large letter "M," representing Mary at the foot of the Cross, as well as his motto "Totus Tuus," ("Totally yours"), dedicated to Mary. He also visited many of the most famous alleged apparition sites, notably Fatima, Lourdes, and Knock, and according to some reports may have experienced another visitation on his last visit to Lourdes in 2003.

Criticism

Many Christians, including Catholics, as well as nonbelievers, regard claims of Marian apparitions as being hallucinations encouraged by superstition, and occasionally simply as lies and deliberate hoaxes to attract attention. Many such apparitions are reported in economically depressed areas, attracting many pilgrims who bring trade and money into the region.

Supposedly spontaneous healings reported at apparition sites such as Lourdes are also disputed by some scientists. Most such healings are reportedly far from spontaneous, often taking place some time after the visit or over a period of weeks or months (rather than being instantaneous, as required by the Lourdes Bureau for a miraculous healing). Other scientists have claimed that a handful of unexplained cures have occurred; the Lourdes Bureau has recorded sixty "inexplicable" (not "miraculous") healings which match its exceedingly stringent requirements. Critics maintain that some healings are incomplete, leaving the sufferer with disabilities or chronic illness, and that other claimed healings are likely to be the relatively rare but entirely unmiraculous spontaneous remission of illness or injury. Such remissions would be expected to occur in a few of the large numbers of ill (and perhaps credulous) people who visit such sites. That viewpoint is debated by religious people and by some in the medical profession. The Lourdes Bureau will not review cases of claimed healing involving illnesses known sometimes to go into remission by themselves, such as multiple sclerosis or cancer, or incomplete healings, or those which take place gradually. In fact, the rate of "spontaneous healing" at Lourdes is far lower than the remission rate for modern medicine.

Many skeptics, including Carl Sagan, point out similarities between Marian apparitions and alien abduction stories. They also point out that the material "proofs" provided by witnesses of claimed apparitions such as Medjugorje are usually common items. Catholic critics dismiss the idea of unverifiable material "proof" — for example, claims that silver rosary chains turned to gold. Official church investigators into Marian apparitions do not look for material evidence, but for lasting spiritual change in people's lives, considering this the most valuable clue.

List of Marian apparitions

This is a list of some of the more publicized Marian apparitions. Only those marked with a * have been fully approved by the Catholic Church.

Notes

Further reading

• ^*

• ^*

• ^*

See also

• Apparition
• Marian shrine
• Medjugorje
• Necedah Shrine
• Our Lady of Fatima
• Our Lady of Lourdes
• Religious pareidolia (the perception of images of religious figures in ordinary objects)
• Veronica Lueken
• Weeping statue

External links

• Workers of Our Lady of Carmel Official site for information on alleged visions at Garabandal
• Lourdes, official website
• These Last Days Ministries - the largest and most complete site for Our Lady of the Roses (Veronica Leuken)

Blessed Virgin Mary | Ghosts | Marian apparitions

Mariánská zjevení | Marienerscheinung | Apparitions mariales | Apparizione mariana | 聖母の出現