Marian Apparitions

The Catholic Church has been very cautious to approve purported miraclous events. In fact, in the 20th Century, of the hundreds of public claims, there have been only 12 with episcopal approval (4 of those with Vatican recognition) and a handful of others that have not received official approval but have been approved for faith expression at the site. A total of 28 apparitions throughout history have been investigated and have received episcopal approval (16 of those have been recognized by the Vatican). Additionally, there have been four Egyptian apparitions approved by the Coptic Orthodox Church in the last 50 years. The list of rejected claims continues to grow. 

The earliest known claim was from St. James the Greater who saw the Virgin Mary while he was in preaching on the banks of the Ebro River in Saragossa, Spain in 40 A.D. Today, apparition reports occur more frequently. Some scholars estimate the total number of apparition claims throughout history to be approximately 2,500 (with about 500 of those coming in the 20th century alone). According to the Dictionary of Apparitions of the Virgin Mary, throughout history 308 apparitions are attributed to Saints or Blesseds. They are generally unofficially recognized by Church authorities (or at least the orders and congregations that they have founded or belonged to). Only 7 Popes throughout history have witnessed Marian apparitions. 

Although not officially approved by the Roman Catholic Church, visionaries in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Hercegovina and elsewhere currently distribute messages attributed to the Blessed Virgin.

The most famous apparitions have been those reported in Guadalupe, Mexico(1531), Rue du Bac, France (1830), Lourdes, France (1858), Fatima, Portugal(1917), and Medjugorje, Bosnia-Hercegovina (1981). 

The most recently Vatican recognized apparitions are those from Le Laus, France (1664) which were approved in 2008. The most recently occurring apparitions with Vatican recogntiion are those from Kibeho, Rwanda which ended in 1989. The apparitions in Itapirange, Brazil (specifically those from1994-98) were declared to be supernatural by the local bishop in 2009. The 1859 Robinsonville, WI, USA apparitions which were declared authentic on December 8, 2010 are the first and only episcopally approved apparitions in the history of the United States. On September 12, 2015, Raymond C. Arguelles, Archbishop of Lipa, Philippines declared the 1948 Lipa apparitions to be supernatural in character and worthy of belief, making them the most recently approved apparitions in the world.

Michael O'Neill, a Stanford University graduate in mechanical engineering and product design, is the Virgin Mary’s big data numbers cruncher. On his website, www.MiracleHunter.com, he has codified every known apparition of Mary back to A.D. 40. Systematic investigation and documentation of supernatural occurrences began with the Council of Trent, the Catholic Church’s ecumenical reaction to the Reformation, more than 450 years ago. Of the 2,000 apparitions reported since then, Miracle Hunter cites a mere 28 as approved by local bishops, who are the first to decide whether “seers” seem plausible. Sixteen of those have been recognized by the Vatican.

O’Neill, in his newly published book, Exploring the Miraculous, details the Vatican’s painstaking process when deciding whether to endorse an apparition as miraculous—“truly extraordinary.” The “authenticity” and mental stability of the seer are prime, and anyone suspected of trying to gain fame or riches from contact with the Virgin Mary is ignored or condemned.

Mapping Virgin Mary Sightings

Starting in the 16th century, the Roman Catholic Church instituted a strict vetting process for miracles like the 2,000 sightings of the Virgin Mary claimed since A.D. 40. To be worthy of belief and church support, apparitions must be deemed miraculous with a high degree of certainty and in line with church doctrine, and found to have had a positive impact. 

VIRGINIA W. MASON, NGM STAFF; VICTORIA SGARRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL O’NEILL, MIRACLE HUNTER
NOTE: SOME VISIONS MAY BE MISSING BECAUSE THE DETAILS OF TIME, LOCATION, AND WITNESSES HAVE BEEN LOST TO HISTORY.

**Sources:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/12/virgin-mary-text
http://www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/index.html