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Marian apparition

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A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance by Mary the mother of Jesus, or a series of related such appearances during a period of time.

In the Catholic Church, in order for a reported appearance to be classified as a Marian apparition, the person or persons who claim to see Mary (the "seers") must claim that they see her visually located in their environment.[1] If the person claims to hear Mary but not see her, this is known as an interior locution, not an apparition. Also excluded from the category of apparitions are dreams, visions experienced in the imagination, the claimed perception of Mary in ordinarily-explainable natural phenomena, and miracles associated with Marian artwork, such as weeping statues.

Believers consider such apparitions to be real and objective interventions of divine power, rather than subjective experiences generated by the perceiving individuals, even in cases where the apparition is reportedly seen by only some, not all, of the people present at the event's location.

Marian apparitions are considered by believers to be expressions of Mary's ongoing motherly care for the church. The understood purpose of each apparition is to draw attention to some aspect of the Christian message, given the needs of a particular time and place. Apparitions are often accompanied by other alleged supernatural phenomena, such as medical cures. However, such miraculous events are not considered the purpose of Marian apparitions, but are alleged to exist primarily to validate and draw attention to the message.[2]

Examples

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Main article: List of Marian apparitions
 
The Marian Vision of Saint Bernard, by Fra Bartolommeo, c. 1504. Uffizi, Florence

Some Marian apparitions are associated with one or more titles given to Mary, often based on the location of the apparition, such as Our Lady of Pontmain in Pontmain, France (1871). Others use a title which Mary purportedly applies to herself during the alleged apparition, as in the case of the disputed apparition entitled The Lady of All Nations (Netherlands, 1945..1959).

Some Marian apparitions have only one purported seer, such as that of Our Lady of Lourdes (France, 1858). Other apparitions have multiple seers; in the case of Our Lady of Fatima (1917), there were only three seers of the apparition itself, but miraculous phenomena were reported by a crowd of approximately 70,000 people, and even by others located miles away.[3] In other cases, the entirety of a large group of people claims to see Mary, as in the case of Our Lady of La Vang (Vietnam, c. 1800). Some modern mass apparitions, claimed to have been witnessed by hundreds of thousands, such as Our Lady of Zeitoun (Egypt, 1968~1971).[4]

Most alleged apparitions involve the verbal communication of messages, but others are silent, such as the apparition of Our Lady of Knock (Ireland, 1879).

 
Our Lady of Guadalupe is widely considered integral to the cultural identity of Mexico and Latin American culture.
 
Statue of Our Lady of La Salette, an 1846 apparition reported to have occurred in France

Some apparitions are one-time events, such as Our Lady of La Salette (France, 1846). Others recur over an extended period of time, such as Our Lady of Laus (France, 17th/18th centuries), whose seer claimed 54 years of appearances. Public, serial apparitions (in which a seer not only says that they have experienced a vision, but that they expect it will reoccur, causing people to gather to observe) appear to be a relatively recent phenomenon; up until about the seventeenth century, most reported apparitions happened when the individual was alone, or at least no one else was aware of its occurrence.[5]

Physical contact is hardly ever reported as part of Marian apparitions. In rare cases, a physical artifact is reportedly left behind, such as the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexico, 1531), which is said to have been miraculously imprinted on the cloak of Juan Diego.

Assessment by the Catholic Church

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See also: Normae Congregationis
 
Jetzer being tricked. Jetzer was a Dominican friar in Bern, and some of his brothers tricked him into thinking he was receiving a revelation from the Virgin Mary. Eventually he realized the truth. As punishment for this scandal, four Dominicans were burned at the stake by order of Pope Julius II with an audience of 30,000 people on May 1, 1509.[6]

The Catholic Church believes that it is possible for actually-supernatural Marian apparitions to occur, but also believes that many claimed apparitions are fabricated by the seer or the result of something other than divine intervention. For this reason, the Catholic Church has a formal evaluation process established for assessing claimed apparitions.

In 1978, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith promulgated investigation guidelines in a document entitled "Norms of the Congregation for Proceeding in Judging Alleged Apparitions and Revelations", better known as Normae Congregationis, a shortening of its Latin title.[7]

The 1978 norms were superseded by new guidelines issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in May 2024. Investigations into alleged apparitions still ordinarily fall first within the jurisdiction of the local ordinary (i.e. diocesan bishop). The document recommends incidents of phenomena should be carefully assessed, to make sure that they are not fraudulent or for monetary gain.[8]

"Six possible conclusions that can be reached when discerning a possible supernatural phenomenon, ranging from a declaration that an event is not of supernatural origin to authorizing and promoting piety and devotion associated with a phenomenon without affirming its divine nature."[9] The bishop is to submit his findings to the Dicastery for review before publishing them.

Occasionally, an ecclesial authority will decide not to investigate the veracity of an apparition in itself, but will permit religious practices related to it. Pope Leo XIII, for example, authorized the use of a scapular described in the messages of Our Lady of Pellevoisin (France, 1876),[10] but did not pass judgment on the supernatural character of the apparition itself.[11]

Under the new norms, a bishop or national conference will not make a declaration that these phenomena are of supernatural origin, but indicate by a "nihil obstat" (meaning "no objection") that they find no problematic elements with a reported phenomenon.[9] Even if a Catholic bishop sees no objection, belief in the apparition is never required of the Catholic faithful.[12][13] The Catholic faith is based on so-called Public Revelation, which ended with the death of the last living Apostle. A Marian apparition, however, is considered private revelation, which may emphasize some facet of the received public revelation for a specific purpose, but can never add anything new to the deposit of faith.[14]

 
In Marpingen, Germany, Our Lady is said to have appeared several times to three groups of visionaries: in 1876–1877, then in 1934–1936, and in 1999. The investigation performed by the Bishop of Trier after the last apparition concluded in 2005 that "the events in Marpingen cannot be confirmed as being of supernatural origin".[15]

In the Catholic Church, approval of a Marian apparition is relatively rare. The majority of investigated apparitions are rejected as fraudulent or otherwise false.[16] Recently rejected apparition claims include those of "Our Lady of Surbiton", denounced as fraudulent in 2007,[17] and those associated with Holy Love Ministries in Elyria, Ohio, condemned in 2009.[18] Some whose apparition claims are rejected have seceded from the Catholic Church as a result and initiated new groups, as in the case of the Mariavite Church, the Palmarian Catholic Church, and the Fraternité Notre-Dame.

Cultural impact

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See also: Veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church

In many cases, apparition seers report a request from Mary for the construction of a shrine on the place of the apparition. Such Marian shrines often become popular sites of Christian pilgrimage. The most-visited Marian shrine in the world is the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, which draws 10 million pilgrims each year.[19] Other popular apparition-related Marian pilgrimage sites include the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima in Portugal (6–8 million per year[20][21]) and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France (1.5 million annually).[22]

"When Marian apparitions occur, Mary addresses those who see her in their native language, and often promulgates a particular image of herself that incorporates elements of the local culture."[23] Apparitions can become a part of national identity, as Our Lady of Guadalupe is for the majority-Catholic population of Mexico.

Apparitions often result in the establishment of Marian confraternities, movements, and societies that seek to heed and spread the messages of a particular apparition, such as the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fátima.

Occasionally, apparitions will introduce prayers that become incorporated into widespread Catholic practice, as for the case of the Fátima prayers, or the legendary revelation of the Rosary to Saint Dominic.

References

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  1. ^ Zimdars-Swartz, Sandra L. (2014). Encountering Mary: From La Salette to Medjugorje. Princeton University Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-1400861637. An apparition is best understood as a specific kind of vision in which a person or being not normally within the visionary's perceptual range appears to that person, not in a world apart as in a dream, and not as a modification of a concrete object as in the case of a weeping icon or moving statue, but as part of the environment, without apparent connection to verifiable visual stimuli.
  2. ^ Dictionary of Mary, Catholic Book Publishing Co. New York. 1985, Imprimatur, pp. 25–26 ISBN 978-0-89942-367-8
  3. ^ Arcement, Katherine (October 13, 2017). "Our Lady of Fatima: The Virgin Mary promised three kids a miracle that 70,000 gathered to see". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  4. ^ Kosloski, Philip (May 5, 2019). "This Marian apparition in Egypt was witnessed by at least 250,000 people". Aletia. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  5. ^ Zimdars-Swartz, Sandra L. (2014). Encountering Mary: From La Salette to Medjugorje. Princeton University Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-1400861637.
  6. ^ History of the Great Reformation of the Sixteenth Century in Germany, Jean Henri Merle d'Aubigné, Philadelphia: Porter & Coates, 1870
  7. ^ "Norms Regarding the Manner of Proceeding in the Discernment of Presumed Apparitions or Revelations". Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. February 24, 1978.
  8. ^ Lowen, Mark (May 18, 2024). "Vatican tightens rules on supernatural phenomena". BBC News. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  9. ^ a b McLellan, Justin (May 17, 2024). "Vatican publishes new norms to discern alleged supernatural phenomena". Catholic News Service. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  10. ^ Cruz, Joan Carroll (2012). See How She Loves Us: 50 Approved Apparitions of Our Lady. Charlotte, North Carolina: TAN Books. pp. 205–211. ISBN 978-0895558039.
  11. ^ "All About Mary: Pellevoisin Apparitions". The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute. Archived from the original on April 13, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  12. ^ Kosloski, Philip (May 15, 2019). "This map illustrates 500 years of Mary's apparitions". Aleteia. Retrieved October 7, 2019. Even if the Church recognizes an apparition as worthy of belief, no Catholic is obligated to believe in any private revelation, such as an apparition. The Church simply says that a person can find spiritual aid from an apparition, if he or she so chooses.
  13. ^ "Private and public revelation". Catholic Culture. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  14. ^ Laurentin, René; Sbalchiero, Patrick (2007). Dictionnaire des «apparitions» de la Vierge Marie (in French). Fayard. p. 12. ISBN 9-782-21363-1011.
  15. ^ Louis, Justine (2008). "La Prudence Comme Mot d'Ordre" (PDF). L'Église catholique face à l'extraordinaire chrétien depuis Vatican II: Mémoire de thèse (PhD) (in French). Lyon: Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3. pp. 150–151. S2CID 160094467. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  16. ^ "Apparitions Statistics, Modern : University of Dayton, Ohio". udayton.edu. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  17. ^ Petre, Jonathan (September 23, 2007). "Vatican rejects woman's Virgin Mary claim". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on December 23, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  18. ^ Armstrong, Patti (November 20, 2009). "Proclamation on Holy Love Ministries Will Test Hearts and Obedience". Catholic Exchange. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  19. ^ "Shrine Of Guadalupe Most Popular In World", Zenit News, June 13, 1999[dead link]
  20. ^ Neves, Céu (February 19, 2017). "Religião movimenta 330 milhões de turistas por ano e seis milhões vão a Fátima" [Religion moves 330 million tourists a year and six million go to Fátima]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese).
  21. ^ "Fátima expects to receive 8 million visitors in 2017", in Sapo20, December 15, 2016.
  22. ^ "Fréquentation de Lourdes". www.lourdes-france.org.
  23. ^ Dadaglo, Gina. "Marian Apparitions for Catholics Across the World", The Faith & Belief Forum, April 3, 2022

Further reading

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