Six apparitions of the Virgin Mary to encourage and inspire the faithful

- Jeff Ziegler, OSV News

Over the centuries, some Christians have testified that Our Lady, the Virgin Mary, has appeared to them. These are so-called “private” revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church,” as the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches (no. 67). 

“However, they are not part of the deposit of faith. Their function is not to improve or complete the definitive Revelation of Christ, but to help to live it more fully in a given historical period.”.

Six of the most influential and approved Marian apparitions of the last five centuries are described below.

Our Lady of Guadalupe (1531)

Between December 9 and 12, 1531,  the Virgin Mary appeared four times to St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (1474-1548), a member of the Chichimeca people and a convert, on the hill of Tepeyac, near Mexico City.

“Know for certain, my children, that I am the perfect and eternal Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, the true God, through whom all things live, Lord of all things near and far, Lord of heaven and earth,” she said. “It is my fervent desire that a temple be built here in my honor. Here I will demonstrate, manifest, give all my love, my compassion, my help and my protection to the people.”.

Our Lady asked Juan Diego to communicate her request to Bishop Juan de Zumarraga. The bishop asked for a sign during a visit to Juan Diego. Upon seeing Our Lady again, she led him to a hill where he saw a flower garden; he cut roses and placed them in his tilma. Returning with the bishop, he opened his tilma. The roses fell to the ground and the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe miraculously appeared in it.

In 1754, Pope Benedict XIV approved Our Lady of Guadalupe as patroness of Mexico, and St. John Paul II named her “patroness of the Americas” in 1999. He visited her basilica in 1979, 1990, 1999 and 2002. Pope Francis visited her in 2016.

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (1830)

In 1830, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared three times to St. Catherine Labouré (1806-1876), a member of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. The second time she saw Mary crushing a snake, with rays emanating from her hands. He also saw the words: “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you”, and heard a voice saying: “Make yourself a medal with this model. Those who wear it with confidence will receive great graces.” Eventually, the Archbishop of Paris granted the request.

In 1980, St. John Paul II made a pilgrimage to the chapel in Paris where St. Catherine saw the apparitions. “You obtain from God, for us, all these graces that symbolize the rays of light that radiate from your open hands, on the sole condition that we dare to ask you for them, that we approach you with the confidence, boldness and simplicity of a child,” he prayed.

Our Lady of La Salette (1846)

In 1846, the Virgin Mary appeared to two French children, Maximin Giraud (1835-1875) and Mélanie Calvat (1831-1904), in southeastern France. The Virgin lamented the sins of blasphemy, the refusal of most villagers to attend Mass in summer and the lack of fidelity to Lenten discipline.

“If my people do not obey, I will be forced to cut off my son's arm,” she warned. “It is so heavy that I can no longer hold it.” Bishop Philibert de Bruillard of Grenoble approved the apparition in 1851.

“Mary, Mother full of love, showed in this place her sadness before the moral wickedness of humanity,” wrote St. John Paul II in a letter commemorating the 150th anniversary of the apparition. “Through her tears, she helps us to better understand the painful gravity of sin, of the rejection of God, but also the passionate fidelity that her Son maintains towards his children; He, the Redeemer whose love is wounded by forgetfulness and indifference.”.

Our Lady of Lourdes (1858)

The Virgin Mary appeared 18 times to St. Bernadette Soubirous (1844-1879) in Lourdes, a town in southwestern France.

“From February 11 to July 16, 1858, the Blessed Virgin Mary deigned, as a new favor, to manifest herself in the territory of the Pyrenees to a pious and pure girl from a poor and hard-working Christian family,” wrote Pope Pius XII in a 1957 encyclical.

On one occasion, the Virgin Mary said: “Penance, penance, penance! Pray to God for sinners. Kiss the ground as an act of penance for sinners”. After a spring gushed forth, the Virgin Mary said, “Go and tell the priests to come in procession and build a chapel here.” When Bernadette asked her to identify herself, she declared, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”.

Bishop Bertrand-Sévère Mascarou-Laurence of Tarbes-et-Lourdes approved the apparitions in 1862. In 1911, St. Pius X wrote that the shrine of Lourdes “surpasses in glory, it seems, all others in the Catholic world.” St. John Paul II made pilgrimages there in 1983 and 2004, as did Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.

Our Lady of Knock (1879)

In 1879, fifteen persons of all ages in Knock, Ireland, witnessed an apparition of the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist on a rainy afternoon; the Virgin prayed, but did not speak. Within a few months, Archbishop John McHale of Tuam found her testimony credible, and the place soon became a pilgrimage site.

In 1979, St. John Paul II celebrated Mass at Knock and dedicated the Basilica of Our Lady, Queen of Ireland. “For a whole century, you have sanctified this place of pilgrimage by your love, by your sacrifice, by your penance,” he preached. “All who have come here have received blessings through Mary's intercession.”.

“From that day of grace, August 21, 1879, until today, the sick and suffering, people with physical or mental disabilities, those who had doubts about their faith or their conscience, all have been healed, consoled and reaffirmed in their faith because they trusted that the Mother of God would lead them to her Son, Jesus,” he added.

Pope Francis visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock in 2018 and elevated it from a national shrine to an international shrine.

Our Lady of Fatima (1917)

In 1917, Our Lady of the Rosary appeared for six consecutive months to three Portuguese children: Venerable Lucia Santos (1907-2005), St. Jacinta Marto (1910-1920) and St. Francisco Marto (1908-1919). Her message was one of prayer, atonement and devotion to her Immaculate Heart.

“Pray the rosary every day to bring peace to the world and an end to war,” he said. “And after each mystery, my children, I want you to pray like this: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, deliver us from the fires of hell. Bring to heaven all souls, especially those most in need.”.

“Offer sacrifices for sinners and say often, especially when making a sacrifice: O Jesus, this is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners and in reparation for the offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary,” he added.

Consecration of the World to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

She revealed to the children a secret in three parts: a vision of hell, a request for the First Saturday devotion and consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart, and the murder of a bishop dressed in white, along with other clergy, religious and lay people. 

Pope Pius XII, St. Paul VI, St. John Paul II and Pope Francis consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published the text of the third part of the secret in 2000, together with commentaries.

During the last apparition, on October 13, the Virgin Mary asked for the construction of a chapel, and 70,000 people witnessed the dance of the sun in the sky. Bishop José Alves Correia da Silva of Leiria-Fatima approved the apparitions in 1930, and St. Paul VI, St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis made pilgrimages there.