Marian apparition

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Apparition of The Virgin to St Bernard by Filippino Lippi (1486) Oil on panel, 210 x 195 cm Church of Badia, Florence

A Marian apparition is an event in which the Virgin Mary is believed to have supernaturally appeared to one or more persons regardless of their religious faith. 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. They have been interpreted in psychological terms as pareidolia, and in religious terms 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. An exception to this is at Zeitoun, where thousands claimed to have seen her over a period of three years.

[edit] Catholic belief

A photostatic copy of a page from Ilustração Portuguesa, October 29, 1917, showing the crowd looking at the miracle of the sun during the Fátima apparitions (attributed to the Virgin Mary)

According to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, the era of public revelation ended with the death of the last living Apostle. 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 to the deposit of faith. At most, the Church will confirm an apparition as worthy of belief, but belief is never required by divine faith.^[1] The Holy See has officially confirmed the apparitions at Guadalupe, Saint-Étienne-le-Laus, Paris (Rue du Bac, Miraculous Medal), La Salette, Lourdes, Fátima, Portugal, Pontmain, Beauraing, Banneux, La Vang Vietnam and Knock (Ireland). ^{[2] [3]} An authentic apparition is believed not to be a subjective experience, but a real and objective intervention of divine power. The purpose of such apparitions is to recall and emphasize some aspect of the Christian message. The church states that cures and other miraculous events are not the purpose of Marian apparitions, but exist primarily to validate and draw attention to the message. ^[4] Apparitions of Mary are held to be evidence of her continuing active presence in the life of the church, through which she "cares for the brethren of her son who still journey on earth." ^[5]

Not all claims of visitations are dealt with favourably by the Roman Catholic Church. For example, claimed 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 Ms Veronica Lueken and Mary Ann Van Hoof, who claimed these heavenly favors, was deemed not to compare favorably with the "quiet pragmatism" of St. 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 seriously criticized the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, allegedly even harshly, and Mrs. Van Hoof is said to have subsequently left Roman Catholicism for an independent local Old Catholic Church.

Possibly the best-known apparition sites are Lourdes and Fatima^[6] Over sixty spontaneous healings, out of thousands reported at the Lourdes Spring, have been classified as "inexplicable" by the physicians of the Lourdes Bureau, a medical centre set up by the Church in association with local medical institutes to assess possible miracles. The so-called Three Secrets of Fatima received a great deal of attention in the Catholic and secular press.

[edit] Criteria for evaluating apparitions

In 1978 the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (former Holy Office) issued "Norms of the Congregation for Proceeding in Judging Alleged Apparitions and Revelations" containing the following provisions:^[7]

• 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.)

Negative Criteria

1. glaring errors in regard to the facts
2. doctrinal errors attributed to God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, or to the Holy Spirit in how they appear
3. any pursuit of financial gain in relation to the alleged event
4. gravely immoral acts committed by the person or those associated with the person at the time of the event
5. psychological disorders or tendencies on the part of the person or persons associated

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.

[edit] Papal Marian apparitions

It has been claimed that apparitions were experienced by a number of popes, including Pope Leo XIII in 1884^{[citation needed]}, Pope Pius XII at various stages during his papacy^{[citation needed]}, and Pope John Paul II in 1981^{[citation needed]}, while he recovered from an assassination attempt which occurred on May 13, the anniversary of the Fatima apparition. While he only reported focusing on her image in order to stay conscious as per paramedic instructions, a number of rumors have circulated about this event, including that he actually saw her for a minute^{[citation needed]}, or that he witnessed a solar phenomenon as at Fatima^{[citation needed]}; if so, he said nothing on the record about it. He was quoted some time later as saying he thought "a motherly hand guided the bullet's path" ^[8] so that he would be only injured and not killed. 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 apparition sites, notably Guadalupe, Fatima, Lourdes, Licheń, and Knock, and may have experienced another visitation on his last visit to Lourdes in 2004, when he lost his balance and said: 'I feel with emotion that I have reached the end of my pilgrimage'.

[edit] Criticism

Many Christians, including some 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^{[citation needed]}, 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 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 higher than the remission rate for modern medicine.^{[citation needed]}

Many skeptics point out that the material "proofs" (icons weeping blood, rosary chains turning to gold, etc.) provided by witnesses of claimed apparitions are usually common items.^{[citation needed]} Catholic critics dismiss the idea of unverifiable material "proof".

[edit] 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.

[edit] Further reading

• Blackbourn, David (1994). Marpingen: Apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Nineteenth-Century Germany. New York: Alfred A Knopf. ISBN 0-679-41843-1. 

• Connell, Janice T. (1996). Meetings with Mary: Visions of The Blessed Mother. United States: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-39705-3. 

• Connell, Janice T. (2007). The Visions of the Children: The Apparitions of the Blessed Mother at Medjugorje. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-36197-1. 

• Laurentin, René (1990). Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary Today. Dublin: Vertitas Publications. ISBN 1-853-90054-9. 

• Odell, Catherine M. (1995). Those Who Saw Her: Apparitions of Mary. Huntington: Our Sunday Visitor. ISBN 0-87973-664-4. 

• Sparrow, G. Scott (2004). Sacred Encounters with Mary. Chicago: Thomas More Association/Ave Maria Press. ISBN 1-59471-047-3. 

[edit] See also

• Dogma (Roman Catholic)
• Mariology (Roman Catholic)
• Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic)
• Blessed Virgin Mary
• Shrines to the Virgin Mary
• Marian devotions
• Immaculate Heart of Mary
• Weeping painting
• Weeping statue
• Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Apparitions of Virgin Mary - The most complete website about Marian apparitions.
• Claims of Private Revelation - A list of True and False apparitions from a theological perspective.
• List of Apparitions with links to letters from the local Bishop in some cases.
• The Miracle Hunter - News and actualized information about Marian apparitions.