Marian Apparitions

Our Lady of La Salette

Here, Mary appeared only once, unlike many other Marian apparitions. Taking place in nineteenth-century France, it occurred when two children, Maximin and Melanie, were tending to their sheep. They stumbled upon a woman sitting with her face in her hands, crying. She spoke to the children about her desire for the conversion of sinners, and how displeased her son was with the sins that are committed against him. Her message to the children was to keep the Sabbath day holy by refraining from work and calling them to respect the holy name of Jesus. Pope St. John Paul II reflected on Our Lady on her feast day, saying that this apparition "is a message of hope, for our hope is nourished by the intercession of her who is the Mother of mankind."

Our Lady of Lezajsk

A humble and faithful woodcutter named Thomas Michalek received two visits from the Virgin Mary in sixteenth-century Poland. The first came when he was in the forest, Mary first being seen as a bright light. Mary asked Thomas to go to the area's priest and ask for a church to be built. However, Thomas was scared of what had happened and did nothing. Our Lady appeared to him again, asking him to take action. When Thomas went to the area's priest he was not believed, and it wasn't until after the death of the parish priest that a chapel was finally built on site.

Our Lady of Hope

During the Franco-Prussian War, Mary appeared to four children on the playground of a convent school in Pontmain, France. The first child to see her was Eugene, and when he tried to point the attention of the adults around him in the direction of Our Lady, none reported seeing her. However, the other three children around him all reported seeing her, leading a nun nearby to guide everyone in prayer. Our Lady spoke no words to the children, but at her feet there was a banner that read, "But pray my children. God will hear you in a short time. My Son allows Himself to be moved by compassion." On the same day, it is said that the Prussians halted their advance into France when the Prussian Commander reported that "invisible Madonna barring the way." Just a few months later, a peace treaty was signed between France and Prussia, and the bishop declared that Mary had truly appeared to the four children.

Virgin of the Poor

In a garden behind Mariette Beco's family home, Mary appeared eight times to Mariette, who was eleven at the time. She promised to intercede for the poor and suffering. The apparitions happened just fifty miles away from the apparition of Our Lady of Beauraing, leading many to think that Mariette was simply copying the accounts of Beauraing. However, Our Lady continued to appear to her, encouraging her to "pray very much" and to believe in her. The Little Chapel was built on the site shortly after the apparitions.

Our Lady of All Nations

Mary appeared fifty-six times over the course of fourteen years to Ida Peederman, an industrial office worker in Amsterdam. Our Lady entrusted her with a large set of prophecies, as well as an image and prayer . The revelations Ida received from Our Lady included future events leading to declared Marian dogmas, especially the Immaculate Conception and Mary as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate. Mary also emphasized the importance of the Eucharist.

Our Lady of Fatima

Maybe the most well-known of all Marian Apparitions, Mary appeared to three children, Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta, in early twentieth-century Portugal. Among many other messages, Our Lady identified herself as Our Lady of the Rosary, urging the children to pray the Rosary frequently, for the conversion of sinners, and for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. Many have written about Mary in this apparition, and over seventy thousand people were witnesses to her at her last appearance, describing what they saw as the "Dancing of the Sun," leading to many conversions.

Mother of the Word

One of the most recent Marian apparitions, Our Lady of Kibeho appeared to three children in the early 1980s. She continued to visit the children throughout the decade, and the name she identified herself with is said to be synonymous with that of the title, "Mother of God." One of the things Our Lady expressed to the children was that whenever she appears to a certain place or to a certain person, she is speaking not only to them, but to the whole world, and that the revelations of apparitions are to be applied to the entire community of the faithful.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

One of the most well-known apparitions among the faithful and the secular world, it occurred in the sixteenth century to a widower and now saint, St. Juan Diego. She met him on Mount Tepeyacac, instructing him to get the bishop to build a church upon that mountain. To do this, she instructed Juan Diego to go pick a batch of flowers that were nearby, carry them in his tilma (a type of outer garment or cloak typical to that time) and deliver them to the bishop. When Juan Diego got to the bishop and revealed the flowers, the bishop knew a miracle had taken place. Not only had Juan Diego delivered flowers that were out of season, but his cloak was imprinted with a beautiful image of Mary. The bishop agreed to build a church in honor of the apparition, and it has become a very popular place of pilgrimage for people across the world.

Our Lady of Lourdes

Our Lady appeared eighteen times to St. Bernadette in a small grotto in France. She revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception and encouraged St. Bernadette to dedicate prayer and penance to the conversion of sinners. Over the course of the apparitions, Our Lady taught St. Bernadette a secret prayer that she recited until the day she died, "three wonderful secrets" that have never been revealed, and instructed her to bathe in and drink from the fountain on site. Since there was no fountain present, St. Bernadette dug into the gravel, revealing a pond. The stream has since then become a source of healing for many who visit the grotto.

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

Our Lady appeared to St. Catherine twice in the year 1830. The first time, Catherine was woken up by a "shining child" at her bed and told that Our Lady was waiting for her in the chapel. Catherine went to the chapel and observed at first that it was empty, but then, after hearing what she thought to be the rustling of silk, Mary appeared, and Catherine rushed to her side. The two talked for hours, Mary revealing to her that troubling times were ahead for France and that the Lord wants to bestow a great task unto her. Mary appeared several months later, urging Catherine to keep the apparitions a secret to all except her confessor, and commissioned her to have a medal made. The medal has since then been made and distributed over a billion times all across the world.

Our Lady of the Golden Heart

Our Lady of Beauraing appeared thirty-three times to five children on a playground in the 1930s. She encouraged the children to "pray, pray, pray" for the conversion of sinners, and also desired a chapel to be built at the site, for people to go on pilgrimage. Our Lady spoke of herself as the Immaculate Conception, and on her thirty-third visit to the children, she revealed to them her golden heart. Her feast day is celebrated on the traditional date of the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Our Lady of Happy Meetings

Our Lady of Laus first appeared to Benoite when she was seventeen and continued to visit her throughout her life. Over the course of these appearances, Our Lady asked for a house to be built for priests, with the aim of drawing people into greater conversion, especially through the sacrament of penance. The site is heavily populated with tourists each year, attracting 120,000 people on pilgrimage annually. There have also been many healings on the site as well, especially through the instructions Our Lady gave to Benoite, placing oil from a lamp on wounds.

Our Lady, Help of Christians

Our Lady proves true to her name, appearing to heal Magdalene Kade in 1866, along with healing close to a dozen others shortly after. Magdalene was bedridden due to many illnesses, and had a friend who would stay and watch over her. One night, around 4 AM, the Virgin Mary appeared to her, and Magdalene, hardly able to speak before seeing Our Lady, cried out in joy, "Look at that shine! Look at that beauty." Her friends staying with her could not see anything, but Mary, clothed in white and wearing a golden crown, looked at Magdalene and said, "My daughter, now you are healed!" and disappeared. Magdalene was able to immediately jump up and was completely healed.

Our Lady of Gietzrwald

Our Lady's message here was very similar to that given at Fatima forty years after. Mary appeared to two girls, Justyna and Barbara, as they were preparing for their First Communion. The girls found her sitting on a throne holding the infant Jesus under a maple tree in front of the church. When the girls asked Our Lady who she was, she responded, "I am the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception!" and told the girls to recite the Rosary daily. The girls spoke to their parish priest, and as word spread, a movement of praying a daily Rosary spread as well, and the area remains a popular place of pilgrimage.

Our Lady of Siluva

The apparition of Our Lady here led to the conversion of an entire town from Calvinism to the Catholic Faith. On a summer day in 1608, Mary appeared to four young children who were tending a flock of sheep on the outskirts of their village. She was standing on a rock, holding a baby, and crying heavily. Their town had been turned over to the Calvinists in 1532, and gradually the whole village was conformed to Calvinist beliefs. However, the visits of Mary to the children were enough to turn the entire town back to the Catholic Faith, and abolish Calvinist rule in their town.

Our Lady of Akita

The apparitions of Our Lady is particularly interesting because, unlike the other apparitions, Sister Agnes heard the Blessed Virgin's messages through a wooden statue and not a traditional appearance. Sister Agnes had already been experiencing signs of supernatural works before the apparitions, seeing a bright light emerging from the tabernacle at her convent, and receiving the stigmata in 1973. Much like the story of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Sister Agnes was led to the statue by what is believed to be her guardian angel, and on three different occasions, the statue spoke to her about praying for the reparation of sins, following her superiors, warning of great chastisement, and the second coming. Along with these messages, countless miracles have been attributed to Mary, such as the healing of Sister Agnes's hearing, the sisters finding the statue bleeding from a wound in her hand, and the statue crying 101 times over the course of eight years.

Our Lady of Sorrows

The most well-recorded apparition of Our Lady here came from two women in 1888 as they were going after a group of lost sheep. Fabiana and Serafina were traveling up a neighboring hill when they saw a bright light coming from within a cluster of rocks. After looking closer, they were astounded to find an image of Mary. They returned to their village crying, saying that she was a very beautiful woman, fair and young with ratted hair, bleeding out of wounds received from seven swords. As people began to pilgrimage to the site afterward, many reported seeing the Blessed Mother, sometimes as Our Lady, and sometimes as the Pieta.

Our Lady of Zion

Thia apparition of Our Lady has a strong connection to Our Lady of The Miraculous Medal, which took place just twelve years prior. Marie Alphonse, an anti-Catholic Jewish man, started wearing a Miraculous Medal to please his new friend, a baron of the Church. While waiting for the baron one day, he received a vision of the Blessed Virgin. He then converted to the Catholic Faith, joined the priesthood, and started a ministry for the conversion of Jews.

Our Lady of Knock

This apparition is particularly interesting for many reasons. Not only was Mary present, but two other saints as well. In 1879, fifteen people saw an altar with a cross hanging above it. Upon the altar was a Paschal Lamb, and next to the altar was St. John the Evangelist, St. Joseph, and Mary. The apparitions occurred for two hours and the saints did not speak a single word. The fifteen witnesses on sight stayed to pray the Rosary as the apparitions remained. There was even a storm during the apparition, however the area that held Mary, Joseph, St. John, and the altar stayed completely dry.