2023-06-25 03:02:00
June 24, 2023 / 8:02 p.m.
The Virgin Mary has appeared throughout the history of salvation to some people to communicate some provident message, encourage faith and hope or urge them to live certain pious practices for the conversion of souls.
The first of these happened in Zaragoza, Spain, when the Virgen del Pilar appeared to Santiago Apóstol according to tradition to promote his evangelizing work.
Other of the best known are that of the Virgin of Guadalupe, in Mexico; the Virgin of the Miraculous Medal and the Virgin of Lourdes, in France; or the Virgin of Fatima in Portugal.
There are other places where some people claim to have attended one of these phenomena and where many pilgrims, laymen, religious and clergy flock with devotion. However, the Church, which can appreciate some of its fruits, has not given it its magisterial support, decreeing its authenticity.
This is the case of these three supposed Marian apparitions that we detail below:
1. Medjugorje
The alleged apparitions began on June 24, 1981, when six children in Medjugorje reported experiencing phenomena that they claim are apparitions of the Virgin Mary.
According to them, the apparitions contained a message of peace for the world, a call for conversion, prayer and fasting, and certain secrets surrounding future events.
It is said that three of the children, now adults, continue to receive apparitions every afternoon, because not all the “secrets” proposed to them have been revealed.
In January 2014, the Vatican concluded a nearly four-year investigation into the doctrinal and disciplinary aspects of the alleged Medjugorje apparitions, and submitted a document to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
When the Congregation finishes analyzing the document, it will send a report to Pope Francis for a final decision.
In 2017, Pope Francis called the document “very good” and distinguished three aspects of Medjugorje.
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First, he pointed out that the “first apparitions” from when the alleged seers “were young” is something that “must continue to be investigated.” Then, he stated that about “the alleged current apparitions, the report has its doubts.”
“I personally am meaner. I prefer the Virgin Mother, our Mother and not the Virgin Head of the Telegraphic Office, who sends a message at such an hour every day… This is not the Mother of Jesus”, she expressed.
Later, he affirmed that there is a “spiritual fact” and “pastoral” that “cannot be denied”; and he assured that there are people who go to Medjugorje “and convert” and “find God, who changes their lives”, but stressed that “there is no magic wand there for this”.
Months before his statements, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Henryk Hoser as “special envoy” to the parish of Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Polish Bishop passed away in August 2021 after falling ill with COVID-19. In November 2021, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Aldo Cavalli as his replacement for an indefinite period.
The Vatican specified that the mission of this “special envoy” will have a pastoral nature and will not be linked to the study of the Marian apparitions in Medjugorje, which are retained in the doctrinal sphere and which is the responsibility of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
In May 2019, Pope Francis officially authorized the organization of pilgrimages to Medjugorje. The Vatican indicated that such pilgrimages should be “avoided from creating confusion or ambiguity on the doctrinal aspect.”
In 2020, the Pope sent a message to the young people gathered in Medjugorje for the annual “Come and see” festival, encouraging them to imitate the Virgin Mary so that “the light of hope does not go out.”
In 2021, the Pope sent them a letter for the annual “Mladifest” youth festival and invited them to look to Mary to transform their lives “into a gift for others”.
2. Garabandal
Between 1961 and 1965, four girls –Conchita, Jacinta, Mari Loli and Maricruz– claimed to have witnessed the apparitions of Saint Michael the Archangel and the Virgin Mary in their town, San Sebastián de Garabandal, a town in the community of Cantabria in Spain.
The events drew crowds who claimed to have seen the girls go into deep ecstasy, levitate and perform shows of force. During the events, which were recorded by cameras and filming, several tried to get the minors out of the trance through the use of force.
A few years ago, the Bishop of Santander, Msgr. José Vilaplana, said that he did not find any supernaturality, but neither did he condemn the supposed apparition and allowed pilgrims to celebrate Mass in the town church.
“All the bishops of the diocese from 1961 to 1970 affirmed that the supernatural nature of these apparitions, which took place around that moment, could not be confirmed,” said the Prelate, adding that he did not consider it necessary to reiterate this in a new statement and publicize something that happened a long time ago.
3. Our Lady of Zeitun
Our Lady of Zeitun was an alleged mass Marian apparition approved only by the Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church. It occurred in the Zeitun district of Cairo, Egypt, over a period of 2 to 3 years beginning on April 2, 1968.
In this period it is said that the Virgin appeared on many occasions, especially at night, and sometimes she was accompanied by white doves that flew around her. The first two years she would have appeared two to three times a week.
These alleged apparitions drew large crowds at night, sometimes as large as 250,000 people.
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