Six Popular Apparitions of Mary
Introduction
There are many recorded apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in different parts of the world. Of these apparitions, she appears often to children and youths of different races and cultures. The messages she presents to these young people are for the Church as a whole, but the revelation was made either public or private. In some apparitions, the vision of the Blessed Virgin is accompanied by miraculous signs and wonders.
Because the revelations and the signs still have to be authenticated, the Catholic Church takes a very conservative stance towards all these apparitions. Any new Marian apparition does not receive approbation at once but will take time (often years or centuries) before all studies and investigations have been made by the Church authorities. The Church authorities have as their norm for authenticity the nearness of the apparition messages to the gospel teaching. If the messages of the visionaries who saw the Blessed Mary repeats what the gospel teaches and says nothing beyond it, then the apparition may be valued as genuine and true.
Six popular Marian apparitions that have received approbation
There are many popular Marian apparitions authenticated by the Church. This blog post will limit itself to six apparitions that have worldwide appeal and popularity: Lourdes, La Salette, Mt. Carmel, the Miraculous Medal, Fatima and Guadalupe. All of these apparitions happened in countries of the European continent; the only exception is the apparition at Guadalupe, Mexico.
Lourdes
On February 11, 1858 A. D., the Blessed Virgin appeared to a young girl named Bernadette Soubirous. Bernadette saw the vision of Mary in a grotto of Lourdes, France, while she and two other girls were collecting firewood out in the countryside. The vision presented a beatiful lady dressed in white, wearing a blue belt with a rosary in her hands, and two golden roses at her feet. At first, Bernadette was unaware who this young lady was. When she asked her name, the lady replied: I am the Immaculate Conception. The Lady then told Bernadette of the spring that was miraculous and has healing powers. This grotto at Lourdes soon attracted millions of people who go there to pray and drink the miraculous water that healed many people - both physically and spiritually.
La Salette
On September 19, 1846 A.D., the Blessed Mother appeared to two young cowherds on a mountain of the French Alps in a village called La Salette. These two young children saw Mary dressed in white and weeping bitterly throughout their conversation. The message she imparted to the children is a message calling the people to repent and show greater respect for God's law, especially the first three commandments of the 10 commandments. This apparition of the Blessed Mother at La Salette produced many La Salette Shrines and Pilgrimage Centers throughout the Catholic world.
Mt. Carmel
On July 16, 1521 A.D., the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Simon Stock, the head of the Carmelite Brothers in England. She gave to St. Simon a Brown Scapular as a sign of her special protection. The Scapular is accompanied by a promise that all "who will wear it devoutly will have a happy death". Another favor attached to this Brown Scapular is the promise that the Blessed Mother will assist and console all the children of Carmel detained in Purgatory - speedily releasing them on the first Saturday after their death. (note: The Carmelites trace their roots to 83 A.D. when the first church dedicated to the Immaculate Mother of God was founded on Mt. Carmel, a beatiful promontory in Israel facing the Mediterrenean Sea. Since then, many foundations of Carmel spread all over Europe.)
Miraculous Medal
In 1830 A.D,, when Catherine Labouré was a 24-year-old novice of the Daughters of Charity in France, she saw the Virgin Mary three times. The first apparition occured in July 18, 1830. It was in November 27 when the Virgin Mary showed Catherine the "Miraculous Medal", and commissioned the saint to have one made to spread its devotion. This apparition of Mary is a private revelation and only Father Aladel, the spiritual director of St. Catherine Labouré, knew about it. In time, Catherine gave word so that the devotion would spread. The Miraculous Medal shows the image of Mary atop a white ball with rays of light emanating from her hands. Surrounding this image are the words, "O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee." The Blessed Mother gives the assurance that whoever wears the medal with confidence will obtain great graces from heaven.
Fatima
On October 13, 1917 A.D., a great miracle happened. As 70,000 people watched apprehensively at the scene of three young children in Fatima, Portugal, the sun suddenly whirled like a gigantic fire-wheel and started to make a plunge at a dizzying speed towards the earth. It was a rainy day and the suddenly made all things dry. This was the culmination of a series of mysterious events in which the Blessed Mother gave her messages to three young Portuguese children [starting May 13, 1917]. The messages were about events which were to have earth-shaking consequences. Sister Lucia, who recently passed away, holds the secret of those messages. She has revealed these messages only to the papacy.
Guadalupe
At dawn of December 9, 1531 A.D., on his way to church, Juan Diego saw the Blessed Mother shining like the sun and stepping over precious stones. She said that it is her wish that a church be built there where she could show all her love, compassion, help and protection. Juan Diego was involved in the textile industry and was a simple layman. When Juan Diego carried the message of the vision to the bishop, the bishop did not believe. The bishop asked for a sign from Juan Diego. The Blessed Mother then told Juan Diego to wrap all the roses he could find on the hill in a mantle, and then present it to the bishop. Juan Diego did as Mary told him. When he opened the mantle to present the roses to the bishop, the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary appeared on it. And so the bishop believed, and a church was built on the place of the apparitions. That was in Guadalupe, a locality in Mexico.
Summary:
The Catholic faith always stresses that the Blessed Virgin Mary has a unique role in the salvation of humanity. This role we see through the messages she gives in her apparitions to people all over the world. In her messages, the Blessed Virgin only stresses what the gospel teaches: to repent of personal sins and to return to the Lord in prayer, fasting and penance. Those who are not Catholic often do not see the special role that Mary has in the salvation of the world. It is through her appearances, and the messages to her visionaries, that reveal to the world her role in bringing back people to Jesus, her Son.
