Apparitions & Decrees
Apparitions
1531 (1945) Our Lady of Guadalupe, Empress of the Americas
The 1531 apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe was reported by Saint Juan Diego. He said he saw an early morning vision of the Virgin Mary in which he was instructed to build an abbey on the Hill of Tepeyac in Mexico. The local prelate did not believe his account and asked for a miraculous sign, which was later provided as an icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe permanently imprinted on the saint’s cloak where he had gathered roses.
In 1945 Pope Pius XII declared the Virgin of Guadalupe "Queen of Mexico and Empress of the Americas", and "Patroness of the Americas" in 1946. Pope John XXIII invoked her as "Mother of the Americas" in 1961.
1665 Our Lady of Laus
The apparitions of Our Lady of Laus between 1664 and 1718 in Saint-Étienne-le-Laus, France by Benoite Rencurel, a young shepherdess are the first Marian apparitions to be approved in the 21st century by the Roman Catholic Church. The apparitions were recognized by the diocese of the Roman Catholic Church on September 18, 1665. They were approved by the Vatican on May 5, 2008. Currently, the site where the apparitions took place receives more than 120,000 pilgrims a year.
1830 Our Lady of The Miraculous Medal
The vision of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal appeared to Saint Catherine Labouré in 1830 in the convent of Rue du Bac, Paris. She reported that one night in the chapel, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to her and asked that a medallion be made to a design that she dictated.
1846 Our Lady of La Salette
The apparitions of Our Lady of La Salette were reported in La Salette in France in 1846 by two shepherd children, Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud.
1858 Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, in a series of 18 visions. She identified Herself as "the Immaculate Conception".
1871 Our Lady of Pontmain
The apparitions at Our Lady of Pontmain, France also called Our Lady of Hope were seen in 1871 by a number of young children. The final approval for the apparitions of Our Lady of Hope was given in 1932 by Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli, who later became Pope Pius XII.
1879 Our Lady of Knock
On the evening of 21 August 1879, people whose ages ranged from five years to seventy-five and included men, women, teenagers, children, witnessed what they believed to be an apparition of Mary, St Joseph, and St John the Evangelist. Behind them and a little to the left of St John was a plain altar. On the altar was a cross and a lamb, with adoring angels.
Similar appearances on the same church gable were reported on February 9 and on March 25 and 26, 1880.
Although Our Lady of Knock is still not an approved apparition, an ecclesiastical Commission of inquiry's final verdict was that the testimony of all the witnesses taken as a whole is trustworthy and satisfactory. At a second Commission of inquiry in 1936, the surviving witnesses confirmed the evidence they gave to the first Commission.
In 1979, the centenary of the apparition, Pope John Paul II, himself a devotee of Mary, visited Knock Shrine and stated that it was the goal of his Irish visit. On this occasion he presented a Golden Rose, a seldom-bestowed token of papal honor and recognition.
1917 Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fatima is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary with respect to apparitions of her seen and heard by three shepherd children at Fatima in Portugal on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on May 13.
October 13, 1917, The Miracle of the Sun: Medals and rosary centers showing Mary holding the Christ child and offering a scapular and a rosary commemorate the 6th Fatima vision. "...and I saw Our Lady once more, this time resembling Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, holding the child Jesus in one hand and the brown scapular in the other hand."
1932 Our Lady of Beauraing
The 33 apparitions of Our Lady of Beauraing were reported in Belgium between November 1932 and January 1933 by five local children ranging in age from 9 to 15 years. From 1933 to World War II, pilgrims flocked to the little village of Beauraing. The final approbation for the apparition was granted on July 2, 1949 under the authority of the Holy Office by the decree of Andre-Marie Charue, Bishop of Namur, Belgium. These apparitions are also known as the Virgin of the Golden Heart.
1933 Our Lady of Banneux
The apparitions of Our Lady of Banneux were reported by a young child, Mariette Beco at Banneux, Belgium. Beco reported eight visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary between January 15 and March 2, 1933. She reported seeing a Lady in White who declared herself to be the Virgin of the Poor and told her: "Believe in me and I will believe in you". The apparitions were approved by the Roman Catholic Church in 1949.
1973 Our Lady of Akita
The apparitions of Our Lady of Akita were reported in by Sister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa in the remote area of Yuzawadai, near the city of Akita, Japan, in 1973. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, gave official approval to the apparitions and messages in 1988.
1981 Our Lady of Medjugorje
Our Lady of Međugorje (also named Queen of Peace) is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary by those who believe that she appeared to six Herzegovinian Croat children in Međugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina (at the time in Republic of Yugoslavia), beginning on June 24, 1981.
It has been reported that Our Lady of Medjugorje has been appearing daily to three of these visionaries ever since.
Our Lady of Međugorje has a very strong following among certain Catholics. The Holy See has not officially approved or disapproved of the messages of Međugorje. The Roman Catholic Church has declared that it cannot be affirmed that the reported apparitions are supernatural in character. However, on June 4, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI publicly blessed a statue of Our Lady of Međugorje in Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City.
On March 17, 2010, the Vatican announced it was beginning a formal investigation of the apparitions at Medugorje.
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Saints
1897 Saint Therese
Therese of Lisieux, 'The Little Flower', was born in France in 1873. Her one dream as the work she would do after her death, helping those on earth. "I will return," she said. "My heaven will be spent on earth." She died on September 30, 1897. She was beatified in 1923, canonized in 1925, declared Co-patron of the Missions with Francis Xavier in 1927, and named Co-patroness of France with St. Joan of Arc in 1944.
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2002 Saint Juan Diego
In 1531, Saint Juan Diego reported an early morning vision of the Virgin Mary on the Hill of Tepeyac in Mexico. In 2002 Pope John Paul II declared Juan Diego a saint.
Saint Catherine Labouré
Decrees
1854 Feast of the Immaculate Conception proclaimed.
1910 Scapular Medal
Pius X introduced the Scapular Medal Holy Office December 16, 1910. Also see 'Fatima' under Apparitions.
1954 Marian Year
Pope Pius XII ordered a Marian year for 1954, the first in Church history.
2002 Mysteries
There were 3 mysteries until John Paul II added Luminous Mysteries in 2002.
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