Marian apparitions in the World
The testimonies of those who claim to have seen the Virgin Mary, investigated and recognized by the Catholic Church
Throughout the history of the Church, men and women of all ages and social conditions have claimed to have received visions or messages from the Virgin Mary. These phenomena, known as Marian apparitionsthey are one of the most fascinating and, also, most delicate chapters in the history of Christian spirituality.
The Church's position on apparitions is, in principle, cautious and rigorous. A diocesan research commission has for years examined the facts, the testimonies, the life of the seers and the spiritual fruits produced. Only at the end of this process can the bishop - or in exceptional cases the Holy See - declare that the facts are «dignos de fe» (supernaturality), which does not mean that the faithful are obliged to believe in them, but that the Church finds no contradiction with faith.
Among the most significant approved apparitions are: Guadalupe (Mexico, 1531), where the Virgin appeared to the Indian Juan Diego leaving her image printed on the tylma; Lourdes (France, 1858), where Bernadette Soubirous saw the Lady 18 times in the Grotto of Massabielle; Fatima (Portugal, 1917), with the three pastoralists who received the famous "Secrets" and the prodigious "Miracle del Sol"; Beauraing y Banners (Belgium, 1932-1933), two apparitions of the same time adopted in 1949.
The case of Medjugorje (Bosnia- Herzegovina, since 1981) is still the subject of official study by the Holy See. In 2024, it was authorized to spread the Medjugorje prayer, although without pronunciation on the supernature of the facts. Millions of pilgrims continue to visit this place every year.
In this section we collect the main accounts and analysis of Marian apparitions of the world, both approved and those awaiting the definitive discernment of the Church. Each sheet includes history, context, messages from the Virgin and the current state of the process of ecclesiastical recognition.
- John 2: 5 (words of the Virgin Mary at the wedding of Cana)
Apparitions approved by the Catholic Church
The following apparitions have passed the official process of ecclesiastical discernment and have been declared supernaturality by the competent authority:
Apparition of the Virgin in Cuapa (Nicaragua, 1980)
Eight apparitions to farmer Bernardo Martínez between May and October 1980. The Virgin asked for the daily Rosary, reconciliation and love for her neighbor. Adopted by the Bishop of Juigalpa in 1982. Cuapa's messages are considered an urgent call for conversion in the context of the Nicaraguan civil war.Read more → Apparición approvingApparition of Our Lady of Akita (Japan, 1973)
The wooden statue shed tears on 101 occasions between 1975 and 1981, analyzed by Dr. Kaoru Sagisaka as real human tears. The seer, Sister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa, was deaf and miraculously healed. Adopted by Bishop Ito in 1984 and ratified by Cardinal Ratzinger in 1988.Read more → Apparición approvingApparition of Our Lady of Bannux, the Virgin of the Poor (Belgium, 1933)
Eight apparitions to the 12-year-old Mariette Beco girl, next to a fountain in the garden of her house. The Virgin presented herself as "the Virgin of the Poor" and revealed the healing properties of the spring. Adopted in 1949 by the Bishop of Liège. Banneux is today one of the most visited shrines in Europe.Read more → Apparición approvingApparition of Our Lady of Beauraing, the Virgin of the Golden Heart (Belgium, 1932-1933)
33 apparitions to five children by an albar thorn in the garden of a convent. The Virgin showed her Golden Heart surrounded by rays of light and asked for prayer and conversion. Adopted by the Bishop of Namur in 1943, only ten years after the apparitions, an exceptionally short process.Read more → Apparición approvingApparition of Our Lady of Kibeho (Rwanda, 1981-1989)
The only Marian apparitions approved in sub-Saharan Africa. The Virgin appeared to several young people from Kibeho school and predicted the massacres of 1994 13 years in advance, showing visions of blood rivers and headless bodies. Adopted in 2001 by the Bishop of Gikongoro.Read more → Apparición approvingApparition of Our Lady of the Amazon (Itapiranga, Brazil, 1994)
The Virgin appeared to Edson Glauber and his mother Edna in the heart of the Amazon, in the city of Itapiranga (Amazonas, Brazil), asking to be called "Queen and Mother of the Amazon." The apparitions include messages about the Rosary's prayer as a shield against evil. Canonically adopted in 2016 by the bishop of Itacoatiara.Read more → Apparición approvingApparition of Our Lady of Pontmain, the Virgin of Hope (France, 1871)
Four children from the village of Pontmain in Normandy saw the Virgin on the roofs during the French-Prussian war. A bright text was gradually appearing: "But pray, my children. God will listen to you in no time. My Son lets move." The next day, the German advance over the region stopped. Adopted in 1872.Read more → Apparición approvingApparition of Our Lady of Reconciliation of Bethany (Venezuela, 1976- 1990)
The seer Maria Esperanza Medrano of Bianchini received more than a hundred apparitions from the Virgin in the estate of Betania, 60 km from Caracas. On several occasions the entire community witnessed the apparition. Our Lady called for reconciliation among men. Adopted in 1987 by the Bishop of Los Teques.Read more → Apparición approvingApparition of Our Lady of Zeitoun (Cairo, Egypt, 1968-1971)
A luminous figure of the Virgin was seen by tens of thousands of people on the dome of the Coptic church of Zeitoun in Cairo for more than three years. Witnesses included believers and non-believers, Muslims and Copts. The apparitions were documented photographically. Recognized by Pope Cyril VI and approved by the Coptic Church.Read more → Apparición approvingApparition of Our Lady of the Rosary of San Nicolás (Argentina, 1983- 1990)
Gladys Quiroga de Motta received 1,811 messages from the Virgin of the Rosary between 1983 and 1990 in San Nicolás de los Arroyos. The largest Marian sanctuary in Argentina, with millions of pilgrims from all over the continent. The apparitions were approved by the Bishop of St. Nicholas in 2016.Read more → Apparición approvingGietrzwałd - The only Marian apparition approved in Poland (1877)
Two girls aged 12 and 13, Justyna Szafrańska and Barbara Samulowska, saw the Immaculate Conception 160 times over three months. The Virgin spoke in Polish in full Prussian persecution of the Kulturkefwhen the Polish language was prohibited in the churches. Adopted in 1877, the same year of the apparitions, a historical record.Read more → Apparición approvingOur Lady of Peace of Yopougon - Ivory Coast, 1988
The Virgin appeared to Madeleine Aumont in the Yopougon district (Abiyan) in full ethnic tension, calling for reconciliation and peace among the peoples of Africa. The Yopougon shrine has become the main Marian pilgrimage centre in all of West Africa, with millions of visitors.Read more → Apparición approvingOur Lady of Good Success and the prophecies of Mother Mariana (Quito, 1594-1634)
The Virgin repeatedly appeared to the religious conceptionist Mother Mariana of Jesus Torres in the convent of the Immaculate Conception of Quito, describing in disturbing detail the evils of the 20th century: crisis of faith, immorality and apostasy. The apparitions have been documented since the 17th century. The devotion was approved ecclesiastically and the process of beatification of Mother Mariana is in progress.Read more →Apparitions and phenomena under study or under process
These cases are the subject of widespread devotion but have not yet received the definitive pronunciation of the Catholic Church:
Medjugorje - The largest pilgrimage place in the contemporary world (Bosnia, 1981)
Six young people from the village of Medjugorje claim to receive daily apparitions from the Virgin Mary since June 24, 1981. Tens of millions of pilgrims from all over the world have visited him. The Ruini Commission examined the case on the request of Pope Francis and in 2024 the Vatican authorized the dissemination of the prayers of the phenomenon, although without deciding on the supernature of the messages.Read more → Under studyOur Lady of All Nations (Amsterdam, 1945-1959)
56 apparitions to Ida Peerdeman in Amsterdam, in which the Virgin asked to be recognized as "Corredentora, Mediadora and Avocada" and requested the proclamation of a fifth Marian dogma. The devotion was approved as lawful by the Bishop of Haarlem in 1996 and 2002, although the doctrinal aspect of the titles remains the subject of theological debate in the Vatican.Read more → Under studyThe Apparitions of Garabandal (Spain, 1961-1965)
Four girls from the village of San Sebastián de Garabandal (Cantabria) said they received visits from San Miguel Archangel and the Virgin with messages of penance and fasting. The apparitions announced a "Warning," a "Great Miracle" and a "Punishment" still pending. The Church has not formally approved or rejected the apparitions; in 2023 the bishop of Santander authorized his private veneration.Read more → No aprobadaVirgin Miraculous of Boadilla (Madrid) - Alleged apparitions in discernment
Next to a centenary of the La Milagrosa estate in Boadilla del Monte (diocese of Getafe), the neighbor Antonio Murillo claims to receive visions and messages from the Virgin of the Miragrosa Medal. A group of faithful pray there the Rosary and raised a hermitage; the meetings are held on the 27th of each month. The alleged apparitions are not approved and the parish accompanies the group "leaving aside" the phenomenon.Read more → No aprobadaVirgen de los Dolores de El Escorial - Prado Nuevo (Madrid, 1981- 2002)
The home employee Luz Amparo Cuevas (1931-2012) said to see the Virgin Dolorosa on a new Prado mast on 376 occasions, with messages that ask for the daily Rosary, penance and "houses of love and mercy for the poor," origin of a wide social work. The archbishopric of Madrid decided in 1985 that "it does not contain the supernatural character"; in 2012 the cult was authorized in the place maintaining that resolution.Read more →Stories, Reports and Deep Marian History
Historical facts, mystical figures and episodes that enrich the Marian devotional fabric in the world:
Blessed Conchita Cabrera de Armida - The Great Mystic of Mexico
Mother of the Mexican family, founder of the Works of the Cross and mystical with an inner life of extraordinary wealth, documented in more than 66 volumes of spiritual diary dictated by Christ himself. It was directly related to Marian devotion and the Virgin Mary. Beatified by Pope Francis on May 25, 2019 in Mexico City.Read more → HistoryLithuania - The country that never left the Virgin (1940- 1990)
During fifty years of Soviet occupation, the Lithuanian people kept their Marian faith alive in the silence of the homes, in clandestine copies of the catechism and in the legendary Hill of the Šiauliai Crosses - demolished by the Soviet regime and rebuilt every time by the faithful - a world symbol of Christian and Marian resistance.Read more → HistoryThe Solomon Islands Martyrs - Blood Riding the Pacific (1946)
The first martyrs of the South Pacific, the Marist Bishop Thomas Wade and his companions, killed by Japanese soldiers in 1942. His devotion to the Virgin Mary and his missionary dedication sown the Church in Oceania. The process of beatification was opened by John Paul II.Read more → HistoryThe Martyrs of Uganda and the Virgin Mary - Blood that fruitful (1885- 1887)
22 young children from the court of King Mwanga, burned alive in Munyonyo and Namugongo between 1885 and 1887 for refusing to abjure their Christian faith. His devotion to the Virgin Mary was witnessed by the executioners themselves. Canonized by Paul VI on October 18, 1964 in the first process of canonization of Africans in modern history.Read more →- San Luis María Grignion de Montfort
▪ Interactive map of Marian apparitions
Explore more than 130 geolocalized Marian apparitions and miracles on the mapamundi.
See interactive map →Accompanying image
The image is thematic and does not replace the historical documentation of the place.
Image credit
Immaculate Conception, Diego Velázquez, 1618. Work in public domain; reproduction from Wikimedia Commons. Thematic image when it does not represent the place described.