Appearances by Mary
History is full of purported appearances by Mary, the mother of Jesus. Some undoubtedly are the product of highly imaginative minds and some are probably faked. But there are others which offer no explanation other than real Marian apparitions. We will explore some of these. Each must be assessed individually and evaluated based on their particular facts. For example, if someone tells you that Our Lady of Fatima can’t be real because it has been shown that other supposed Marian appearances have been exposed as fraudulent you can be sure they are struggling to make secular sense of what can only be described as God revealing himself.
We will initially examine five claimed Marian appearances on this website:
- Our Lady of Fatima and the Miracle of the Sun (Portugal 1917)
- Our Lady of Lourdes (France 1858)
- Our Lady of Knock (Ireland 1879)
- Our Lady of Zeitoun (Egypt 1968 – 1971)
- Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexico 1531)
We must not reject the picture God started to paint thousands of years ago with the ancient Jews and that he brought into sharp relief with Jesus the Christ, with continuing reminders in all places and at all times. He has written his love and commandments into all our hearts and he is asking us to open the door for him. As you will see, he has commissioned the Blessed Virgin to help in this task.
Look! Here I am
The messages inherent in the various appearances by Mary are both diverse and profound. Perhaps the most important message, however, is God’s continuing revelation of his love for us and for us to “Take courage.” God continually reveals himself and his love in the creation, the Gospel story, and the appearances of Mary. God says unequivocally and without reservation, “Look! Here I am.” These Marian apparitions provides clear empirical evidence of God’s presence to those who seek him.
Let’s examine these appearances in more detail.
Our Lady of Fatima and the Miracle of the Sun
Fatima may well be the most important event in the 20th century, yet one largely ignored. The upshot is that if you had been in Fatima, Portugal in 1917 you would have known with 100% certainty that Mary was in heaven, thereby conclusively confirming the biblical narrative that Jesus had lived among us, was crucified, died, and rose from the dead. There were 70,000 witnesses to this extraordinary event.
Jesus helps us believe by giving us miraculous healings. While the Resurrection is the ultimate miracle, he also proclaimed who he was and his power throughout his three-year ministry by instantly healing a multitude of sick. Those miracles helped the witnesses believe. His miracles continue today, and there is no better place to look than Lourdes, France. In 1858 a Heavenly Lady, self-identified as the Immaculate Conception, appeared to the 14-year-old Bernadette 18 times. The Heavenly Visitor was Mary, the mother of Jesus, and is known as Our Lady of Lourdes.
In 1879 Knock, Ireland the silent apparition of Mary, Joseph, and the Apostle John was witnessed by 14 villagers. No words were spoken but as you will see the silent messages delivered by this visitation were quite profound. As was the case with the parables spoken by Jesus, to understand you must first desire understanding.
Appearances by Mary are not limited to Catholics, but such apparitions receive little publicity in the West. That’s probably why you haven’t heard about the Marian apparitions on the Coptic Orthodox Church in Cairo, Egypt from 1968 to 1971. This church is built on the location where tradition holds that Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus stayed when they fled to Egypt to escape Herod. There are even photographs of what was seen by Christians, Muslims, Jews, atheists, and everyone else that was there when she appeared on a number of occasions from 1968 to 1971.
The famous image on the tilma in Mexico City known as Our Lady of Guadalupe has long been thought to bear the image of Mary miraculously impressed upon the tilma in 1531. What emerges, however, is the high likelihood that the portrait appeared in two stages: the first of direct divine origin impressed by Mary herself, and the second by indirect divine origin through a human instrument which transformed the already miraculous image into an even more powerful expression of God’s love. The messages within Our Lady of Guadalupe spoke forcefully to the Indian natives at the time and speaks just as forcefully to us today. The process is similar in concept to the gospel story authored by Jesus, first directly, and then indirectly through the teachings of his apostles.
Finding Jesus
As you consider the overwhelmingly credible stories about Fatima, Lourdes, Knock, Guaadalupe, and Zeitoun, how is it possible to dismiss the Incarnation, Passion and Resurrection? Just as she did 2,000 years ago, Mary presents Jesus to the world. Her appearances throughout history reflect an indelible biblical truth. When we turn towards Mary we turn toward her son. She doesn’t divert. She magnifies. She delivers.
Future articles
There have been many other events which can have no explanation other than heavenly visitations by the mother of Jesus, known as the Mother of God or the Theotokos (the God-bearer). Future articles will discuss some of these.
Footnotes and Attributions
Photograph of the statue of Mother Mary looking upon the crucified Jesus in the Basilica of Bom (Goa, India). Accessed from Wikimedia Commons.
Last modified September 15, 2019