National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion logo In recent years apparitions at Kibeho in Rwanda and Champion, in the US state of Wisconsin, have been approved by their diocesan bishops, the former having taken place in 1981-1982, the latter in 1859. Despite devotion on a vast scale, alleged apparitions at Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina have been rejected by local bishops.
Major Marian sites that have received Church approval include:
Guadalupe
In 1531, little more than a dozen years after Martin Luther set in motion events that split the Catholic Church, Mary appeared four times to Juan Diego at Tepeyac hill near Mexico City, proclaiming herself the spiritual mother of all mankind and leaving her miraculous image on Juan Diego’s outer garment, his tilma.
The apparitions were formally approved by the second Archbishop of Mexico in 1555.
Paris
In 1830, the year of the ‘July Revolution’, which saw the last of France’s Bourbon monarchs overthrown, Mary appeared three times to Catherine Labouré in the chapel of the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, at Rue du Bac. She showed her the design of the ‘miraculous medal’ of the Immaculate Conception which helped to renew devotion to Our Lady in France and eventually worldwide. In 1836, the Archbishop of Paris began a canonical investigation which ruled that medal was of supernatural origin and the miracles linked with it were genuine.
La Salette
Mary appealed for penance and an end to Sabbath-breaking and blasphemy when in 1846 she appeared to two children, Maximin Giraud (11) and Mélanie Calvat (14) while they were looking after herds high in the mountains by La Salette-Fallavaux one afternoon. Five years later the Bishop of Grenoble said he believed the apparition, which is credited with reviving Catholicism in the area, was genuine, with Pope Pius IX formally approving the devotion that year.
Lourdes
In 1858, Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous (14), 18 times at Lourdes in southern France, describing herself as the “the Immaculate Conception”, and asking for penance and prayer for the conversion of sinners.
In 1862 the Bishop of Tarbes declared, “what Soubirous saw was the Most Blessed Virgin”, continuing, “our convictions are based on the testimony of Soubirous, but above all on the things that have happened, things which can be nothing other than divine intervention.”
Pontmain
The last of the approved 19th–Century French apparitions occurred at the height of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, when a group of young children in the small town of Pontmain in northwestern France saw Mary appear in the sky for about three hours, with her message – encouraging prayer while emphasising Jesus’ love and concern – appeared on a banner under her feet.
The nearby Prussian forces ceased their advance towards Pontmain and the nearby town of Laval. The Bishop of Laval gave formal recognition of the vision the following year.
Knock
Mary appeared at Knock, Co. Mayo, in 1879 when on an August evening a group of villagers saw a silent apparition, lasting for about three hours, by the gable end of the local church, with Mary, accompanied by St Joseph and St John the Evangelist, gazing upon a lamb that was standing upon on an altar, surrounded by angels. A Church commission summoned in 1879 found that the witness statements were trustworthy and that no natural explanation for what happened could be offered. A hundred years after the apparition, St John Paul II celebrated Mass in Knock and knelt in prayer at the apparition wall.
Beauraing
During the winter of 1932-33 Mary appeared 33 times to a group of children in a convent garden in the small town of Beauraing in Belgium. Describing herself as “the Immaculate Virgin” and “Mother of God, Queen of Heaven”, she called for prayer for the conversion of sinners. In 1943, the Bishop of Namur authorised public devotions to Our Lady of Beauraing.
Banneux
In early 1933, Mary appeared eight times to Mariette Beco (11) outside Mariette’s family home at the small Belgian village of Banneux. Describing herself as the “Virgin of the Poor”, she promised to intercede for the poor, the sick and the suffering. Following consultations with the Holy See, in 1942 the Bishop of Liege approved the veneration of Our Lady of the Poor.