64 TIME-LIFE MIRACLES OF FAITH
VISIONS OF THE MOTHER
SEEING
MARY
Whenever the Mother of God
decidestopaytheworldavisit,
believers pay rapt attentionS
ince the birth of Christianity, Mary, Jesus’
mother and the most venerated of saints, has
appeared from time to time to those blessed
enough to see her.
The Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Angli-
can churches have sanctioned more than a dozen of these
metaphysical events, known as Marian apparitions or Mar-
ian visions, recognizing them as “worthy of belief,” or bona
fide miracles. Many other Marian visions have been report-
ed but not officially recognized.
The era, time of day, and even location of Mary’s mi-
raculous appearances have been unpredictable. She has re-
portedly manifested on an arid hill in 16th-century Mexico
City, a convent in 19th-century Paris, and the rural woods
of 19th-century Wisconsin. Her seers have been peasants
and clergy, children and adults. But across the centuries
and around the world, there are certain similarities among
Church-sanctioned Marian apparitions.
To begin with, Mary seems to choose pious people to
visit. The Catholic Church particularlyreveres Mary, and
those who have these visions tend to be already deeply
committed to Catholicism and become more so following
the experience.
After witnessing multiple visits by the Blessed Virgin in
Portugal in 1917, for example, a trio of peasant children ad-
opted spiritual practices associated with religious ascetics.MARY AND THE SAINTS