The earliest known claim was from St. James the Greater who saw
her while he was in preaching on the banks of the Ebro River in
Saragossa, Spain in 40 A.D. Today, apparition reports occur more
frequently. Although not officially approved by the Roman Catholic Church, visionaries in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Hercegovina and Naju, North Korea (amongst others) currently distribute messages attributed to the Blessed
Virgin.
The most famous apparitions have been those reported in Guadalupe,
Mexico (1531), Rue du Bac, France (1830), Lourdes,
France (1858), Fatima,
Portugal (1917), and Medjugorje,
Bosnia-Hercegovina (1984).
The Catholic Church has been very cautious to approve purported
miraclous events. In fact, in the 20th Century, of the hundreds of public claims, there have been
only 12 approved
apparitions (6 fully approved by the Holy See) and a handful of others that have not received
an official pronouncement but have been approved
for faith expression at the site. The list
of rejected claims continues to grow.
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