Throughout history, there have been many reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary. Our list of 43 apparitions is by no means exhaustive, but we hope you find it both informative and inspiring.
Since the early days of Christianity, apparitions of Our Lady have occurred in various parts of the world and have been reported by people of different religions and cultures.
While the Catholic Church has given official recognition to many Marian apparitions, some have yet to gain such approval, nor does the Church require Catholics to believe in approved apparitions.
With that said, the common Marian messages and symbols associated with most of her apparitions have been known to draw people closer to God. We present this list of forty-three apparitions for your own discernment.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico (1531): The Virgin Mary appeared to a Mexican peasant named Juan Diego and left her image on his cloak.
- Our Lady of Fatima, Portugal (1917): The Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children and gave them messages about the importance of prayer and repentance.
- Our Lady of Lourdes, France (1858): The Virgin Mary appeared to a young girl named Bernadette Soubirous and revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception.
- Our Lady of Knock, Ireland (1879): The Virgin Mary, along with Saint Joseph and Saint John the Evangelist, appeared to a group of villagers.
- Our Lady of La Salette, France (1846): The Virgin Mary appeared to two children and gave them a message about the need for repentance and prayer.
- Our Lady of Częstochowa, Poland (1382): The image of the Virgin Mary appeared on a piece of canvas that had been damaged during a battle.
Our Lady of Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina (1981): The Virgin Mary has been appearing to a group of six visionaries since 1981, giving them messages about the need for peace and prayer.
- Our Lady of Akita, Japan (1973): The Virgin Mary appeared to a nun named Sister Agnes and gave her messages about the need for prayer and penance.
- Our Lady of Zeitoun, Egypt (1968): The Virgin Mary appeared to thousands of people in the Zeitoun district of Cairo, Egypt.
- Our Lady of Good Help, Wisconsin, USA (1859): The Virgin Mary appeared to a young Belgian immigrant named Adele Brise and gave her messages about the need for prayer and penance.
- Our Lady of the Rosary, Italy (1571): The Virgin Mary appeared to Pope Pius V and helped the Christian forces defeat the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Lepanto.
- Our Lady of Sorrows, Spain (1608): The Virgin Mary appeared to a Spanish nun named Maria de Agreda and gave her messages about the sufferings of Jesus Christ.
- Our Lady of Loreto, Italy (1294): The Virgin Mary appeared to a group of people and revealed the location of the Holy House of Nazareth.
Our Lady of Laus, France (1664): The Virgin Mary appeared to a shepherdess named Benoîte Rencurel and gave her messages about the need for prayer and penance.
- Our Lady of La Merced, Spain (1218): The Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Peter Nolasco and gave him a vision of a white mantle to be worn by the Mercedarian Order.
- Our Lady of Banneux, Belgium (1933): The Virgin Mary appeared to a young girl named Mariette Beco and gave her messages about the need for prayer and penance.
- Our Lady of Beauraing, Belgium (1932): The Virgin Mary appeared to five children and gave them messages about the need for prayer and penance.
- Our Lady of Fátima de la Sierra, Mexico (1917): The Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children and gave them messages about the need for prayer and repentance.
- Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, France (1830): The Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Catherine Labouré and showed her the design for the Miraculous Medal, saying all who wear one will receive great graces.
- Our Lady of Bechouat, Lebanon (1950): The Virgin Mary appeared to a young girl named Maryam Al-Muqattash and gave her messages about the need for prayer and penance.
- Our Lady of the Pillar, Spain (40 AD): The Virgin Mary appeared to Saint James the Apostle and gave him a pillar as a symbol of her presence.
- Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Israel (early centuries of Christianity): The Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Simon Stock and gave him a scapular as a symbol of her protection.
Our Lady of the Angels, Costa Rica (1635): The Virgin Mary appeared to a young girl named Juana Pereira and left her image on a rock.
- Our Lady of Kibeho, Rwanda (1981): The Virgin Mary appeared to three young girls in Kibeho and gave them messages about the need for prayer and reconciliation.
- Our Lady of Altötting, Germany (1489): The Virgin Mary appeared to a young boy and healed him of a deadly disease.
- Our Lady of Einsiedeln, Switzerland (948): The Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Meinrad and gave him a vision of a chapel to be built in her honor.
- Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Louisiana, USA (1815): The Virgin Mary appeared to a French nun named Saint Philomena Duchesne and helped protect New Orleans from a devastating fire.
- Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows, France (1816): The Virgin Mary appeared to a French nun named Anne-Catherine Emmerich and gave her messages about the sufferings of Jesus Christ.
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Greece (15th century): The Virgin Mary appeared to a merchant and his wife and left them a miraculous icon.
- Our Lady of Ocotlán, Mexico (1541): The Virgin Mary appeared to a young girl and left her image on a cloth.
- Our Lady of Mariapoch, Slovakia (1696): The Virgin Mary appeared to a shepherd boy and healed him of a deadly disease.
- Our Lady of Peñafrancia, Philippines (1710): The Virgin Mary appeared to a young boy and left her image on a stone.
Our Lady of the Assumption, Nicaragua (1562): The Virgin Mary appeared to a group of people and left them a miraculous image
- Our Lady of Begoña, Spain (880): The Virgin Mary appeared to a shepherd and helped him find his lost sheep.
- Our Lady of Solitude, Mexico (1813): The Virgin Mary appeared to a group of people and helped protect them from a deadly epidemic.
- Our Lady of La Naval de Manila, Philippines (1646): The Virgin Mary appeared to a group of Catholics and helped them defeat Dutch invaders.
- Our Lady of the Rosary of San Nicolás, Argentina (1983): The Virgin Mary appeared to a woman named Gladys Quiroga de Motta and gave her messages about the need for prayer and penance.
- Our Lady of All Nations, Netherlands (1945): The Virgin Mary appeared to a Dutch woman named Ida Peerdeman and gave her messages about the need for prayer and unity among all peoples and nations.
- Our Lady of Good Success, Ecuador (1611-1634): The Virgin Mary appeared to a Spanish nun named Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres and gave her messages about the future of the Church and the world.
- Our Lady of La Vang, Vietnam (1798): The Virgin Mary appeared to a group of Vietnamese Catholics who were fleeing persecution and gave them strength and hope.
Our Lady of La Consolata, Italy (1536): The Virgin Mary appeared to a man named Giuseppe Allamano and instructed him to found a religious congregation dedicated to her.
- Our Lady of the Poor, Belgium (1933): The Virgin Mary appeared to a woman named Mariette Beco and gave her messages of comfort and hope, as well as a call to pray for the poor and suffering.
- Our Lady of the Snows, Italy (352 AD): The Virgin Mary appeared to a Roman nobleman and instructed him to build a church in her honor on a site where snow would fall in the middle of summer. This apparition is celebrated each year as the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
