The Virgin Mary has appeared or intervened more than 2000 times throughout History!

Summary:

There have been more than 2,000 Marian apparitions: to some, this figure may seem excessive or unfounded, but it is the plain truth. 

First of all, celestial apparitions span the whole 4,000-year history of the Bible. Scripture is replete with "theophanies" or tangible manifestations of God's presence. Patriarchs and prophets had "visions" and received divine messages. After his Passion, the risen Jesus appeared to his apostles: this was the culmination and fulfillment of the Covenant between God and men (1 Cor. 15).

In this context, the Virgin's appearances fit perfectly into the economy of Christian salvation. At the Annunciation, Mary herself heard the angel Gabriel. On the Cross, Jesus entrusted John to his Mother and, through him, all his disciples and the Church, without limit. Mary, alive in Heaven, in turn started appearing, as Mother of the Lord and messenger of her Son.

The messages from authentic "Mariophanies" are clear: they neither contradict nor add anything to the deposit of faith, but rather clarify the Gospel for a specific context. All of them, without exception, whatever the country or time, speak of Jesus, and refer to him as the "center of the cosmos and of history", just as the Old Testament prophets did.

These Mariophanies are in perfect accord with the Church's dogmas, starting with the Incarnation: Mary appears and speaks to people in a defined environment, at a given time. She speaks the language of those she meets, not for the sake of "translation", but to make it clear that evangelization can only take place here and now, with flesh-and-blood people, like Jesus, who came into this world under the reign of Emperor Tiberius, in Palestine, at the beginning of the 1st century.

Mary's interventions often have a major, easily identifiable reason: armed conflicts (Pontmain - Franco-Prussian war, 1871; Fatima - First World War, 1917), civil wars (Medjugorje, since 1981), genocide (Kibeho - Rwandan genocide, 1981), famines, and pandemics... Sometimes, an apparition "confirms" a dogma proclaimed by the Church (Lourdes, 1858, four years after the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception).

In all authenticated cases, tangible, material signs accompany these manifestations: (unexplained) healings and/or miracles ("dancing sun" at Fatima, group conversions, ship rescues, military victories, etc.).unexplained healings are the sign of Mary's presence: every single Marian shrine in the world, regardless of its date of foundation or historical importance, has had reported healings.

With the exception of Jerusalem and Rome, almost all the great shrines of Christianity were established on the site of a Marian apparition (or series of apparitions): Mexico City (Our Lady of Guadalupe), La Salette, Lourdes, Paris (Rue du Bac), Medjugorje, Fatima, and so on.

Places where a statue or Marian image has been weeping tears or shedding blood have given rise to pilgrimages on an international scale, and have led to the development of nationally significant spiritual centers (Our Lady of Czestochowa in Poland, etc.).

Investigations into these phenomena by ecclesiastical authorities are highly formal and rigorous. They generally involve two separate committees: one scientific (doctors, chemists, physicists, etc.), the other theological. Investigations often last several years, and a strict methodology is applied at every stage. Above all, their aim is to identify the natural reasons that could be at the origin of the event under investigation.

The discrepancy between the number of apparitions recorded over the past 2,000 years (around 2,500) and those officially "recognized" by the Church (barely twenty or so, to which must be added "authorized public veneration" such as Rue du Bac or Ile-Bouchard) is astonishing. In reality, this differential proves the scientific and objective standards followed by ecclesial authorities, who readily reject any manifestations that are not in line with the revealed, apostolic faith.

The current format of these investigations dates from around 1850: it is therefore impossible to quantify the number of "mariophanies" that occurred before then, as many of them did not entail this level of legal scrutiny.

The nature of the documents alleging the phenomena has evolved over time, ranging from oral accounts, court depositions, police reports, notarial deeds, private correspondence, spiritual diaries, etc... On the other hand, the vast majority of sources are composed of testimonies sworn before a civil and/or religious authority.

"Hoaxes and hallucinations!" cry the rationalists. Wrong! Sooner or later, "deceptions" are discovered. Young "visionaries" of the Virgin Mary (Bernadette in Lourdes, the little shepherds of Fatima...) were subjected to continual and even violent pressure from their entourage, doctors and the police, in order to obtain their retraction. In genuine cases, visionaries never give in, whatever the cost. They also have to undergo psychiatric tests, but none of them has ever revealed the slightest mental imbalance.

How could such children, aged between 6 and 18 or so, often with little or no schooling, invent stories that would move crowds for years? How could they resist multiple interrogations? Why don't they contradict themselves? Could they invent the unexplained cures observed by the medical profession?

Most of the time, the theological and human content of the messages exceeds the natural capacities of the witnesses. Examples abound, from Maximin Giraud (La Salette) to Catherine Labouré (rue du Bac).

Rationalists dismiss Mariophanies as superstitions. Yet over the past 2,000 years, billions of human beings from all walks of life, cultures and political regimes have believed in and experienced the presence of Mary - Middle Easterners and Latins, Protestants and Catholics, Americans and Africans, as well as Muslims in general.

These apparitions have inspired an incredible number of artistic works in every imaginable form: painting, sculpture, theater, novels, poetry, music, film, comics and more. The greatest artists, from radically different backgrounds, have depicted the apparitions and exceptional presence of the Virgin Mary.

As further proof that these are not incidental or invented facts, the Church's liturgy has incorporated many of these manifestations: some famous one are commemorated on September 19 (Our Lady of La Salette), October 12 (Our Lady of the Pillar), December 12 (Our Lady of Guadalupe), January 17 (Our Lady of Pontmain), February 11 (Our Lady of Lourdes), May 13 (Our Lady of Fatima), etc.

No true Mariophany is self-referential. They all point to Christ and result in concrete, lasting charitable works to a degree that nothing could have predicted.

Beyond reasons to believe:

Marian apparitions and manifestations are more than just "extraordinary" occurrences; they also offer heavenly teachings worth discovering and paying close attention to, with the help of the Church's guidance.

Going further:

René Laurentin et Patrick Sbalchiero, Dictionnaire des apparitions de la Vierge Marie, Paris, Fayard, 2007, p. 94-96.