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Millions of sincere people believe in miracles, apparitions, and visions. They flock to shrines such as the one shown here in Fátima, Portugal, with the hope of obtaining or seeing a miraculous cure. Some of the devout will go on their knees to the sanctuary. Many believe that they have been healed. But other sincere people ask, Are these miracles and apparitions really from God? Is there any other explanation?

Miracles and Apparitions​—Past and Present

By Awake! correspondent in France

GUADALUPE, Fátima, and Lourdes​—what do those names mean to you? For many they are just towns in Mexico, Portugal, and France. But for millions of sincere Catholics, they are sanctuaries, three of the most famous Marian shrines in the world. Catholic devotion to such places is far from waning in this 20th century. For instance, in 1982 some 4,500,000 visitors poured into Lourdes, while even greater throngs crowded Guadalupe.

For the Catholic Church, these shrines are places of alleged miraculous cures. This is particularly so in the case of Lourdes, described by Pope Pius X as “the center of Marian worship and the throne of Eucharistic mystery, seemingly surpassing in glory all similar centers throughout the Catholic world.” Thousands of people have claimed to have been cured during or after a pilgrimage to Lourdes. However, the church has recognized only 65 “miracles” to date.

Whether you believe in God or not, you have a right to ask questions. What about these apparitions, mainly of Mary, around the world? Are the miraculous cures and other events associated with them proof of divine approval? At a conference held in Lourdes in 1986, the bishop of Tours encouraged his hearers to ‘meditate on the meaning of the apparitions’ so as to ‘establish the important distinctions between false and true apparitions.’ If you are a Catholic, you too might be interested in taking a closer look at the subject.

Apparitions​—True or False?

The Roman Catholic Church does not officially commit itself regarding such apparitions, nor does it oblige its members to believe in them. But what are sincere Catholics to conclude when they see Pope John Paul II drinking water from the Lourdes grotto or talking with Lucie, the only person alive to have seen the apparition of Fátima? Is this not a clear demonstration of his (and the church’s) official approval? Moreover, during his travels, the pope never fails to visit Marian sanctuaries, such as the shrine of the Black Virgin of Czestochowa in Poland.

Other more modest shrines have been approved by the church, such as Beauraing and Banneux in Belgium. Sometimes worship is permitted only on a local level, as is the case in Tre Fontane, Italy, and Marienfried, Germany.