St. Joseph, Our Lady of Knock and St. John the Evangelist are depicted in a section of a 25-foot-high, four-panel mural as seen in the narthex of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City Sept. 18, 2025, the date of the artwork’s formal unveiling. The mural depicts the 1879 Marian apparition in Knock, Ireland. (Gregory A. Shemit | OSV News)Even though God has already “said everything” through Jesus Christ, as the Church teaches, some Christians throughout the centuries have attested that they have seen or heard Jesus, the angels or the saints, especially the Blessed Mother.
Thus “throughout the ages, there have been ‘private’ revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church,” as the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches (67).
“They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ’s definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history.”
In this month dedicated to Mary, here is a look at some of the most influential approved Marian apparitions.
Our Lady of Guadalupe
On Dec. 9-12, 1531, Our Lady appeared four times to St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin on the hill of Tepeyac near Mexico City.
“Know for certain, least of my sons, that I am the perfect and perpetual Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, the true God, through whom everything lives, the Lord of all things near and far, the master of heaven and earth,” she said. “It is my earnest wish that a temple be built here to my honor.”
Our Lady asked Juan Diego to make known her request to Bishop Juan de Zumárraga. The bishop asked for a sign. When Juan Diego saw Our Lady again, she directed him to a hilltop where he saw a flower garden; he cut the roses and placed them in his cloak, or tilma. When he returned to the bishop, he opened his tilma. The roses fell to the floor, and the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared miraculously on his tilma.
In 1754, Pope Benedict XIV approved Our Lady of Guadalupe as patroness of Mexico, and St. John Paul II named her “patroness of the Americas” in 1999.
Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
In 1830, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared three times to St. Catherine Labouré (1806-1876), a member of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. The second time, she saw Mary crushing a serpent, with rays coming forth from her hands. She also saw the words, “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you,” and heard a voice say, “Have a medal made on this model. Those who will wear it with confidence will receive great graces.”
The archbishop of Paris consented to the request. In 1980, St. John Paul II made a pilgrimage to the chapel in Paris where St. Catherine saw the apparitions. 
Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady appeared 18 times to St. Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 in Lourdes, a town in southwestern France.
Bishop Bertrand-Sévère Mascarou-Laurence of Tarbes-et-Lourdes approved the apparitions in 1862. In 1911, St. Pius X wrote that the Lourdes shrine “surpasses in glory, it seems, all others in the Catholic world.”
Our Lady of La Salette
In 1846, Our Lady appeared to two French children, Maximin Giraud and Mélanie Calvat, in southeastern France. She deplored sins of blasphemy, the refusal of most villagers to attend Mass in the summer and the lack of fidelity to Lenten discipline.
“If my people do not obey, I shall be compelled to loose my son’s arm,” she warned. “It is so heavy I can no longer restrain it.” Bishop Philibert de Bruillard of Grenoble approved the apparition in 1851.
Our Lady of Knock
In 1879, 15 people of all ages in Knock, Ireland, witnessed an apparition of the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist on a rainy evening; the Blessed Mother prayed but did not speak. Within months, Archbishop John McHale of Tuam found their testimony credible, and the site soon became a place of pilgrimage.
In 1979, St. John Paul II celebrated Mass at Knock and dedicated the Basilica of Our Lady, Queen of Ireland. “From that day of grace, 21 August 1879, until this very day, the sick and suffering, people handicapped in body or mind, troubled in their faith or their conscience, all have been healed, comforted and confirmed in their faith because they trusted that the mother of God would lead them to her son, Jesus,” he said.
Our Lady of Fátima
In 1917, Our Lady of the Rosary appeared for six consecutive months to three Portuguese children: Venerable Lúcia Santos, St. Jacinta Marto and St. Francisco Marto. Her message was one of prayer, atonement and devotion to her Immaculate Heart.
“Say the rosary every day to bring peace to the world and an end to the war,” she said. “And after each one of the mysteries, my children, I want you to pray in this way: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of hell. Take all souls to heaven, especially those who are most in need.”
During the final apparition on Oct. 13, Our Lady requested the construction of a chapel, and 70,000 onlookers witnessed the sun dance in the sky. Bishop José Alves Correia da Silva of Leiria-Fátima approved the apparitions in 1930.
— Jeff Ziegler, OSV News