Some of the Catholic Church's best-known approved, and not approved, reports of apparitions of Mary

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The Vatican has revised how it evaluates purported supernatural events, such as reported visions of the Virgin Mary, to guard against hoaxes and account for news going viral. Previous approved apparitions have turned these sites into major pilgrimage destinations, drawing millions of people to them each year: — Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico: An Indigenous Mexican man named Juan Diego reported several apparitions of the Virgin Mary in 1531. In 2020, the current bishop, with the backing of the Vatican, reaffirmed the 1974 negative judg­ment from the Vatican about the supernaturality of the alleged “apparitions and revelations.” -Army of Mary, Quebec, Canada: After another flip-flopping by bishops, the Vatican in 2007 excommunicated the members of the Army of Mary after its founder claimed to have had Marian visions and declared herself the reincarnation of the mother of Christ.