Mystical Encounters: The Sixteen Sightings of The Virgin Mary Recognized By The Vatican.

Visions of a teenage girl from Lourdes, France, inspired one of the holiest Catholic pilgrimage sites. Since 1858, when a 14-year-old peasant named Bernadette Soubirous proclaimed she had 18 encounters with the Virgin Mary, Lourdes has become one of the most visited sites by Catholics in the world. Lourdes has a special appeal to the weak, sick, and fragile, including the wounded. It attracts more than 5 million pilgrims a year, many seeking to be cured of afflictions.

In 1917, the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children near the village of Fátima, Portugal. She identified herself as the Lady of the Rosary. The Roman Catholic Church officially recognized the Fátima events in 1930.

In 1531, the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego in Mexico. The Virgin of Guadalupe is Mexico's patron saint and is important to many Mexicans and Mexican Americans.

The Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to six children in Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, beginning on June 24, 1981. The children, who are now adults, are Marija Pavlović, Mirjana Dragičević, Ivan Dragičević, Ivanka Ivanković, Jakov Čolo, and Vicka Ivanković. The apparitions are said to continue to this day.

Catholic News Agency – India Sanctuary of Good Health. “Through the centuries, Mary has continued to act in this place,” DDF prefect Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández wrote. “The millions of pilgrims who travel here out of faith, and the many spiritual fruits that are produced at this shrine, make us recognize the constant action of the Holy Spirit in this place.