The claims
Each entry pairs a reported miracle with the documentary record and an honest, confidence-labeled estimate of how likely it is that no natural explanation accounts for it.
Each entry pairs a reported miracle with the documentary record and an honest, confidence-labeled estimate of how likely it is that no natural explanation accounts for it.
13 claims
From 1973 to 1981 in Akita, Japan, a wooden statue of Mary in a convent reportedly wept, bled, and perspired on 101 occasions, with fluids analyzed by a forensic specialist as human in origin.
From 1973 to 1981 in Akita, Japan, a wooden statue of Mary in a convent reportedly wept, bled, and perspired on 101 occasions, with fluids analyzed by a forensic specialist as human in origin.
A wooden statue of the Virgin Mary at the Institute of the Handmaids of the Eucharist in Akita, Japan wept on 101 documented occasions between 1973 and 1981, with tears and blood analyzed as human biological fluids; Bishop Ito approved veneration in 1984.
A wooden statue of the Virgin Mary at the Institute of the Handmaids of the Eucharist in Akita, Japan wept on 101 documented occasions between 1973 and 1981, with tears and blood analyzed as human biological fluids; Bishop Ito approved veneration in 1984.
Beginning August 2000, thousands of witnesses in Assiut, Egypt reported luminous figures and glowing doves over St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church over a period of months, with Coptic Pope Shenouda III affirming the apparitions' validity.
Beginning August 2000, thousands of witnesses in Assiut, Egypt reported luminous figures and glowing doves over St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church over a period of months, with Coptic Pope Shenouda III affirming the apparitions' validity.
In January–March 1933, eleven-year-old Mariette Beco of Banneux, Belgium, reported eight apparitions of the Virgin Mary who identified herself as 'the Virgin of the Poor' and directed her to a spring 'for all nations.'
In January–March 1933, eleven-year-old Mariette Beco of Banneux, Belgium, reported eight apparitions of the Virgin Mary who identified herself as 'the Virgin of the Poor' and directed her to a spring 'for all nations.'
Between November 1932 and January 1933, five Belgian children reported 33 apparitions of the Virgin Mary appearing above a hawthorn tree near a convent school in Beauraing, Belgium.
Between November 1932 and January 1933, five Belgian children reported 33 apparitions of the Virgin Mary appearing above a hawthorn tree near a convent school in Beauraing, Belgium.
In 1531, a Marian image allegedly appeared miraculously on the cloak of indigenous convert Juan Diego in Mexico City, producing an artifact still venerated nearly 500 years later.
In 1531, a Marian image allegedly appeared miraculously on the cloak of indigenous convert Juan Diego in Mexico City, producing an artifact still venerated nearly 500 years later.
Beginning in 1981, several students at a school in Kibeho, Rwanda, reported Marian apparitions that included visions of mass violence and rivers of blood — interpreted after the 1994 Rwandan genocide as prophetic.
Beginning in 1981, several students at a school in Kibeho, Rwanda, reported Marian apparitions that included visions of mass violence and rivers of blood — interpreted after the 1994 Rwandan genocide as prophetic.
On August 21, 1879, fifteen witnesses in Knock, Ireland, reported seeing a silent tableau of the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. John the Evangelist, and a lamb on the south gable of the parish church, glowing in heavy rain.
On August 21, 1879, fifteen witnesses in Knock, Ireland, reported seeing a silent tableau of the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. John the Evangelist, and a lamb on the south gable of the parish church, glowing in heavy rain.
On September 19, 1846, two young French shepherd children reported a weeping apparition on a mountain near La Salette who delivered a message of penance; the event was approved by the Church in 1851 but subsequently complicated by the visionaries' divergent later claims.
On September 19, 1846, two young French shepherd children reported a weeping apparition on a mountain near La Salette who delivered a message of penance; the event was approved by the Church in 1851 but subsequently complicated by the visionaries' divergent later claims.
In 1858, a 14-year-old French girl reported 18 apparitions of 'a Lady' in a grotto near Lourdes, where a spring emerged that has since been associated with thousands of reported miraculous cures.
In 1858, a 14-year-old French girl reported 18 apparitions of 'a Lady' in a grotto near Lourdes, where a spring emerged that has since been associated with thousands of reported miraculous cures.
Since June 1981, six youths (now adults) in the village of Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, have claimed ongoing daily Marian apparitions, making it one of the longest-running and most controversial alleged apparition cases in Catholic history.
Since June 1981, six youths (now adults) in the village of Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, have claimed ongoing daily Marian apparitions, making it one of the longest-running and most controversial alleged apparition cases in Catholic history.
On January 17, 1871, four children in the French village of Pontmain reported seeing an apparition of a tall woman in the night sky surrounded by stars; adults present saw only a bright star, and a ceasefire followed within days.
On January 17, 1871, four children in the French village of Pontmain reported seeing an apparition of a tall woman in the night sky surrounded by stars; adults present saw only a bright star, and a ceasefire followed within days.
Between April 1968 and 1971, luminous phenomena appearing in the form of a robed female figure were reported repeatedly over St. Mary's Coptic Church in Zeitoun, Cairo, witnessed by hundreds of thousands including non-Christians.
Between April 1968 and 1971, luminous phenomena appearing in the form of a robed female figure were reported repeatedly over St. Mary's Coptic Church in Zeitoun, Cairo, witnessed by hundreds of thousands including non-Christians.