The Roman Catholic Church has established criteria to determine whether an alleged Marian apparition is worthy of belief. These include the credibility and good reputation of the witness or witnesses and the unpredictability of the apparition of Mary—that is, it does not appear to have been planned or staged in some way. In addition, any purported message associated with the apparition (i.e., a particular message delivered by Mary) must be of sound Catholic doctrine. Also, the event must be shown to have inspired beneficial practices such as prayer or religious vocations. Negative criteria include the presence of doctrinal errors, evidence of divisiveness or the pursuit of profit or fame, and health issues that may reveal a psychological or pathological basis for a witness’s claims.
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