page_title: Visions of Jesus and Mary
section_title: Influence
hierarchical_section_title: Visions of Jesus and Mary / Acceptance and impact / Influence
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Schwester Maria Droste zu Vischering English: Mary of the Divine Heart Español: Beata María del Divino Corazón
context_page_description: Since the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Calvary, a number of people have claimed to have had visions of Jesus Christ and personal conversations with him. Some people make similar claims regarding his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Discussions about the authenticity of these visions have often invited controversy. The Catholic Church endorses a fraction of these claims, and various visionaries it accepts have achieved beatification, or even sainthood.
  The first reported visions of Christ, and personal conversations with him, after his resurrection and prior to his ascension are found in the New Testament. One of the most widely recalled Resurrection appearances of Jesus is the doubting Thomas conversation between Jesus and Thomas the Apostle after his death. The last book of the Bible itself is based on a series of visions.
context_section_description: Despite the expected controversies, post-Ascension visions of Jesus and the Virgin Mary have, in fact, played a key role in the direction of the Catholic Church, e.g. the formation of the Franciscan order and the devotions to the Holy Rosary, the Holy Face of Jesus and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Key elements of modern Roman Catholic Mariology have been influenced by visions reported by children at Lourdes and Fátima.
  Reported messages from Jesus have also influenced papal actions and encyclicals. For instance, the 1899 consecration of the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Pope Leo XIII in the encyclical Annum sacrum was due to the messages from Jesus reported by a Sister of the Good Shepherd, Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart Droste zu Vischering. Pope Leo XIII performed the requested consecration a few days after the death of Sister Mary and called it "the greatest act of my pontificate".
  Also Blessed Alexandrina of Balazar, in Portugal, reported many private apparitions, messages and prophecies received directly from Jesus and the Virgin Mary. In June 1938, based on the request of her spiritual director Father Mariano Pinho, several bishops from Portugal wrote to Pope Pius XI, asking him to consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. At that time Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli (later Pope Pius XII) was the secretary of the state of the Vatican, and he later performed the consecration of the world.
caption: Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart Droste zu Vischering.
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