Devotions to Mary Associated with Apparitions

There are three main Marian devotions closely associated with apparitions of the Blessed Virgin. An especially great Marian devotion is the Rosary whose origin predates Saint Dominic (d. 1221), but is the subject of many of the messages of the Virgin in various other apparitions, such as Lourdes and Fatima where Our Lady called for an increase in the prayer of the Rosary, declaring it one of the conditions needed for world peace and the conversion of Russia.

Another recommended devotion is wearing the Brown Scapular. There are many kinds of scapulars, all valuable, but this one is eminent among them. There is a very ancient tradition that a great Carmelite monk, Saint Simon Stock, Superior of the Carmelite Order in England in 1251, after imploring the help of Our Lady, was favored with a vision in which she gave him the Brown Scapular, saying: "This will be a privilege for you and for all Carmelites, that he who dies in this will not suffer eternal fire."

The third important Marian devotion is the Miraculous Medal which originated with the apparitions at the Rue du Bac in Paris in 1830. The Blessed Virgin appeared three times in the chapel of the motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, to Saint Catherine Laboure, then a novice. Our Lady asked St Catherine to have a medal struck after a certain model and she promised abundant graces to all those who would wear the medal with confidence. The medal bears these words:

"O Mary Conceived Without Sin, Pray for Us Who Have Recourse to Thee."