Apparition phenomena, particularly those that claim Mary
as their object, are still very influential in modern
Roman Catholicism. The first half of this thesis is
concerned with the context of these visions in their
European form, and how the Catholic Church promotes some
of them into the heart of its devotional life. On the
whole, this first part takes a phenomenological view,
simply looking at this process in its own right, although
there are also some sociological insights and critical
remarks.
The author, as a Catholic devotee of the marian cult
himself, is attempting to write a theological critique of
the visions as a member of the pilgrim community, using a
broader range of academic tools than is usually employed
in such a task. In the second half of the thesis,
therefore, a theoretical model is constructed that
provides a new understanding of the phenomena.
This model has four elements: firstly, the humanistic
psychological, in which marian apparitions are compared
with other such phenomena and considered from the view of
depth psychology. The major factors which distinguish them
are the intensity of the experience and the ecclesial
context. Secondly, ecclesiological: the visions cannot be
considered as extras or alternatives to the everyday life
of the Catholic Church, but as its own 'epiphenomena'.
Thirdly, mariological: the apparitions show evidence of
'high' mariology, although this is qualified because of
Mary's apparent powerlessness in the face of God's
judgement. In the modern era, the orthodox christocentric
emphasis is more pronounced, but this does not appear to
be a wholly spontaneous feature. Fourthly, and finally,
biblical: the Christian revelation is rooted in history,
and it is this which must be primary and not the
archetypal, universal patterns of the psyche. Therefore
the objective element in apparitions, if such exists, is,
from a theological perspective, the Mary of history and
her part in the events at the heart of the Christian
understanding of salvation.