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Apparition Medals ~ Apparitions of the Virgin Mary have been claimed by faithful Catholics for hundreds of years. In these visits the Blessed Mother frequently has words of advice, messages of love, a call to prayer, and occasionally words of warning for those who have seen her. There are many excellent websites and books on the topic of Marian Apparitions to educate those who desire to know more about this interesting topic. In this guide, I would like to discuss the variety of devotional medals that have been struck to commemorate those apparitions that have been approved by the Catholic church or those apparitions that are currently seeking approval. Collecting these medals is enjoyable and easy since they are readily available on Ebay. If you would like to search for any of the medals listed here, please just click on the name of the medal and Ebay will perform a search for medals of that type. I hope you enjoy reading up on this fascinating subject!
This apparition of the Blessed Mother occurred in 1490 to a shepherd named Benedict Pareto on Mount Fignona near Genoa, Italy. "Our Lady of the Guard" is especially venerated by sailors who implore her protection from storms on the sea. She is celebrated every year on the last Sunday of August as "Patroness of Genoa" in with a special pilgrimage and ecclesiastical service.
Also known as Our Lady of the Holy Scapular, this apparition occured in Aylesford, England in 1251 to Saint Simon Stock, a member of the Carmelite religious order. In this vision, Mary presented St. Simon with the Brown Scapular (a loose sleeveless garment for the members of the order to wear). She promised that all who died wearing this scapular would benefit from her personal protection at the time of their death. Over time, the Brown Scapular was altered for the layman to wear as well. The layman's scapular is made of two stamp-size pieces of brown cloth, connected by cords and worn over the head.
On the Lady of Mount Carmel medals, the Virgin Mary is shown with the Christ Child holding the scapular or presenting the scapular to the kneeling St. Simon Stock. The reverse of these medals typically shows the Sacred Heart of Jesus. They are quite easy to find, generally inexpensive to purchase, and come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and metals. (Those who are interested in wearing the medal as a scapular should consult with a Priest before doing so.)
The vision of Our Lady of Guadalupe occured in 1531 to the humble peasant Juan Diego while he was on his way to mass. He was led by birdsong and the sound of his name being called to the top of a small hill where a young woman with "clothes like the sun" who identified herself as the "virgin Saint Mary". St. Juan Diego was told to build a church on the site and given the sign of Castillian roses growing on the hill to show to his bishop as varification of the apparition. St. Juan collected the roses in his 'tilma' or cloak and took them to the Bishop, when he unrolled the cloak, the roses fell out and the image of the Virgin Mary as he saw her was imprinted on the tilma. This cloak is still venerated today in the Cathedral at Guadalupe.
Our Lady of Guadalupe medals show the image from Juan Diego's cloak on the front. This is the Virgin Mary with her hands clasped, surrounded by rays of light. She is standing on a crescent moon that is held up by a small angel. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patroness of the Americas and has a very strong following in the Latino community. These medals are not as easy to find as one might think, and are frequently worn from a previous owner's devotion.
Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal 1830 
This medal was struck at the request of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a vision to Saint Catherine Laboure in Paris, France. St. Catherine, a young nun, was called to the chapel of her convent by a young child. When the Virgin Mary appeared to her, she showed Catherine her image as she would like for it to appear on a medal and told her 'Have a medal struck after this model. Those who wear it will receive great graces. Abundant graces will be given to those who have confidence.' So many cures and conversions were attributed to this medal that it became known as 'The Miraculous Medal'. It is still one of the most popular Marian medals today and always features the same image given to St. Catherine ~ the Virgin Mary atop a globe, crushing a snake with her foot. The date of the apparition, 1830, appears on the globe. The monogram of the letter 'M' surmounted by a cross and surrounded by 12 stars appears on the back.
The vision of Our Lady of La Salette occurred to two children while they were tending cattle, Melanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud. They saw a bright light, then a lady with her head in her hands. When she stood up, the children saw that she had been crying. She told them not to be afraid, that 'She had come here to tell them great news'. She spoke to the children in their local dialect about the importance of being reconciled to God, respecting the Sabbath, and praying the Rosary. She encouraged them to tell everyone to do penance for their sins and pray regularly, then entrusted each child with a secret. When she was through speaking, the lady rose into the air and vanished. The children suffered greatly from teasing and persecution and were accused of lying when they told their story, but the never deviated from it. After intense scrutiny, the local Bishop recognized the apparition at La Salette as the Virgin Mary.
Our Lady of La Salette medals typicallly show a woman with a tiara-type headress. She has her head in her hands, may be speaking to two young children, or may even be shown rising into the air as the children look on. This type of medal is fairly rare and very collectable.
Our Lady of Lourdes 1858 
Our Lady of Lourdes is one of the most popular and well-known apparitions of all time, thanks in part to the movie 'Song of Bernadette' which was made in the 1940's. Bernadette Soubirous lived in extreme poverty. She was sent to gather sticks a the grotto of Massabeille with her sister and a friend when heard a sound like a strong gust of wind and saw a beautiful lady standing above her in a corner of the grotto. Her companions saw nothing, but Bernadette said the rosary with 'the lady' for about 15 minutes, until she disappeared. Bernadette had a total of 17 visions of this beautiful lady and under the lady's instruction, dug in a small pool of muddy water that became the miraculous spring at the grotto of Lourdes that eventually flowed with 10,000 liters of water a day! When repeatedly asked for her name, the lady told Bernadette that she was 'the Immaculate Conception' - words that Bernadette did not unerstand, but that she repeated faithfully to her parish priest. It was through these words that 'the lady' was identified as the Virgin Mary.
Lourdes medals are easy to find and typically show the Virgin Mary on the front, usually in profile. Occasionally she will be portrayed with her hands clasped in prayer with a rosary. The words 'I am the Immaculate Conception' or 'Je suis l'Immacule Conception' form a halo around her head or are written around the image. The back shows the grotto of Lourdes with St. Bernadette kneeling before the Virgin Mary who is shown above her in a small cave surrounded by roses. Sometimes Bernadette is shown holding a candle or with crutches off to the side as a reference to the healing properties of the spring at Lourdes. Lourdes medals also may have a variety of saints, Popes, or the image of St. Bernadette on the front as well. These medals are usually inexpensive and a great way to start your collection. Personally, I collect Lourdes medals because I love the story of St. Bernadette so much and because the medals come in so many beautiful forms.
Our Lady of Fatima 1917 
Between May and October of 1917, The Virgin Mary appeared six times to three young Portuguese children near the small village of Fatima. The children were Lucia dos Santos, 10, and her two younger cousins, Francisco and Jacinta. They tended sheep together and would often kneel in the open field to pray the Rosary. The first apparition took place around noon on Sunday, Mary 13, 1917, when a brilliant flash of lightning drew the attention of the children. A beautiful Lady apeared clothed in white and asked the children to return the 13th of each month. She asked for prayer, penance, that Russia be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart, and for special devotions on the first Saturday of each month. On the day of the final apparition, October 13, 1917, she identified herself to the children as 'Our Lady of the Rosary' and gave them 3 secrets. A crowd of about 70,000 people who had gathered in the rain for the event witnessed a dramatic miracle as the clouds parted and the sun seemed to tumble from the sky toward the earth. The two younger children died soon after these events; however, Lucia many years as a Carmelite nun, passing away in February 13, 2005.
Our Lady of Fatima medals are easy to find and very popular. There are many vintage designs, but due to the popularity of devotion to our Lady of Fatima, modern medals are still struck her honor today.
The vision of Our Lady of Beauraing occurred in Beauraing, Belgium to five children one evening as they were gathered at their local convent school. While four of them waiting on the steps for their friend, 11 year-old Albert Voisin turned and cried out "Look! The Virgin in white is walking above the bridge!" The other children with him also saw her and his sister, Gilbert, saw her as well when she joined them from inside the school. Despite scepticism from their families and the Mother Superior of the convent, the children maintained their story. The virgin appeared to them 33 times, always under the branch of a hawthorne tree near the convent. On her last visit, she imparted a secret to each of the children and told them "I am the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven. Pray always". When all of the children but one, Fernande (who was in tears because she had not seen the Virgin with the others this time) went inside for questioning, the entire crowd of people gathered (about 15,000) heard a noise like thunder and a ball of fire that appeared in the hawthorne tree. Mary reappeared to Fernande alone at this point and asked her if she loved her son. When Fernande answered yes, the Virgin told Fernande "Then sacrifice yourself for me. Goodbye" and disappeared in a glowing light. This was the last vision seen by the children. The apparitions at Beauraing were approved along with 2 miraculous cures at the sight in 1949.
These medals typically show the virgin Mary with an unusual brushlike crown on her head. The reverse shows the 5 children seeing the Virgin beneath a bridge or just a bridge and a Hawthorne tree. Our Lady of Beuraing medals are not common and are highly collectable.
Our Lady of Banneux 1933 
The apparitions at Banneux occurred very soon after the apparitions at Beauraing to 12 year-old Mariette Beco. On January 15, 1933, Mariette was waiting by a window for her brother when she looked out and saw a lady all in white with a blue sash in the garden of her family's humble home. The lady beckoned for Mariette to come out, but Mariette's mother refused to let her and locked the door! The lady appeared again the next night and led Mariette to a previously unknown stream and told Mariette "This stream is reserved for me." The lady appeared a total of 11 times to Mariette and told her "I am the virgin of the poor." and, on her last visit "I am the mother of the savior, the mother of God. Pray much." At the Virgin's request a small chapel was built on the site of the stream. These apparitions were approved by the vatican in 1942.
Our Lady of Banneux medals are not easy to find and typically show daisies or small flowers around a depiction of the Virgin Mary on one side and a view of the chapel at Banneux on the other. I would rate these medals as highly collectable.
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