Impact of Apparitions
While Marian apparitions may at times seem like fanciful tales even to devout Catholics, factual analysis indicates that the effect of apparitions on the Roman Catholic Church has been significant. Marian apparitions have led to, or affected, the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Mariology and the lives of millions of Roman Catholics in several ways:
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- The conversion of millions of people to Roman Catholicism.
- The construction of some of the largest Roman Catholic Marian churches ever.
- The formation of the largest Marian Movements and Societies ever.
- The spread of Marian devotions (such as the rosary) to millions of people.
- The declaration of specific Marian dogmas and doctrines.
- Hundreds of millions of Marian pilgrimages.
A few cases can illustrate these items.
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“I can sit up half the night
With some friend that has the wit
Not to allow his looks to tell
When I am unintelligible.
Fifteen apparitions have I seen;
The worst a coat upon a coat-hanger.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)