This is Michelino, an Italian cook, but also a supposed visionary. In 2009, he claimed that Livia, his mother-in-law who had died three months earlier, began appearing to him in dreams. She told him her soul was in heaven and encouraged him to attend Mass, go to confession, and pray the rosary.
In 2010, Livia allegedly invited him to go to Medjugorje, but during the dates when, according to her, the Virgin Mary would appear. During the praying of a rosary at the shrine, Michelino claimed he saw the face of Mary. After several such experiences, she also began to speak to him.
In 2011, the Virgin supposedly asked him to create a Stations of the Cross at this location you see: Mount San Onofrio, in central Italy. Since then, thousands of people have made pilgrimages there.
Now, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has spoken out about these alleged apparitions. The statement came from the prefect, Cardinal Fernández, in a letter dated July 25, in response to a request from the local diocesan bishop. It's a lengthy document that details the entire process point by point.
The verdict from the Dicastery is not to approve public worship or pilgrimages, but it does allow private devotion as long as it's strictly personal. On the one hand, the document acknowledges some positive aspects in Michelino. On the other hand, it warns of negative elements in the supposed phenomenon.
While significant positive signs are recognized, some elements of confusion or potential risks are also noted, which require careful discernment and dialogue [...].
In addition, the previous bishop had prohibited both public and private worship, but this was not followed. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith also commented on this.
We are therefore facing a wound to ecclesial communion, which is certainly not a positive sign — especially when the necessary discernment of the diocesan pastor is rejected. Concrete issues that may arise from an alleged supernatural phenomenon must be submitted to ecclesial discernment and should not be followed blindly.
It was in May 2024 that the Vatican published a new framework for dealing with alleged supernatural phenomena. The Church avoids pronouncing whether such events are real or not, but it offers guidelines to determine whether they are in harmony with the Church’s teachings.
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