William B Stoecker - Marian apparitions and UFOs - Unexplained Mysteries

Found the following article from 2008 on the Unexplained Mysteries site: William B Stoecker - Marian apparitions and UFOs - Unexplained Mysteries

Marian apparitions and UFOs

For centuries, thousands of people, mostly Catholics, have reported seeing and even speaking with a being they believe to be the Virgin Mary. Curiously, the being almost never clearly states that she is, in fact, the mother of Jesus; the witnesses tend to assume this. Her rather vague pronouncements and advice resemble that given out by "aliens" to ufo abductees. Sometimes the vision is accompanied by lights in the sky resembling ufos. Popes Leo XIII, Pius XII, and John Paul II have reported these visions, but most of the experiencers are ordinary people, often poor rural people, and often children: the same kinds of people who often report ufo abductions. Most, but not all, are in Catholic or at least primarily Christian countries. The Holy See has "confirmed" only a few of these, among them the Virgin of Guadalupe,St. Etienne le Laus, Paris, La Satelli, Lourdes, Fatima, Pontmain, Beauraing, Banneux, and Knock (Ireland). We shall examine Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fatima, and the (non confirmed) Medugorje events.