Vatican publishes negative verdict of Paul VI on Our Lady of All Peoples

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has published the details of the negative verdict, approved in 1974 by Saint Paul VI, on the alleged apparitions of “Our Lady of All Nations” in Amsterdam (Netherlands).

The Dicastery led by Cardinal Víctor Fernández has announced the final judgment in which it was determined that the events reported by Ida Peerdeman were not supernatural.

In a statement released this July 11Cardinal Fernández specifies that, in the past, “the Dicastery did not usually make public decisions on supposed supernatural phenomena.”

However, it explains that “given the persistent doubts raised about the alleged apparitions and revelations,” they made public “the result of the Ordinary Session of the then Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, held on March 27, 1974, on the mentioned phenomena.

Likewise, the prefect of the Vatican Dicastery emphasizes that this information is communicated “so that the holy People of God and their Pastors can draw the appropriate consequences.”

The resolutions of the trial approved by Saint Paul VI

The resolutions of the trial published today on the official website of the Dicastery are the following:

-Regarding the doctrinal resolution: OMNES: “it is clear that it is not supernatural”.

-As for further investigating the phenomenon: OMNES: “negative”.

Why is the verdict made public?

It should be noted that before the new Rules to proceed in the Discernment of alleged supernatural phenomenapublished last May, the Dicastery only communicated to the bishop the decision that was formally taken.

However, with these new norms, the decision approved by the Pontiff is made public to clear up any type of confusion.

The alleged apparitions of the “Mother of All Peoples”

Ida Peerdeman was born on August 13, 1905 in Alkmaar (Netherlands). At the age of 40, on March 25, 1945, she claimed to have seen a woman “bathed” in light who she referred to herself as “the Lady and Mother.”

In another alleged appearance in 1951, the woman reportedly told Peerdeman that she wanted to be known as “the Lady of All Nations.” According to the Dutch woman, the Virgin Mary appeared to her on 56 occasions, until May 31, 1959.

In 1956, the Bishop of Haarlem, Bishop Johannes Huibers, declared after an investigation that he had “found no evidence of the supernatural nature of the apparitions.”

The Holy Office, precursor of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved the bishop’s verdict a year later and confirmed the sentence in 1972 and 1974.

Although the verdict was known, it was not until now that the Vatican has published the details of the trial, approved by the then Pope Paul VI.

Warnings from the Holy See in the past

In 2005, the Doctrine of Faith expressed concern over the wording of an official prayer that invoked the Blessed Virgin as Lady of all peoples “who once was Mary,” warning Catholics not to use this phrase.

Likewise, in January 2021the Vatican urged Catholics not to promote this Marian devotion.