Vatican City— The Vatican has officially dismissed long-standing claims that Jesus Christ appeared multiple times in the small French town of Dozule, declaring that the reported visions are “not supernatural in origin.”
In a new instruction approved by Pope Leo, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith concluded that the alleged apparitions — said to have occurred 49 times during the 1970s to a local Catholic mother — should not be considered authentic by the Church’s 1.4 billion followers.
“The phenomenon of the alleged apparitions is to be regarded, definitively, as not supernatural in origin, with all the consequences that flow from this determination,” the document stated.
The woman from Dozule had claimed that Jesus appeared to her repeatedly and instructed her to construct a 7.38-meter (24.21-foot) cross on a hill overlooking the town. She also reported receiving prophetic messages, including one claiming the world would end before the year 2000 — a prediction the Vatican noted had clearly not been fulfilled.
“The Cross does not need 738 meters of steel or concrete to be recognized: it is raised every time a heart, moved by grace, opens itself to forgiveness,” the Vatican said, underscoring the Church’s stance that faith does not depend on physical manifestations.
Catholic doctrine allows for the possibility of supernatural apparitions — such as those of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes or Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico — but each reported case undergoes rigorous evaluation. The Church also cautions against using such claims for fame or profit.
The latest ruling comes as part of a broader Vatican effort to clarify teachings and curb misinformation surrounding mystical claims. Earlier this year, the Holy See issued another decree on Marian devotion, emphasizing that Mary cannot be called the “co-redeemer” of humanity, reaffirming that redemption is through Jesus Christ alone.
While the faithful in Dozule had for decades regarded the site as sacred, the Vatican’s declaration effectively ends official Church support for pilgrimages or public devotions linked to the alleged apparitions.