The CMS Saturday Seminar: Marian apparitions and their consequences

DATE: 28 February 2026

TIME: 2:00pm - 4:30pm in the UK

[Begining at 08:00am US CT; 09:00am US ET; 15:00 in Central Europe; 19:30 in Mumbai; 22:00 in Manila; 23:00 in Tokyo]

Online via Zoom

Join us for a fascinating seminar on the theme of Marian apparitions with three experts in the field. It's not too late to register.

Chris Maunder, a retired senior lecturer formerly of York St John University, is the author of Our Lady of the Nations: Apparitions of Mary in 20^th Century Catholic Europe (2016) and Mary, Founder of Christianity (2022). He has edited The Oxford Handbook of Mary (2019), Documents of the Christian Church (4^th edition 2011 and 3^rd edition 1999), and Origins of the Cult of the Virgin Mary (2008). He serves as the treasurer of the Centre for Marian Studies and is a trustee on the volunteer committee who look after the Chapel of Our Lady of the Crag, Knaresborough. Accompanied by his wife Natalie and daughter Beatrice, born in 2022, he is a keen visitor and pilgrim at Marian shrines.

Chris will give a paper entitled 'Responding to Apparition Movements: The Norms of 2024'.

Lauren Montenegro, who is originally from Australia, currently lives in South West France and serves in local church ministry as a missionary for Pioneers in Europe and WEC International and is a member of the faculty at the Rome Scholars' and Leaders' Network. Her doctoral research focuses on apparitions and visions of the Virgin Mary, how they influence Roman Catholicism, and how Roman Catholicism influences apparitions.

Lauren will discuss her research into the influence of 2000 years of Marian apparitions.

Joe Evans is a Visiting Scholar at the Villanova University Center for Peace and Justice Education and the Villanova representative to the Alliance to End Human Trafficking. He is also the Research Fellow at the Mother Teresa Institute in Washington, DC. His research focuses on peacebuilding, Catholic social thought, Mariology, and interreligious relations. He is a retired Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, with multiple combat deployments, peacekeeping operations, and diplomatic assignments in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Pakistan, and Nepal. He holds a Ph.D. in Theology and Religious Studies from Villanova University.

Joe will explore the implications of Mary’s appearances (and appeal) to non-Christians in Asia.

REGISTER

To receive the free Zoom link, please send an email to Catherine O'Brien at the following address: info@marianstudies.ac.uk