"Our Lady of All Nations" of Amsterdam: Pope Paul VI approved a negative judgment

By Vatican News

On Thursday, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith made public the negative and definitive 1974 judgment of its Cardinal Members, who unanimously agreed to declare the non-supernaturality of the alleged apparitions of "Our Lady of All Nations" of Amsterdam.

The decision was approved by Pope Paul VI.

In a press release, the Dicastery said that in recent years, it typically “did not reveal decisions regarding alleged supernatural phenomena.”

However, “faced with persistent doubts raised about the alleged apparitions and revelations from 1945-1959 in Amsterdam, related to the devotion of the 'Lady of All Nations,' the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is making known the outcome of the Ordinary Session of the then Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, held on March 27, 1974."

The following are the judgments made at that session:

“1. Regarding the doctrinal judgment: OMNES 'constat de non supernaturalitate.'
2. Regarding further investigation of the phenomenon: OMNES: 'negative.'”

These decisions, reads the communiqué, "were approved by the Holy Father Paul VI during the audience granted to the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal F. Šeper, on April 5, 1974. This is communicated so that the holy People of God and their pastors can draw the appropriate conclusions.”

Before the new Norms, which came into force in May 2024, the Dicastery only communicated the formal decision to the local bishop, and at most published a more general notice.

Now, to clarify any confusion, the decision approved by the Pope is made public, which in this case is the most negative judgment, noting the non-supernaturality.

The new Norms allow such a judgment, saying it “must be based on concrete and proven facts and evidence” attesting to the non-authenticity of the alleged phenomenon.

On March 25, 1945, on the 600th anniversary of the Eucharistic miracle of Amsterdam, Ida Peerdeman claimed to have seen the Blessed Virgin Mary, who introduced herself to her with the title "Lady of All Nations."

Born in Alkmaar in 1905, the youngest of five children, Ida was orphaned of her mother at the age of 8 and moved with her family shortly afterwards to Amsterdam, where she remained until her death in 1996.

Following the alleged apparition on March 25, she later claimed to have seen 55 more, lasting until 1959.

According to Ida’s account, over the span of 14 years, the Madonna revealed to her in advance several events, including the death of Pope Pius XII, and showed her an image of herself, later painted by the artist Heinrich Repke based on the description of the alleged seer.

Today, that image is kept in a chapel built in 1973 at 3 Diepenbrockstraat, in a residential area in the southern part of Amsterdam.

In 1956, the then Bishop of Haarlem-Amsterdam, Johannes Petrus Huibers, stated that the alleged Marian apparitions "non constat de supernaturalitate."

His judgment made more severe in May 1974 by the then Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), which confirmed the definitive negative judgment "constat de non supernaturalitate" with the personal approval of Pope Paul VI.

In 1996, Bishop Huibers' successor, Henny Bomers, after consulting with the Holy See, allowed the veneration of "Our Lady of All Nations" without recognizing the alleged apparitions. In contrast, his successor, Bishop Jos Punt, in 2002 recognized their authenticity, though without consulting the Holy See.

Three years later, in 2005, the CDF removed several words from the prayer that the Virgin Mary allegedly left to Ida Peerdeman, as they were not in conformity with Catholic doctrine.

Finally, on December 30, 2020, the new Bishop of Haarlem, Johannes Hendriks, "after consulting with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and in agreement with it," stated that "the use of the title Our Lady of All Nations for Mary is theologically permissible.”

However, he added that “the recognition of this title cannot be understood as even an implicit recognition of the supernaturality of certain phenomena," since the Congregation had given "a negative judgment," which was "approved by Paul VI" in 1974.

The various messages that the Virgin Mary allegedly left to Ida included a request for the Church to recognize the dogma of Mary as "co-redemptrix,” a request allegedly dating back to December 8, 1952.

Regarding this title, it is worth noting Pope Francis’ statements on at least two occasions.

On April 3, 2020, in his homily at the morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta, the Pope said, "The Madonna did not take any title away from Jesus... She did not ask for herself to be a quasi-redeemer or a co-redeemer: no. The Redeemer is one, and this title is not duplicated."

He reiterated this affirmation at the General Audience on March 24, 2021: "Christ is the only Redeemer: there are no co-redeemers with Christ."