Vatican investigates Family of Mary

Vatican intervened in Family of Mary also based in the Netherlands

The Chapel of Our Lady of All Nations in Amsterdam is served by the Family of Mary. 

The Vatican last year intervened at the Family of Mary, the religious community that runs the Amsterdam chapel of the Lady of All Nations, among others. The founder of the priestly branch of the community was removed from his position as superior general for unclear reasons, reports Nederlands Dagblad (ND).

According to the newspaper, an apostolic visitation was carried out within the community last year - an investigation ordered by the Vatican in which a church organisation is scrutinised for possible abuses.

Much ambiguity

Why the visitation took place at the Family of Mary is still unclear. According to ND, it is also not clear why its head, Austrian Father Paul Maria Sigl, was removed from his post. In his place, the Vatican already appointed Roman auxiliary bishop Daniele Libanori as temporary director on 1 June 2022.

Libanori is assisted in his task by Slovak Sister Katarina Kristofová, who helped conduct the visitation. The auxiliary bishop also previously investigated abuse by Jesuit Marko Rupnik.

Preventing hasty conclusions

Bishop Jan Hendriks of Haarlem-Amsterdam confirmed to ND that an apostolic visitation had taken place and an external administrator had been appointed. The fact that the matter has not been made public so far, he said, has to do with the desire to avoid "hasty conclusions being drawn about individuals, because we are not that far yet".

He also points out that "maybe 40" Catholic communities worldwide are currently under guardianship just like the Family of Mary. He thinks this is "very good": the Pope is showing that he is "on top of things and not letting things run".

No comment from Family of Mary

The Family of Mary neither in Amsterdam nor in Rome responded to a request from ND for comment. Nor had the Amsterdam branch responded to a request for comment from KN when this post went online. Incidentally, direct consequences for the Amsterdam branch do not seem to be affected by the change of management.

The issue also indirectly touches on the Lady of All Nations case, the alleged Marian apparitions to Amsterdam's Ida Peerdeman. The Family of Mary serves the chapel dedicated to 'the Lady' on Diepenbrockstraat in the capital.

The foundation set up for this purpose describes its objective as, among other things, the "spread of Christian thought with special regard to the message of Fatima and the messages of the Lady of All Nations in Amsterdam".

That the latter messages are still mentioned there is remarkable. In late 2020, the Vatican reiterated its earlier assessment that it had not been established that the apparitions were of supernatural origin.

Error

Mary, the diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam stated at the time, may be venerated under the title 'Lady of All Nations'. However, this should in no way be understood or presented as an acknowledgement of the alleged Marian apparitions and messages to Peerdeman.

Bishop Hendriks, when asked, said he suspected this was a mistake; indeed, other references to the apparitions and messages have been removed from the website.

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