French bishop warns Faithful off groups connected to the Marian Movement of Priests

Supernatural phenomena: What's happening in the Diocese of Lisieux?

The Bishop calls for prudent discernment, reaffirming that any authentic mystical experience can only be lived in communion with the Church.

In a message published on the Diocese's official website, Monsignor Jacques Habert alerts the faithful to events of a "mystical nature" that are increasing in his diocese. These manifestations are taking place outside of any ecclesiastical framework, particularly in Creully, where a prayer fraternity is organizing cenacles on private property. The bishop gravely emphasizes that "any Christian who approaches an illicit sanctuary or fraternities without Church recognition may be put in danger."

A decree was issued formally prohibiting priests from participating in these gatherings. At the same time, a discernment mission was entrusted to specialists, in conjunction with the national "Sectarian Influences and Deviances" unit of the French Bishops' Conference, to assess the situation.

Some of the groups involved refer to the Marian Movement of Priests founded in Fatima in 1972 under the leadership of Italian priest Stefano Gobbi. He claimed to have received messages from the Virgin Mary, now collected in the Blue Book, a work with an apocalyptic tone. While the movement is recognized as a private association of the faithful in Italy, Rome requested in 1998 that Don Gobbi's messages be considered personal meditations. In France, Father Olivier Rolland, head of the Movement, has denied any institutional connection with the groups active in Creully, while acknowledging that some faithful may be individually affiliated with them.

These events echo another well-known mystical affair in the region: that of the Haute Butte in Dozulé. Between 1972 and 1978, a resident claimed to receive apparitions of Christ. These alleged revelations, announcing the Lord's return and the construction of a large luminous cross, sparked heated controversy. In 1985, Bishop Jean Badré issued an order reiterating the lack of official recognition, a decision approved by Cardinal Ratzinger and then confirmed in 2011 by Cardinal Ladaria. Bishop Habert reiterated this in a statement published on March 21, 2022, specifying that "the Diocese of Bayeux and Lisieux does not organize any activities there." In a region that bears witness to the spirituality of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, whose little path continues to enlighten us, the bishop calls for prudent discernment, reaffirming that any authentic mystical experience can only be lived in the communion of the Church.

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