The apparitions of Our Lady of Laus between 1664 and 1718 in Saint-Étienne-le-Laus, France by Benoite Rencurel, a young shepherdess, are the first Marian apparitions to be approved in the 21st century by the Catholic Church.
According to Father Salvatore M. Perrella of the Marianum Pontifical Institute in Rome, this is the 12th Marian apparition approved by the Church from a total of 295 that have been studied through the centuries.[1][2]
The apparitions were recognized by the local Catholic bishop on September 18, 1665, and the construction of a church for pilgrims was approved. Formal approval came from the bishop of Gap, France on May 5, 2008.[1][3] Currently, the site where the apparitions took place receives more than 120,000 pilgrims a year.
The municipality of Notre-Dame-du-Laus, Quebec, Canada, was named after these apparitions.[4]