The Church distinguishes two types of revelation

The Church distinguishes between two types of revelation: the Revelation contained in the Bible and interpreted by the Magisterium. This Revelation is already finished. Nothing can be added to it. This is what the last book of the Bible, called the Apocalypse or Revelation, states. The second type of revelation are the so-called "private" revelations. Through them God continues to manifest himself in many ways.

Apparitions do not change anything to the Creed. So are they really useful? They can be useful insofar as their messages confirm or underline the depth of the mysteries of faith. For example, when the Virgin Mary appeared in 1858 in Lourdes, she introduced herself as "the Immaculate Conception," a title that had been proclaimed as dogma four years earlier in the document of Pope Pius IX Ineffabilis Deus.

The same phenomenon was verified with the definition of the Assumption in 1950: while he was about to proclaim this dogma, Pope Pius XII had a vision in the Vatican Gardens. He himself recorded this vision in a handwritten note that Italian Vatican insider Andrea Tornielli made known in February 2008.

Aleteia