Miracles and Visionaries in the Digital Age

Abstract

Abstract This article explores the influence of digital technologies on the functioning of Catholic apparitional movements and the so-called miracular sensitivity, as well as specific forms of religious folklore related to it. I analyze the current methods of creating and disseminating various messages (texts, photos, films) related to Catholic apparition sites and pay particular attention to the phenomenon of miraculous pictures, examining the status that is assigned to them. I put forward two basic theses: (1) digital distribution of information about religious revelations is a factor that dynamizes Marian apparitional movements, but at the same time causes them to collide with various hostile reactions from skeptics, which consequently results in a more self-reflective and diverse stance; (2) digital technologies are changing the status and reception of miraculous pictures, which now are no longer only treated as hierophanies and material representations of a supernatural reality but are increasingly understood as symbolic signs of it.