Born in Caserta, north of Naples, on March 14, 1897, Maria Valtorta died in Viareggio on October 12, 1961, at the age of 64. She was the only daughter of Giuseppe, a cavalry officer whom she loved very much, and of a French teacher, Iside Fioravanzi, a very authoritative and quarrelsome woman who demanded the exclusivity of her attentions to the point of making her break off her engagement. Maria moved to various places in Italy, according to her father’s assignments.

In 1920, while walking with her mother in Florence, she is attacked by a reckless young man who violently strikes her back with a metal bar. After three months of immobilisation, she leaves for two years of convalescence with her maternal family in Reggio Calabria.

In 1924, the family settled permanently in Viareggio where Maria Valtorta became involved in Catholic Action.

In 1925, she offered herself to Merciful Love, and on July 1, 1931, she offered herself again as a victim of atonement for the sins of men. Her health progressively deteriorates.

From April 1, 1934, she remains permanently in bed. It is here that Maria Valtorta writes 122 notebooks, that is, almost 15,000 handwritten pages, with the description of visions and revelations she receives from the Lord from 1943 to 1947, but to a lesser extent until 1953. Despite remaining in her bed and enduring great suffering, she writes by hand and in a flow, at any hour of the day or night, without feeling at all disturbed by sporadic interruptions, always maintaining her natural appearance.

The only books she could consult were the Bible and the Catechism of St. Pius X. During this period, she is accompanied by Father Romualdo Migliorini, of the Servants of Mary (O.S.M.), who will become a zealous, and sometimes excessive, promoter of the work.

The last years of her life are painful: Maria Valtorta is confined in a sort of psychological isolation, after having offered everything to God, even her intelligence. She died on October 12, 1961, after seeing the publication of the work which, according to Jesus’ directives, was to be posthumous and then its being placed on the Index twenty months before her death. She leaves as a memory the following phrase: “I have finished suffering, but I continue to love.”

The visions of Maria Valtorta recount numerous scenes from the childhood of Mary and Jesus, the Public Life of Jesus, and the early days of the Church. Maria is an attentive spectator and narrator of what she sees, understands, and feels (warmth, scents).

However, she did not receive the stigmata of the Passion like other visionaries: Anna Catherine Emmerich or Teresa Neumann. The dictations mainly report teachings from Jesus and Mary, but also from the Holy Spirit or saints, and occasionally from her guardian angel (named Azaria).

Maria Valtorta then delivers what has been dictated to her, introducing the text with the mention “Jesus (or Mary) says.” This does not prevent the rare comments of Maria Valtorta, perfectly distinct from what she says she receives, through the use of first-person writing. Three-quarters of her writings form “The Poem of the Man-God,” her major work and the only one that is controversial. The Italian edition (1986) consists of 5421 pages divided into 714 chapters and 10 volumes. Each chapter generally corresponds to an evangelical scene: the childhood of Mary and then of Jesus (Volume 1) – the public life of Jesus, which spans three years (Volumes 2-8) – His Passion (Volume 9) – the early days of the Church from the Resurrection of Jesus to the Assumption of Mary (Volume 10). The episodes, received in random order, are rearranged in chronological order according to Jesus’ instructions to Maria Valtorta.

The other writings have been grouped into three “Notebooks” containing essentially catecheses and visions of the early martyrs, as well as in the “Lessons on the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans.” This work contains comments on Creation, Grace, the coming of the Kingdom of God, the justice and mercy of God. Finally, “The Book of Azaria.” This book was dictated to her in 1946/47 by Azaria, her guardian angel. It includes a theological and spiritual commentary on the festive masses of the Roman Missal.

Maria calls her work one: “writing under dictation or describing what is presented to me.” If it is writing under dictation and if it is based on a point in the Bible, then Jesus first makes me open to the point He wants to explain. […] If it is a vision, it presents itself, as I said, with an initial figure that is generally the climax of the vision, and then it unfolds in an orderly manner […] I describe that point, then what precedes it and what follows.

Maria Valtorta discreetly evokes, in certain personal notes, the sufferings she endures. But Jesus, in a dictation, is more explicit and of a more general scope: “If you knew, O all men, what slavery it is to be instruments of God!” Holy slavery, but total! Slavery as a galley slave at the oar. Sleep, hunger, suffering, toil, the desire to think of something else, to read things that are not the words of otherworldly sources, to speak and hear of common things, the desire to be, at least for a day, common creatures and live a common life, are all things that the relentless whip of God’s will prevents them from having and making real. And on all this, the malice of men adds its salt and acid, as if the master of the galley were pouring salt and vinegar on the wounds of the oarsmen.”

Maria Valtorta had to fight against the temptations of Satan as well, but she always maintained a personal ethic in her work.

• The Gospel as revealed to me
• Notebooks of 1943
• Notebooks of 1944
• Notebooks from 1945 to 1950
• Lessons on the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans
• Book of Azaria
• Autobiography
• Little Notebooks

The history of publications can be divided into four periods:

From 1944 to 1959: The first publication of the work, its favourable reception despite the opposition from the Holy Office

1944: Maria Valtorta’s work was not yet completed when Father Romualdo Migliorini, her confessor, began to type it up and distribute excerpts, against Maria Valtorta’s wishes, insisting on the “divine origin” of the revelation.

1946: The superiors transfer P. Migliorini from Viareggio to Rome. They ask him, it seems, to cease his broadcasts for proselytising purposes. In Rome, he meets one of his confreres from the Order of Servants of Mary, Fr. Corrado Berti, a professor of dogmatics and sacramental theology at the “Marianum,” a pontifical faculty of theology. He shares his conviction with him, and they take action to promote the work. At the same time, Father Migliorini’s relationship with Maria Valtorta becomes tense. They cease to correspond. Then, Mons. Alfonso Carinci, (9/11/1862 – 6/11/63) writes: “There is nothing here that is contrary to the Gospels.” On the contrary, this work, which is an excellent complement to the Gospel, contributes to a better understanding of its meaning.” This prelate, secretary of the congregation for Sacred Rites (currently for the cause of saints) from 12/15/1945 to 01/05/1960, will be one of the comforts for Maria Valtorta, tested by the events that followed.

1947: On the advice of this Prelate and Father Agostino Bea, confessor of Pius XII and future Cardinal, Fathers Migliorini and Berti send the twelve typewritten volumes of the work to the Pope. The Pope personally reviews it.

1948: Pope Pius XII receives the religious, in the company of their superior, Father Andrew Cecchin, on February 26, 1948. During this special audience, reported by the Osservatore Romano No. 48 the following day, the Pope communicated his favourable judgement. He then advises publishing the work without omitting anything, not even the explicit statements that speak of “visions” and “dictations”; but at the same time does not approve the text of the preface that spoke of a supernatural phenomenon. According to the Pope’s advice, any interpretation should be left to the reader: “Publish the work as it is.” There is no reason to give an opinion on its origin, whether it is extraordinary or not. “Those who read will understand.” About forty years later, Fr. Cecchin will confirm these terms of Pius XII, reported by witnesses, to a religious from the Chicago area, Fr. Peter Mary Rookey. He will add that the Pope had asked the religious to look for a Bishop for the imprimatur. All the depositions of the eyewitnesses are preserved by the Servites of Mary, in the church of the Annunziata in Florence where Maria Valtorta is buried.

1949: Reassured by such a response from high above, the two religious men set out to find a publisher. After some unsuccessful searches, their enthusiasm led them to the Vatican polyglot press. They found a good disposition to accept the work, which, however, had to be preliminarily submitted to the imprimatur of the Holy Office, for which two commissioners, Mons. Giovanni Pepe and Fr. Girolamo Berruti, a Dominican, were responsible. The work ended up being rigorously and inexplicably blocked in 1949. Without the right to speak, Fr. Berti had to sign a decree from the Holy Office that prohibited the publication with the injunction to deliver the originals of the work, but he only delivered copies.

1950: With fear, but trusting in the words of Pius XII, Maria Valtorta concludes a contract with the publishing company of Michele Pisani from Isola del Liri. One of her sons, Emilio, the current legatee of Maria Valtorta’s writings, will personally commit himself, from that date onwards, to the edition and promotion of the work. The local bishop, Mons. Fontevecchia, a regular at the Pisani editions, did not have the courage to read the typescript in anticipation of the imprimatur (4,000 pages). However, he appreciated it and, having become blind, had it read to him.

1953: Father Romualdo Migliorini dies.

1956: The first of the four volumes of “The Poem of the Man-God” is published anonymously, according to the will of Maria Valtorta.

1958: On October 9, Pope Pius XII dies, and on October 28, John XXIII is elected.

The banning of the work and the attempts at counteroffensive

1959: The last of the four volumes of Maria Valtorta’s work is published. On December 16, the decree for the Indexing of Maria Valtorta’s work is signed.

1960: On January 5, Mons. Alfonso Carinci, almost a centenarian, concludes his duties. The next day, the Osservatore Romano publishes the decree of the Index and comments on it in an anonymous article titled “A Life of Jesus Maliciously Romanced.”

1961: On October 12, Maria Valtorta dies. On December 1st, L’Osservatore Romano publishes an article that extends the ban of the first edition (which would have involved ten volumes) to the second edition. The same month, P. Berti is summoned by the Holy Office (which was responsible for placing it on the Index) where he finds a more favourable atmosphere for dialogue. He reports the opinions of Pius XII in 1948 and the favourable positions of three advisors of the same Holy Office: Mons. Ugo Lattanzi (Mons. Ugo Lattanzi, Elder of the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical Lateran University, advisor to the Holy See), and Fathers Bea and Roschini.

1962: In January, P. Berti returns to the Holy Office four times with a report and some documents that had been requested of him. He obtains from the Vice-Commissioner of the Holy Office, Fr. Marco Giraudo, a Dominican, a moderate but verbal authorisation: “You have our full approval to continue the publication of this second edition of the Poem of the Man-God by Maria Valtorta.” We will see how the work will be received.”

1963: On June 3, John XXIII dies, and on June 21, Paul VI is elected. Monsignor Macchi, secretary of the new pope, confirms in an interview with P. Berti that the work of Maria Valtorta is not on the Index.

Suppression of the Index and search for an official position on private revelations.

1966: On June 14, the Index is abolished: following the apostolic letter “Integræ Servandæ” which defines the role of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (formerly the Holy Office), Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani clarifies the fate reserved for prohibited books. After consulting the Pope, he promulgates the notification on the abolition of the Index of Forbidden Books “Notificatio de Indicis librorum prohibitorum conditione” published in the Osservatore Romano on Tuesday, June 15, 1966: The Index is morally binding, but it no longer has the force of law, with the ecclesiastical censorship that was connected to it. The Church affirms its trust in the conscience of the faithful and entrusts the various Episcopal Conferences (national) with the task of examining and preventing any harmful readings.

1974: January 17, the Papal Secretariat, the highest authority of the Curia, transmits in writing the congratulations of Paul VI to Fr. Gabriele Roschini, professor at the Pontifical Lateran University and papal consultant, for his work openly favourable to the work of Maria Valtorta. Father Roschini is the founder of the “Marianum,” a pontifical faculty of theology.

1975: March 19, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published the new regulation “concerning the vigilance of the Pastors of the Church over books” (Decretum de Ecclesiae pastorum vigilantia circa libros) 19: The imprimatur, entrusted to national or regional conferences (art.1), now focuses on a limited scope: Translation of the Holy Scriptures (art.2), liturgical books (art.3), catechisms and teaching books (art.4), the duty of reserve of priests and the faithful (art.5), the constitution of the competent bodies to give a reasoned opinion (art.6). The work of Maria Valtorta falls outside this perimeter, but does not exclude pastoral prudence given its subject matter, which Cardinal Ratzinger, then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will further defend.

1978: On December 8, 1978, Fr. Corrado Berti signed on the letterhead of the “International College – St. Alessio Falconieri – of the Servants of Mary” an affidavit certifying the chronology of events, including the verbal removal of the Index in 1961 and its confirmation in 1963.

1984: Opening of the beatification process for Father Gabriele Allegra, OFM (Franciscan) missionary and exegete. The “Valtortian Bulletin” begins to publish his notes, works, and correspondence that he maintained, since 1965, with Fr. Margiotti, a confrere, about Maria Valtorta, of whom he was passionate. Fr. G. Allegra will be declared Blessed by Pope John Paul II on August 7, 1995, and promulgated in 2002.

1985: On January 31, in a letter addressed to Cardinal Giuseppe Siri, Archbishop of Genoa, Cardinal Ratzinger instructs him to respond to the request of a priest from his diocese, dated May 18, 1984, who is eager to know the Church’s position on the writings of Maria Valtorta. He sends him all the official documents of the dossier, leaving him the judgement regarding the conduct to be followed. For his part, he does not consider the dissemination of these works appropriate, not because they contain errors, but because of the impact they could have on poorly prepared minds.

The search for a détente around the now official position of the Church

1992: Before the “resurgence of interest” in the work of Maria Valtorta, Cardinal Archbishop Ratzinger asks Monsignor Dionigi Tettamanzi, General Secretary of the Italian Episcopal Conference, to officially contact the publisher so that “every future re-edition” clearly states “that the visions and dictations mentioned therein are mere literary forms used by the author to narrate in her own way the life of Jesus.” They cannot be considered as of supernatural origin.” Note the precision of the terms in the official letter: “they cannot be” and not “they are not of supernatural origin.” This separates prudence from condemnation. On October 11, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Apostolic Constitution “Fidei Depositum”) drafted by a commission under the presidency of Cardinal Ratzinger, is promulgated by John Paul II. It legislates in articles 66 and 67 on private revelations: even recognised by the Church, they cannot be considered as a complement or an improvement of the one Revelation, but as a help: “Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the sense of the faithful knows how to distinguish and accept what in these revelations constitutes an authentic call from Christ.”

1993: May 11, Mons. Boland, Bishop of Birmingham (Alabama), informs Mr. Terry Colafrancesco of the response given by Cardinal Ratzinger to his question of July 21, 1992, regarding the Church’s position on the work of Maria Valtorta. The bishop, referring to the letter from Cardinal Ratzinger, confirms the mandate given to the Italian Episcopal Conference the previous year.

1994: The publisher now publishes the Poem of the Man-God under the original title of The Gospel as Revealed to Me and with the sole mention of its author, Maria Valtorta, without reference to a supernatural origin. He has explained at length in the two “Bollettini Valtortiani” of 1994, the reasons for this return to the original title and the normalisation of relations with the ecclesiastical authority. This does not exclude the possibility that some controversy may continue.

2025: The press release from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on February 22, 2025, “Regarding the Writings of Maria Valtorta,” reiterates the elements of the letter from the Italian Episcopal Conference dated May 6, 1992 (prot. N. 324/92), signed by Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi: “The ‘visions’ and ‘dictations’ [of Maria Valtorta] cannot be considered of supernatural origin, but must be regarded simply as literary forms used by the Author to narrate, in her own way, the life of Jesus.”

The only new thing we can observe is in the last paragraph of the statement where it says:

“In its long tradition, the Church does not accept the apocryphal Gospels and other similar texts as normative, as it does not recognise their divine inspiration, referring instead to the safe reading of the inspired Gospels.”

The fate of Maria Valtorta’s work not being recognised as divinely inspired is equated with that of all other similar texts, including the apocryphal Gospels. The only ones of which the Church recognises divine inspiration are the Canonical Gospels.

If one day Maria Valtorta, after the examination of her works, were beatified or canonised, it would not change the Church’s stance on private revelations.

In fact, the new norms of the Catholic Church of May 17, 2024 (“To proceed in the discernment of presumed supernatural phenomena”) reiterate “that neither the diocesan bishop, nor the episcopal conferences, nor the dicastery, as a rule, will declare that these phenomena are of supernatural origin, not even in the case where a Nihil obstat is granted.” Without prejudice to the fact that the Holy Father may authorise the initiation of a procedure in this regard. (General Guidelines, § 23).

The only official act of the Ecclesiastical Authority concerning the major work written by Maria Valtorta is the placing on the Index that took place by decree on December 16, 1959, which was lifted by the declaration of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on June 14, 1966, stating that the Index of Forbidden Books “no longer has the force of ecclesiastical law with the attached censures.”

Private revelations have a well-defined role in paragraphs 66 and 67 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “[…] even though Revelation is complete, it is not yet fully explicit;” it will be up to the Christian faith to gradually grasp its full significance over the centuries» (§ 66).

“Over the centuries, there have been revelations called ‘private,’ some of which have been recognised by the authority of the Church.” […] Their role is not to “improve” or “complete” the definitive Revelation of Christ, but to help live it more fully in a given historical period […]» (§ 67).

We observe, based on the testimonies that the conversions they provoke.

Visions and revelations began in Christianity shortly after the Ascension, at the end of Jesus’ earthly life.

This is the case of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-16). But Paul also testifies to an ecstasy during which he receives revelations (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). Which refers to the visions and apparitions common in the Old Testament.

In the same way, Marian apparitions manifest very early: Tradition tells that James the Greater (the brother of the apostle John), having left to evangelise Spain, would have had an apparition of the Virgin Mary in Saragossa (Cesaraugusta), which gave rise to the sanctuary of Our Lady of the Pillar. Since then, the “Dictionary of the Apparitions of the Virgin Mary” by René Laurentin and Patrick Sbalchiero lists 2400,55 of them to announce future events (Fatima, La Salette), to explain theological truths (Lourdes), and more generally to exhort to holiness.

The visions of Maria Valtorta are therefore not unusual.

The visions of scenes from the Gospel, the most specific case concerning Maria Valtorta, are not an isolated incident. Great saints have benefited from them, such as Saint Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), Saint Angela of Bohemia (+1243), Saint Gertrude of Helfta (1256-1302), Saint Bridget of Sweden (1302-1373), Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), Saint Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi (1568-1607), and others.

More recently, St. Faustina Kowalska and Teresa Neumann. All provide limited visions on various aspects of Jesus’ life, generally the Passion. Three visionaries have received visions of the complete life of Mary and/or Jesus: Blessed Maria de Agreda (1602-1665), Blessed Anna Catherine Emmerich (Anna Katharina Emmerich; 1774-1824), and Maria Valtorta.

All these visionaries have in common having undergone great controversy over their work and having lived a life of accepted suffering. Despite her beatification, Maria de Agreda was condemned by the Roman Inquisition but supported by the Spanish Inquisition. Anna Katharina Emmerich had to wait almost two centuries for her beatification. Her stigmata and her visions were one of the most “controversial” issues, notes Father Winfried Hümpfner, who studied the case closely.

Maria Valtorta does not escape this fate of controversy, despite the eminent support she received. Over time, however, she too will receive her destiny of recognised holiness. “I have finished suffering,” she said before dying, but I will continue to love.

The interest in the work of Maria Valtorta rests mainly on three points:

Complete vision of the Gospels: the visions of Maria de Agreda concern the life of Mary, which is little known from the Gospels; those of Maria Valtorta, as well as those of Anna Caterina Emmerich, additionally recount the life of Jesus, in other words, the Gospel. The work of Maria Valtorta, the most complete, is so precise in this account that an exact concordance could be established between the four Gospels and the work itself.

Direct narration: The visions of Maria de Agreda suffer from a delayed narration (over 30 years later) and those of Anna Caterina Emmerich from an indirect narration (Clemens Brentano and his heirs). The visions of Maria Valtorta are transcribed immediately and directly after the visions, thus reducing the risk of distortion.

Narration of the facts: More than Anna Caterina Emmerich, Maria Valtorta presents the historical vision of the Gospel scenes without interfering in their narration. The teachings (of Jesus) are distinct and recorded in the series of the three “Notebooks.” This dimension of the work opens new avenues for historical research (characters, places, events). The comparative study of the works of these three visionaries highlights minor differences, probably due to their method of retransmission. One cannot truly conclude the influence of one on the other or the influence of the apocryphal texts on them. On the other hand, there are interesting convergences between these visionaries: Mary entrusted to the Temple at the age of three, the modalities of the choice of Joseph as husband, some little-known details on the way of crucifixion, … All remain faithful to the Gospel and none pretends to promulgate a fifth gospel. However, adherence to such works, even when subjected to the most objective scrutiny, will always remain a personal act, as the Church indeed reminds us.

Saint Pope Pius XII (1876-1958) – Papacy from March 2, 1939, to October 9, 1958

On February 26, 1948, Pope Pius XII, who had received Maria Valtorta’s manuscript from the hands of her confessor Father Agostino Bea (future Cardinal), granted a special audience to Father Migliorini, Maria Valtorta’s confessor, and his confrere Berti (professor of dogmatic theology) and their superior, Father Andrea M. Cecchin, OSM (Servants of Mary). His judgement was favourable. Moreover, he advised publishing the work without omitting anything, not even the explicit statements about reporting “visions” and “dictations”; but, at the same time, he does not approve of the text of a preface that spoke of a supernatural phenomenon. According to the Pope’s advice, every interpretation should be left to the reader: “Publish the work as it is. There is no need to express an opinion as to its origin, whether extraordinary or not. Those who read it will understand.”

Sources: the terms have been confirmed, even under oath, by eyewitnesses. These testimonies of the papal imprimatur are preserved by the Servants of Mary in the Basilica of Santa Annunziata in Florence, where Maria Valtorta is buried.

SS. Pope Paul VI (1897-1978) – Papacy from 06/21/1963 to 08/06/1978

On January 17, 1974, the Papal Secretariat (the highest authority in the Vatican) conveyed the Holy Father’s congratulations to Fr. Roschini (see below) for his work openly in favour of Maria Valtorta: “You wanted to send a copy of your latest work to the Sovereign Pontiff: “The Virgin Mary in the writings of Maria Valtorta.” Appreciating your piety and zeal and the precious result, the Holy Father thanks you heartily for your new testimony of pious homage and expresses the hope that your efforts will yield abundant spiritual fruits. Earlier, Msgr. Pasquale Macchi, the Pope’s private secretary, had confirmed, in 1963, during a long meeting with Fr. Berti, that the work of Maria Valtorta was not actually on the Index (which had not yet been abolished), and had mentioned that the Pope, then Archbishop of Milan, had read one of the four volumes of Maria Valtorta’s work and had donated the complete work to the major seminary. Meeting confirmed under oath by Father Berti and words reported by him.

Sources: Sworn statement of P. Berti – Facsimile of the letter from the Secretariat of State.

SS. Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) – Papacy from 10/13/1978 to 04/02/2005

Pope John Paul II did not express himself on the case of Maria Valtorta. Only Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Faith, stated in a letter to the Archbishop of Genoa (Letter of January 31, 1985) that he was personally not in favour of the dissemination of the work due to its possible impact on “more naive” people. However, he left Cardinal Siri free to respond, in the way he deemed appropriate, to the request of a priest of his diocese. Later, this same Cardinal had the Italian Episcopal Conference ask the publisher “as a service rendered to the faith of the Church” to specify in future editions that the work of Maria Valtorta should be considered as a personal literary work (Letter of 6 May 1992). Pope John Paul II, however, beatified Brother Gabriele Allegra, a recognised biblical scholar, openly favourable to Maria Valtorta, of whom he was an enthusiastic reader and on whom he had written an exegesis. He recognises that this work “comes from the spirit of Jesus” (See the entirety of the “Critique” of Fr. Gabriele Allegra).

This same Pope canonised Padre Pio and beatified Mother Teresa, both readers of Maria Valtorta who recommended her reading (see below).

Monsignor Alfonso Carinci (1862-1963) Secretary of the Congregation for Sacred Rites (currently for the Cause of Saints)

He writes, in 1946: “Judging by the good one feels while reading the life of Jesus by Maria Valtorta, in my humble opinion, this work, once published, could bring many souls to the Lord:” sinners to conversion and the good to a more fervent and active life. While immoral press invades the world and films corrupt people, I spontaneously feel the desire to thank the Lord for having given us, through the intercession of this woman who has suffered so much and is bedridden, a work that is sublime from a literary point of view, doctrinally and spiritually so elevated, accessible and profound, attractive to read and capable of being reproduced in cinematic and sacred theatre representations. I have communicated my opinion, which is also that of theologians and exegetes of great value such as Reverend Father Bea (who was not yet a Cardinal at that time), as well as Monsignor Lattanzi, professor of fundamental theology at the Lateran, but, notwithstanding, I am naturally ready to correct myself should the Holy Father judge differently.”

Testimony taken from “Pro e Contro Maria Valtorta” (page 41) – CEV. See also, from the same publisher, “Letters to Mons. Carinci” (Letters from Maria Valtorta to Mons. Carinci).

Mons. Edward Gagnon (p.s.s.) (1918-2007) President of the Pontifical Council for the Family until 1990

Cardinal Edouard Gagnon deemed the type of imprimatur granted by the Holy Father in 1948, in the presence of witnesses, to be entirely in accordance with the requirements of canon law. “The Cardinal was known as a specialist in censorship, a theme for which he had written a reference work in 1945: “The Censorship of Books,” ed. Fides, Montreal, 1945 – 222 pages.

Cardinal Agostino Bea (S.J.) (1881-1968) Director of the Pontifical Biblical Institute and confessor to Pius XII

The future Cardinal Bea writes in 1952: “I have read several volumes of the work written by Maria Valtorta, focusing in particular on the exegetical, historical, archaeological, and topographical fields.” Regarding her exegesis, I did not find any significant errors in the volumes I examined. Moreover, I was very impressed by the fact that his archaeological and topographical descriptions are made with remarkable accuracy. Regarding some elements expressed less precisely, the author, questioned by me through an intermediary, provided satisfactory explanations. Here and there, some scenes seemed to me to be described too diffusely, even in a very colourful way. But in general, the reading of the work is not only interesting and pleasant, but truly edifying. And, for those less informed about the mysteries of Jesus’ life, instructive.” Testimony extracted from “Pro and Contra Maria Valtorta”

Mother Teresa (1910-1997) – Beatified by John Paul II

According to Father Leo Maasburg, national director of missions in Vienna, Austria, and occasional confessor of Mother Teresa for 4 years, she always carried three books with her: The Bible, her Breviary, and a third book. Requested by P. Leo, she tells him that it is a book by Maria Valtorta. To his question about the content, she simply told and repeated to him: “Read it.” Recently questioned by “Chrétiens Magazine” about Mother Teresa’s opinion on the work of Maria Valtorta, Fr. Leo Maasburg simply confirms: “As for Mother Teresa’s attitude towards Valtorta, I clearly remember her positive reaction without recalling other details.”

Sources: http://mariavaltortawebring.com e “Chrétiens Magazine” n° 218 del 15/03/2009, pagina 5

Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (o.f.m.) (1887 – 1968) – Canonised by John Paul II

To Elisa Lucchi, a penitent who asks him, a year before his death, for advice on reading “The Poem of the Man-God,” Padre Pio replies: “Not only do I allow you to read it, but I recommend it to you.” The paths of Maria Valtorta and Padre Pio were so close that a book was dedicated to this proximity. Father Pio had also been condemned by the Holy Office (in 1933) and reprimanded by Cardinal Ottaviani, Prefect of this Congregation, in 1961.

Sources: “Chrétiens Magazine,” special issue of March 2009, and “Padre Pio and Maria Valtorta” – Emilio Pisani – 2000 – Edizioni CEV.

Fr. Gabriele M. Roschini (1900-1977) – Founder of the Pontifical University of Theology “Marianum” and consultant to the Holy See

This philosopher, theologian, hagiographer, and mariologist, author of 130 works, writes in the preface of his book “The Virgin Mary in the Work of Maria Valtorta”: “Whoever wants to know the Holy Virgin in perfect harmony with the Second Vatican Council, the Holy Scriptures, and the Tradition of the Church, must draw from Valtortian Mariology (…) since The Virgin Mary in the Work of Maria Valtorta is the most important of my books.” Maria Valtorta (1897-1961) from Viareggio (Italy) is one of the 18 greatest mystics of all time. (…) the mariology that can be gleaned from the published and unpublished writings of Maria Valtorta has been a true discovery for me. No other Marian writing, even the sum of all those I have read and studied, had been able to give me such a clear, vivid, complete, luminous, and also fascinating idea of Mary, God’s masterpiece, while at the same time being simple and sublime, as the writings of Maria Valtorta.

“The Virgin Mary in the Work of Maria Valtorta” – 1973 – Edizioni Centro Editoriale Valtortiano – This book was the subject of a letter of congratulations from the Secretariat of State – the highest authority of the Vatican – which explicitly mentions the support of Pope Paul VI.

Fr. René Laurentin (born in 1917) – Theologian, exegete, historian, former consultant of Vatican II

Abbot René Laurentin is the author of 160 works on mariology as well as on Marian apparitions around the world, a field in which he specialised. He writes about a study soon to be published on the “Revealed Lives of Mary” (and of Jesus): “Maria Valtorta emerges and is recommended in many ways […] Her long life of suffering, lived in total abandonment to God, testifies to her holiness. She does not deviate in any way from the Gospel, does not contradict it in any part, does not add foreign teachings to it, and remains in accordance with the spirit of the Gospel. Moreover, it adds to the episodes narrated in the Gospel other unknown episodes, even though they can easily be inscribed in the margins of the Gospel without contradiction or disruption. This is commendable in her favour […] She garnered the broadest support, at the top of which was that of Pope Pius XII, who discreetly protected her from the Holy Office […] It remains that the account of Maria Valtorta is not a fifth Gospel.”

Excerpt from “Chrétiens Magazine” No. 218 dated 15/03/2009, page 7

Fr. Gabriele Allegra (o.f.m) (1907-1976) Translator of the Bible into Chinese, beatified by John Paul II

This biblical scholar had been passionate about Maria Valtorta since 1965, on whom he wrote the first exegesis of the work in Macao from 1968 to 1970, published in 1985 at the opening of her beatification process. He declares in particular: “Producing good fruits in an ever-growing number of readers, I think that ‘The Gospel as it was Revealed to Me’ by Maria Valtorta comes from the spirit of Jesus.”

See the complete exegesis at the end of this document.