The earliest approved is to St. Catherine of Siena in 1347.
www.apparitions.org
The earliest known is to St. James the Great in AD 39, then to Pope Liberius (352), then to Richeldis de Faverche (1061), then to St. Dominic, instituting the Rosary prayer in 1214, then to Saint Simon Stock, instituting the Brown Scapular, in 1251.
Of especial importance to the Americans is the apparition to Juan Diego, 1531, in Villa Guadalupe.
Wikipedia
Our Lady of Guadalupe Thanks for the dates. I hesitate to rely on wikepidia too much. When the Vatican approves of the sighting is this an official declaration that they believe the apparition was Mary? Also, is there always a message from Mary of special significance when it is a recognized sighting?
I'm not looking to set you up for some gotcha moment. I figure your a pretty good apologist for the RCC and might know.
My perspective is that the Scriptures only give us one example where humans were sent back to Earth and in that instance it was to meet with Jesus. Thus I am very skeptical about where these apparitions are coming from.