Bishop's Pronouncement on Our Lady of America
On May 7, 2020, the Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades, Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend, along with 5 other bishops approved the Our Lady of America Devotion as a private devotion. All 6 bishops are from the dioceses where the alleged private revelations of Sister Mildred Neuzil were said to have occurred. The bishops stated, “Given this history of prayers and religious articles being given approval by competent ecclesiastical authority, the use of such prayers [and] religious articles may continue as a matter of private devotion, but not as a public devotion of the Church. Indeed, such private devotion would be consistent with the history of the United States of America being dedicated to Our Lady.”
​
Even though the bishops did not approve public devotion for Our Lady of America, the private devotion approval is a very positive pronouncement. Many apparitions never receive private devotion approval from the Catholic church. Historically, authentic devotions go through a testing period before they are approved for public devotion, as it must be proved that a supernatural act occurred.
​