Private revelations—the kind that God still gives today—are endlessly fascinating. But where can we get reliable information about them and how they work? Here we’ll take a look at private revelations, drawing on reliable Catholic sources.
1. Why are they called “private” revelations?
The term private is widely acknowledged to be misleading, and some sources use other terms. The Council of Trent, for example, used the term “special revelation.”
Whatever term one prefers, the idea is to distinguish these revelations from the body of revelation found in Sacred Scripture and Tradition. That revelation is binding on the entire Church throughout all its history. It is thus sometimes called public revelation because it is directed to everyone in the Church. ….