Statement on Luz de Maria

Some readers have been inquiring as to why we have not published any messages of Luz de Maria de Bonilla in the past few months.

Before answering that question, we want to reiterate that Countdown to the Kingdom is not the arbiter of alleged seers. As the Disclaimer on our homepage has stated from day one:

We are not the final arbiters of what constitutes an authentic revelation — the Church is — and we will always submit to whatever she definitively decides. It is with the Church, then, that we “test” prophecy: “Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium [sense of the faithful] knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 67)

…We remain open to considering further developments relevant to discerning the revelations we have included, and thus are not claiming absolute certitude in each revelation on this site, even though we have decided that each is worthy of inclusion here and important to disseminate. The scope of this site’s content is intrinsically limited and nothing should be inferred from the mere absence of a given seer from its pages… Therefore, this website is not an endorsement of everything a seer has said or written. 

This website, then, has been a sort of “first line” of discernment in that we have not included any seers who are officially condemned or who promote messages contrary to Catholic doctrine (of course). But as our Disclaimer says, we have remained “open to considering further developments” of the seers we do publish. That includes listening to reader responses and discernment as well from clergy and laity alike. It means taking a neutral stance of charitable scrutiny as opposed to uncritically assuming the authenticity of someone who claims to receive private revelation:

In every age the Church has received the charism of prophecy, which must be scrutinized but not scorned. —Cardinal Ratzinger (POPE BENEDICT XVI), “Message of Fatima”, Theological Commentary  www.vatican.va

There have been several messages from Luz de Maria that have given us pause, particularly since late last year. This, in turn, prompted us to do additional research which brought to light some issues that we were not previously aware of. We briefly touched on some concerns in a recent video: 2025 – Year of Grace and Trial. We will summarize those points and others below. Again, “the mere absence of a given seer” from our pages is not a declaration of their authenticity, which is not our purview but that of the appropriate ecclesiastical authority. Rather, it speaks of the approach we wish to take as an apostolate, and that is to spiritually prepare readers for the “Great Storm” through which humanity is passing. It is not intended to be a point of sensationalizing the times or trying to predict future events and their timing:

On this point, it should be kept in mind that prophecy in the biblical sense does not mean to predict the future but to explain the will of God for the present, and therefore show the right path to take for the future. —Cardinal Ratzinger (POPE BENEDICT XVI), “Message of Fatima”, Theological Commentary

We are not aware at this time of any formal decision or investigation of Luz’s claims of alleged mystical revelations and phenomena by either her bishop in Argentina, where she lives most of the time, or in Costa Rica, which is her native country. ^[1]cf. https://revelacionesmarianas.com/ingles/luz_de_maria.html She did receive an Imprimatur for an earlier collection of her writings from a bishop in Nicaragua. However, according to the Church’s Norms under which the Imprimatur is granted, “the duty of vigilance and intervention falls to the [local] Ordinary of the place” where the alleged apparitions, etc. are taking place. ^[2]https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19780225_norme-apparizioni_en.html  Regardless, since the concerns below do not involve questions of Luz’s volumes containing material contrary to Faith and Morals, the presence or absence of an Imprimatur is immaterial at this point.

Finally, we are addressing these concerns in this statement since we are often privately asked through correspondence to explain them, which is time consuming. And as you’ll read later on below, there has been an attempt to silence and threaten Countdown on these issues of discernment. As such, we are compelled to give a thorough explanation below. 

 

A Scrutiny of Further Developments 

I. Do Not Travel?

On November 5, 2024, Luz published a message allegedly from the “Holy Virgin Mary” that we included on our website stating:

I call you not to travel, at this time. Obey, little children, obey, unless you are returning to your homes. My little children: OBEY, THIS MOTHER. OBEY. DO NOT DESPISE MY CALLS. I DO NOT CAUSE YOU TO FEAR, BUT I WARN YOU SO THAT YOU MIGHT CHANGE SPIRITUALLY AND TAKE THE NECESSARY MEASURES IN THE FACE OF ALL THAT IS TO COME. (cf. pg. 202 here)

The admonition to “be obedient” to this instruction followed two additional times.

In a video interview five months ago, Luz confirmed that the instruction was not referring to a future time per se but to the present (ie. November 2024 onward). As the original message in Spanish says: en este momento — “at this moment”.

Since that message was given, over seven months ago, there are three things of particular significance:

1. Aside from the usual conflicts taking place in various parts of the world, there has been no danger for most inhabitants of the planet to travel to visit families, go on vacations, or even visit many other countries. 
2. We have been contacted by people who are afraid to travel, or who have already called off plans because of these alleged warnings.
3. This is the Jubilee Year when the Church, presumably under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, encourages us to make pilgrimages to cathedrals and shrines, including to the Holy Doors of the four major basilicas in Rome itself. It is a year when the faithful from all over the world already gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the election of a new pope. It’s the year when many are planning to attend major canonizations, such as that of Blesseds Carlos Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati (September 2025). We have personally travelled ourselves to visit relatives, participate in baptisms, or attend events overseas. Many who made a pilgrimage to Rome recently have stated what a great blessing it was for them.

Then again on June 18, 2025, in a message allegedly from Our Lady to Luz, it says: 

Disease is in your midst. Protect yourselves, do not gather in crowds.

Over a year earlier, on March 27th, 2024, Luz claims the Virgin Mary told her:

My children, avoid large crowds and places where there are large crowds, because terror is taking hold of the nations, my children, and I do not want you to suffer.

It is worth noting that this message was given just a few months before the Tenth National Eucharistic Congress in America, called by America’s Bishops, which took place in July 2024. A great success and a powerful occasion of evangelization, this beautiful event, which our shepherds encouraged everyone to participate in, consisted in massive crowds adoring Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, bringing together over 50,000 of the faithful in Catholic worship. Some, in fact, attribute this single event to a revival of Catholicism occurring among the youth right now in the United States. 

We can only wonder how many Catholics struck this off their calendars due to Luz’s messages—and how many other pilgrimages, family gatherings, holy events, retreats, edifying conferences, sacraments, and even Masses have been neglected over the last 15 months due to the admonitions found therein. Of course, here at Countdown we do believe that the long-prophesied Chastisements/Breaking of the Seals are imminent. But it’s also clear that Heaven has a Timeline that is known only to Heaven; time continues to march on, the years pass by… We cannot spend those years hiding from the public. Put another way:

You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden! (Matthew 5:14, exclamation mark added)

Global circumstances themselves usually suffice in making it clear if and when we ought to stop traveling.

Authentic revelations from Heaven do not call us to live in fear of the great impending events; they do the opposite. They encourage us to zealously and courageously use this precious time while the world is still largely functioning normally, to evangelize, perform works of mercy, and otherwise build up treasures in Heaven, using every means available to us. Authentic revelation always echoes Public Revelation and Scripture which call the Church to remain obedient to her Great Commission to “make disciples of the nations” (Matt 28:19).

This is not to say that there aren’t threats of terrorism, war, etc. But even in our daily commute to work, school, shopping, Mass, and so forth, there is always a risk for accidents, etc. So we have to live in the present moment, trusting in God’s providence, since our lives are always in His hands. We should be inspired by the Nigerians who, despite the fact Islamic terrorists are burning down their churches and killing parishioners, are still congregating each Sunday to worship the Lord!

And one could be forgiven for doubting the inspiration of that admonition above when considering another message from Luz from December 7, 2016:

Degeneration will be unthinkable in the coming year. A large part of the prophecies that, by Divine Will, I have given to humanity, will be fulfilled.

However, 2017 did not fulfill “a large part of the prophecies” that have been given by Luz, which constitute perhaps thousands of specific warnings of various kinds. This is why every prophecy has to be discerned on its own rational and theological merits. Moreover, the sheer quantity of specific chastisement-related predictions in Luz’s messages over the years is overwhelming. Indeed, this observation alone is a reason for pause: Luz’s messages contain exponentially more such predictions than any other seer we know of and regard as authentic. Again, thousands of such predictions have accumulated by now. Statistically speaking, it is not entirely surprising if such an immense quantity of predictions results in some being more or less accurate, especially when these predictions are worded vaguely enough that a wide variety of future events could be depicted as “prophetic fulfillment.” Again, this is not to say her predictions are false, but to put the body of claims in perspective. 

For example, in a recent podcast, ^[3]53:10 Luz said that the current hostilities between Iran and Israel are proof that her messages are truly from Heaven, since in 2009, she claims to have received a message of war between these two countries. It therefore would have been “impossible,”  she says, for her to humanly assert such a thing in 2009, and that “this could only have come from Our Lord Jesus Christ—from Heaven.” While we respect her conviction, objectively speaking, Iran and Israel’s troubled relations began in 1979, and they have had openly hostile relations since the 1990s. The prediction of a coming open war between the two countries has been commonplace even among secular commentators (cf. political scientist, Dr. Jerome Corsi, published a book (also in 2009), subtitled “The Coming War Between Israel and Iran.”) This does not mean that Luz’s message wasn’t inspired; but it certainly wasn’t unexpected. 

Recently, Luz lamented in a webcast those “people who try to find a weakness in my messages…” ^[4]YouTube, 1:01:30 However, it is not nitpicking but a biblical imperative to test or “scrutinize” prophecy, ^[5]1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 as Cardinal Ratzinger advised, most especially when the instrument makes the claim that said messages come directly from Jesus, Mary, or a Saint, etc. Here again, one must simply try to be objective regarding such claims.

Thus, our concern above is for our readers and avoiding a “bunker” mentality: an unwarranted fear to simply live. One of the reasons we are addressing these serious issues is precisely because of reader feedback and the “fruit” of what we have been posting on Countdown. ^[6]One discerning reader, whom you may or may not agree with, and who operates an edifying and mystically-oriented Catholic blog that is quite popular and is very open to private revelation, wrote to us saying:“I have noticed people around me acting so weird after reading [Luz’s messages]…  not wanting to ever leave their houses or getting tons of brandy dipped grapes for freezing…and speaking like the grapes will save us instead of God.  It has a very worldly tone of wanting to physically save themselves and having the secret knowledge of how to do this that others don’t have. …When I read [Luz’s messages] I feel like [they are] stating what can be discerned from reading headlines… [Luz] seems like a genuine holy person.  I just think even genuine holy people get things wrong sometimes.  It doesn’t make them bad or evil, just human.”

In the Gospel, Jesus expressly instructs us to discern prophets by one simple criterion: their fruits (Matthew 7:16). The Vatican’s own 1978 norms for discerning private revelation instructs that fruits must be given “special regard” in assessing an alleged seer. And we cannot deny that in many cases we have seen fear, anxiety, and even paranoia resulting from Luz’s messages. Of course, Luz’s messages do not advocate for that; they instruct their readers to remain at peace: to not be afraid. This is good. Other people have been inspired and helped by the messages, and we rejoice in that. But, the fact remains that we have hosted many seers on Countdown who have also spoken of imminent chastisements — yet we simply haven’t received the degree of fearful feedback arising from any other seer’s messages as we have from those delivered by Luz. 

Our concerns also take into account what could only be considered “prophetic misses” — such as those below…

 

II. Hurricane Raphael and Other Problematic “Prophecies”

In a message on November 5, 2024, allegedly from the Virgin Mary, it said:

Like a monster opposed to the good, what men have named Hurricane Raphael—this specter of evil, came to destroy, not to heal. This hurricane came to cause destruction and disease over the whole Earth.

Several readers were perplexed how a hurricane could cause “destruction and disease over the whole Earth.” We wondered too. Not surprisingly, there is no evidence that Raphael wrought such mayhem, nor is it clear how such a scenario was even plausible. We did reach out to Luz shortly after the hurricane fizzled out. See her response in the footnote (suffice it to say, her response did not ease our concerns). ^[7]This was Luz’s response, for the record, with Christine Watkins’ translation:

Me dijo nuestro Señor que al usar el nombre Rafael para causar desastres en la tierra fue una blasfemia. Y que eso lo utilizó el hombre de  Ciencia mal empleada para que supiéramos que el huracán se dispersaría por la tierra en uno y otro lugar. La ciencia mal empleada o sea la élite hizo ese huracán Rafael y ahora es Rafael el que impulsa todo lo que pasó en Cuba, los desastres en centro América y  Sur América y en Europa. Ya avanza en España y está causado desastres en Italia.

“Our Lord told me that using the name Raphael to cause disaster on earth was blasphemy. It was named by men of misused Science so that we would know that the hurricane would be scattered over the earth in one place or another. The men of misused science, or the elite, made hurricane Rafael, and now it is Rafael that is driving everything that happened in Cuba, the disasters in Central and South America, and in Europe. It is already advancing in Spain and is causing disasters in Italy.

También yo escribo lo que me dicta el Cielo y realmente la oración de miles de personas mitigó mucho la fuerza con la que iba a entrar ese huracán.  Pero si ya hay enfermedades en Estados Unidos ya hay gripe aviar, y otras que estarán saliendo a la luz. Lo que sucede en España es porque aguas de Rafael se unieron en el océano con aguas que estaban en medio océano y se fueron hacia España, ahora están frente a Honduras y México. Estos sistemas se repiten como un patrón por toda la tierra causando estragos. En este momento nosotros tenemos gran parte del territorio lleno de agua, familias que han perdido todo, puentes caídos, zonas incomunicadas.

Hasta los servicios metereológicos de Estados Unidos no saben cómo no causó lo que el mismo gobierno pensó. Y que esperen porque ya hay en Europa también una enfermedad ya está saliendo y es la que causa que salga sangre por todo el cuerpo.

“I write what Heaven dictates to me and truly, the prayers of thousands of people mitigated a lot the force with which this hurricane was going to enter.  But if there are already diseases in the United States, there is already avian flu, and others will be coming to light. What is happening in Spain is because the waters of Hurricane Rafael joined in the ocean with waters that were in the middle of the ocean and went towards Spain, now they are in front of Honduras and Mexico. These systems repeat themselves as a pattern all over the earth causing havoc. At this moment we have a large part of the territory full of water, families who have lost everything, bridges down, areas cut off from communication.

“Even the meteorological services of the United States do not know how it did not cause what the government itself thought. And they should wait because there is already in Europe also a disease that is already coming out, and it is the one that causes blood to come out all over the body.”–Luz de Maria

 

On Covid
Another prophecy attributed to St. Michael the Archangel on August 18, 2019 reads:

DO NOT DISMISS MY WORDS, SO THAT YOU DO NOT SUFFER UNNECESSARILY. When you hear of a strongly contagious respiratory illness, do not expose yourselves in crowds, or in places where you have to share several hours with your brothers and sisters, for example in airplanes and collective means of transport. Wait patiently for the said disease to abate. People of God, be obedient and be patient, so that with due discernment and given My calls, you are cautious in undertaking trips that are not a priority.

These exhortations sound familiar. They are precisely what the secular elite said during the unprecedented Covid tyranny of the months that followed this message. “Wait patiently!”, we were told, as “Two weeks to flatten the curve” quickly became months and then years of astonishing violations of basic human dignity and religious rights. Yes, “Obey!”, the globalists shouted, as they prevented family members from seeing each other and even compelled bishops to lock the faithful out of Masses across the globe, a travesty without precedent in the entire history of the Church. We are, of course, not accusing Luz of endorsing the Covid tyranny. This message was given before it took place. But contrast the message given at Medjugorje in 2021 (Nihil Obstat) amid the Covid tyranny in 2021:

…who prays is not afraid of the future… [he] feels the freedom of the children of God, and in joy of heart, serves for the good for his brother-man. Because God is love and freedom, therefore, little children, when they want to put you in bonds and to use you, it is not from God.

 

Stay Out of the Sun?

One of Countdown’s readers contacted us with concerns over previous messages of Luz de Maria after the pandemic was declared in 2020. One crucial health benefit to our body’s immunity and health is sunlight, which our bodies need to produce vitamin D3. But the reader asks:

What should we do about the benefits of sunlight when Our Lady has told Luz de Maria, on several occasions, that we should protect ourselves from the Sun’s rays? I can’t fathom keeping my 8 children in the house all summer, but I also want to listen to Our Lady. Maybe you could address this in the future?  

The reader provided a link (that now appears to be only accessible through the Internet Archive here). A sample of some of the relevant messages are:

…the Sun emits its vibration with greater force and alters man’s psyche that is as if contagious for those human beings who are weak in spirit. (Sept 20, 2018)

The Sun’s rays will bring a new disease to man in his psyche and on his skin. I have called you not to expose yourself to the sun, it is sick. (March 15, 2018)

My People, the Sun is emitting dangerous emanations towards the Earth; do not expose yourselves to the Sun, unknown diseases produced by the Sun are appearing. (Sept 10, 2017)

Children, man is more likely to act and react clumsily during emanations proceeding from greater solar activity. (October 24, 2017)

The Sun is constantly illuminating the Earth, more so at this instant than at others, but this is not good for man who exposes himself to its rays for hours, yet warning this generation of what harms, it is like telling it: “do it in order to harm yourselves. (April 13, 2017)

Children, the human organism will be altered by the great emanations coming from the Sun. These will cause alterations in man’s psyche, in his nervous system, increasing the stress in which humanity lives, and altering at the same time the behavior of Nature. (April 6, 2016)

Yes, science agrees that the sun can significantly affect the mind — positively. It is precisely exposure to sunlight that plays a crucial role in regulating mood, sleep, and even cognitive functions through its impact on neurotransmitters like serotonin and melatonin. Moderate sunlight exposure can boost mood, reduce stress, and improve sleep quality, while insufficient sunlight can negatively impact mental health, potentially leading to conditions like Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). At the same time, overexposure to the Sun (a “sunburn”) is not healthy either.  

There is no evidence we are aware of since these messages were given over nine years ago, that the Sun is any more harmful to human life — except perhaps to our growing dependence on technological infrastructure, which is increasingly vulnerable to solar flares. 

Here again, our concern is for readers who may now not only fear to travel or be amongst crowds, but even hide from the Sun in response to these alleged private revelations. 

 

On Nuclear Energy

Luz’s purported Heavenly messages alternatively refer to nuclear energy (not merely nuclear weapons, but nuclear energy itself—including direct references to “nuclear energy plants”) as “the Herod of this generation,” as “the Cain of this generation,” and even as “satan,” and so very perverse that “there is no greater evil.” Here are some of the messages:

“I was handed over to the Law, before the Sanhedrin…; in this instant My People will be handed over before the satan of nuclear energy,” (“Our Lord Jesus Christ” March 24, 2013). “…nuclear energy is the Herod of this generation.” (“The Most Holy Virgin Mary”, March 1, 2017). “…nuclear energy will destroy all that the Creating Hand has given man…” (“The Most Holy Virgin Mary”, September 28, 2011). “The whole of humanity is perched on a minefield of nuclear energy, whose power plants will be the scourge of all of humanity at any instant,” (“The Most Holy Virgin Mary”, June 5, 2013). “NUCLEAR ENERGY WILL BE THE GREATEST REAL DANGER THAT MAN HAS CREATED and that the Sun can detonate,” (“The Most Holy Virgin Mary”, June 23, 2013). “I call all those who, in one way or another, have been participants in the creation of this great monster, of this scourge, of this very great sin, that is nuclear energy. I call those participants in it to fall on their knees and look to the heavens; repent,” (“The Most Holy Virgin Mary”, March 16, 2014).

Summarizing the over one hundred teachings on nuclear energy that Luz’s messages contain is this one, attributed to the Virgin Mary, “there is no greater evil in this instant than the creation of nuclear energy,” (July 26, 2013) as well as the following message attributed to Jesus Christ: “The use of nuclear energy by science is the great desolation of My Heart,” (October 14, 2015; nb. Countdown to the Kingdom has no position on the question of nuclear energy; it may or may not be prudent. We leave its discernment to those with the appropriate scientific and technological competence). 

While the Catholic Church has indeed condemned nuclear weapons, it has never condemned nuclear energy—this, despite the fact that such energy has been widely used for over 70 years. ^[8]It is true that Pope Francis endorsed the phasing out of nuclear energy in Japan, but he qualified this endorsement by indicating it should be used once “there is total security,” while adding that even this was only his “personal opinion.” On the contrary, Pope Benedict XVI’s emissary gave an “exhortation to the entire international community,” in his capacity speaking for the Vatican, to ensure the “peaceful and secure use of nuclear technology.” He taught that:

All peaceful uses of nuclear technology must be guided by two principles: they must be respectful of the environment and they must be ever mindful of the most disadvantaged populations. Furthermore, there are many positive fruits to be harvested from the use of nuclear technology in such vital areas for human beings as food security and, above all, in medicine. —51st Session of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, vatican.ca

This was an official “intervention” by the Holy See at the International Atomic Energy Agency, whose goals center on safe nuclear energy use. Pope Benedict himself directly taught in 2007, that “The Holy See, fully approving the goals of this Organization, is a member of it since its founding and continues to support its activity.” So here again, we see the tension between an alleged seer and the Church’s moral position — and it is to the latter that we owe submission. 

As a footnote… while millions of children are murdered each year through abortion, marriage and the family are in shambles, billions live under tyranny, war, or in extreme poverty, and apostasy and atheism increasingly dominate the world, the claim that it is actually nuclear energy that is the greatest evil and the greatest offense to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, might strike some as odd.  

 

The Antichrist’s Former Name is “Alex” 

On August 24, 2024, Luz claimed that she was now permitted to reveal the second of five secrets that she has allegedly received. In her usual commentary, she stated that she was shown a hill:

And on that hill was standing Our Blessed Mother with St. Michael the Archangel beside her. Our Blessed Mother introduces me to a man and tells me: he is the one who is coming to scourge humanity, the one who comes from a place located between three continents; raised and educated in his own country, he has succeeded in becoming influential abroad. His name is Alex, but he will be known by another name.  This is the Antichrist.

This sent the internet into a flurry of speculation through internet searches and webcasts. However, we have taken a decidedly more cautious view based on the wisdom of Church Doctor and Martyr, St. Irenaeus:

…another danger, by no means trifling, shall overtake those who falsely presume that they know the name of Antichrist. For if these men assume one [number], when this [Antichrist] shall come having another, they will be easily led away by him, as supposing him not to be the expected one, who must be guarded against… It is therefore more certain, and less hazardous, to await the fulfilment of the prophecy, than to be making surmises, and casting about for any names that may present themselves, inasmuch as many names can be found possessing the number [666] mentioned; and the same question will, after all, remain unsolved… But he indicates the number of the name now, that when this man comes we may avoid him, being aware who he is: the name, however, is suppressed, because it is not worthy of being proclaimed by the Holy Spirit. —Against Heresies (Book V, Chapter 30, nos. 1-4)

Here again, we are merely urging caution, as the alleged private revelations of Luz de Maria — or any seer on this website — are not to be treated as dogmas. Such precise details on the Antichrist’s identity could prove disastrous if mistaken, perhaps lulling the faithful who follow such messages into failing to resist the actual Antichrist when he does arise if he does not have the name “Alex” somewhere in his past. 

We cannot consider the revelations and the locutions as words of Scripture. Some of them must be omitted, and others explained in a right, prudent meaning. (St. Hannibal Maria di Francia, letter to Bishop Liviero of Città di Castello, 1925) …people cannot deal with private revelations as if they were canonical books or decrees of the Holy See… More than once the divine operation is restrained by human nature… to consider any expression of the private revelations as dogma or propositions near of faith is always imprudent! (St. Hannibal, letter to Fr. Peter Bergamaschi; see Testing Prophets)

 

III. Live Visions?

In recent months, a search on YouTube reveals that Luz de Maria is apparently having visions while doing live-streamed podcast interviews. While God could manifest when He pleases, viewers should take note that the usual vetting of her alleged revelations through a spiritual director, as her website claims takes place, is obviously not occurring in these live webcasts. And it has caused some issues. 

A few months back there was confusion in a statement Luz made (or as was translated) during a live webcast to the effect that someone who accepts the “mark of the beast” under pressure will be protected. That, we felt, was a spiritually dangerous assertion since Scripture is clear that those who take the mark of the beast are consigned to the lake of fire (Rev 14:9). We responded to this public controversy with the article Can You Be Saved if You Take the Mark?

Curiously, six days later on March 14, 2025, a message allegedly from St. Michael the Archangel seemed to clear the air that one cannot “voluntarily” take the mark. 

In a later interview, Luz apparently begins to have an apparition of Christ. At one point, she issues a blessing with her hand in the person of Christ (instead of blessing herself). While only a priest is in persona Christi and thus only a priest is able to impart such a blessing, it demonstrates the perils of live webcasts! We’re sure it was an innocent mistake.

 

IV. On Blessed Grapes and Medicinal Remedies

In several messages from Luz de Maria, she recommends that the faithful preserve “blessed grapes.” Sometimes she even insists we “need” them. ^[9]cf. Commentary of Luz de Maria on her February 18th, 2022 message 

One is instructed to preserve grapes in brandy “for times of scarcity.” According to a document that was on her site and instructions allegedly given by “Our Lord Jesus Christ”, one can bless other grapes by simply rubbing a single grape with other grapes that were originally blessed by a priest, while saying: “In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.” This, however, would likely not stand with the Church’s theology on blessings. Unlike holy water or salt which are given a specific blessing to be used as sacramentals (ie. to be an instrument of blessing upon people or objects), blessed objects cannot transfer their blessing by merely touching something else (like touching a cloth to a first class relic in order to create a second class relic.) 

Thus says the LORD of hosts: Ask the priests for a ruling: If someone carries sanctified meat in the fold of a garment and the fold touches bread, soup, wine, oil, or any other food, do they become sanctified? “No,” the priests answered. (Haggai 2:11-12)

The only other alleged apparition we are aware of to speak of “blessed grapes” was at St. Damiano in Italy during the 1960s and 70s. However, that apparition received a strongly worded, official negative decision from the local ordinary that remains in effect. The Bishop declared that promotion of the San Damiano “apparitions” constituted “blatant disobedience to the Church,” and even instructed that priests and religious who go to the apparition site be denied Holy Communion. And so, naturally, the fact this condemned apparition is cited in Luz’s document is a concern in terms of it being considered a confirmation of her own alleged revelations. ^[10]Luz’s September 27, 2015 message, reportedly from Jesus, reads, “remember that My Mother thought about you way in advance and blessed grapes so that at that instant your hunger will be appeased…” This message seems to be endorsing the San Damiano apparition, since we are not aware of Luz’s own alleged messages from the Virgin Mary ever speaking of blessed grapes before that point. On March 22, 2023, another message allegedly from Jesus reads, “My Mother has called you to possess blessed grapes: they will be necessary to satisfy your hunger.” However, it is only on September 25, 2023, that we finally see a message, attributed to the Virgin Mary, in which Blessed Grapes are requested.  

Luz’s messages claim that if one does not have grapes, “use another fruit.” If you don’t have another fruit, “a spoonful of honey and some nuts will be sufficient food for the survival of the body: they provide what is necessary for all organs to function properly. Tell My children this so that it would be a blessing for them in times of famine.” ^[11]November, 2012, a private message allegedly from Jesus Christ. 

In other messages, Luz de Maria has promoted the Good Samaritan Oil, also known as “Thieves” oil. Of course, the Scriptures, ancient medicine, and science itself bear witness to the effectiveness of essential oils. We published an article here defending Luz de Maria in this regard (cf. The Real Witchcraft). 

However, of concern — something which we do not blame Luz for — has been the emergence among some readers of an almost superstitious mindset. That if they only have “blessed grapes” or this or that “oil”, that they will never go hungry or suffer any illness. On the contrary, if Heaven really has suggested various herbs or oils, as others saints have, then it is precisely because it is an aid already intrinsic in the design of God’s creation. And these aids will have their limitations in efficacy based on numerous factors, such as pre-existing health conditions, quality of oils, etc.. It is a matter of science — not a sacramental “needing faith” for efficacy, and certainly not a “magic charm.” 

Again, we should not live in such anxiety. As Our Lord said:

Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? (Matthew 6:27)

And in one of the most recent ecclesiastically approved messages from Medjugorje, Our Lady encourages us, not to fear, but to love the gift of life:

Dear children, in this time of grace, I am calling you to be people of hope, peace and joy, so that every person may be a peacemaker and a lover of life.  (May 25, 2025)

 

V. The “Revelaciones Marianas” Website and the Promotion of False Mystics, UFOs, etc.

The veritable explosion of supposed disclosures of government UFO documents and sightings and the ensuing media obsession with aliens has stirred an old controversy, particularly regarding Luz de Maria’s alleged association with Giorgio Bongiovanni. This has brought to our attention related matters of which we were previously unaware and raised several questions, not only by members of our team, but other podcasters and readers.

The fact that questions are being raised, though, has caused a certain YouTube channel who represents Luz de Maria to publicly calumniate and threaten with legal action various websites, including Countdown to the Kingdom, who are seeking answers on the previous content on her website and her association with ufologist, Giorgio Bongiovanni. Note: Until now, we have said nothing on this website or in webcasts regarding this issue. Nor have we drawn any conclusions; but with new information, it has drawn attention to past and current statements Luz has made regarding belief in aliens.  

 

The Website

The current website that hosts Luz’s messages is called Revelaciones Marianas. The podcaster on YouTube who promotes her recently read the following statement allegedly from Luz: “... all my statements that are permitted will be found on Revelaciones Marianas, my website, [which is] the responsibility of [myself]…” (49:34 Timestamp). This statement indicates that Luz herself is currently responsible for everything on revelacionesmarianas.com. For how long this has been the case, we do not know, and are unaware of when control of the website changed hands in the past, if at all. 

Historical data reveals that, for years, this website promoted heterodox content, including several “seers,” and new age “mystics” such as Bertha Dudde and Giorgio Bongiovanni, who both reject core Christian truths, contradict basic Catholic dogmas, and even make blasphemous claims. Note that Bongiovanni is a self-proclaimed “reincarnation of a Fatima seer and the prophet Elijah”, and promoter of “extraterrestrials” as saviors of humanity. ^[12]https://es.aleteia.org/2015/08/05/giorgio-bongiovanni-y-luz-de-maria-un-mar-de-confusion-religiosa/ In the magazine Nonsiamosoli that Giorgio started with his brother, they claimed that “The angels of yesterday are the extraterrestrials of today.” ^[13]https://es-aleteia-org Luz de Maria was published alongside Bongiovanni on Revelaciones Marianas for a number of years, at least from 2009 to 2013.

Again, all of this information is publicly available on the Internet Archive. Here is but a sample… In 2008, the Revelaciones Marianas website claimed ^[14]All the following quotes are automatic translations of the original Spanish. That original content may be consulted by following the links provided. that apparitions receiving a “definitive no” from the Church could actually be “further evidence of their authenticity.” In 2009, it claimed that “the evidence and testimonies of visits by beings from the Universe, evolved in science and consciousness, who seek to assist us in our human spiritual behavior, are undeniable.” The website also promoted Bertha Dudde’s claim that “Anyone who knows the doctrine of the Catholic Church knows very well how difficult it is to break away from it…both Catholics and austere Protestants, whose knowledge is based exclusively on the dogmatic principles of the Church, are too deeply rooted to be able to consider the new revelations…” The website moreover lamented that “There are few who truly feel the impulse to ‘dive’ with absolute freedom of thought into the deepest connection between religions and the visits of these Beings, highly evolved in science and consciousness… who attempt to help us in our human and spiritual behavior.” The site claimed that “It is therefore legitimate to think that this sending by [Pope] John XXIII was part of the plans of these Luminous, Divine Beings… [this] clearly establish[es] that Intelligent Beings from unknown spheres and dimensions completely different from ours have come into direct contact with the political, military and religious leaders of our human culture.” By 2011, Revelaciones Marianas was implying that traditional Catholic art actually depicts UFOs. In 2013, it was still promoting the pseudo-mystic Bertha Dudde, including her claim to a “revelation” teaching that “each celestial body serves as a home for countless beings.” [Note that Dudde received this “revelation” in 1938, before modern technology showed that nearby planets, in fact, do not host any “beings.”]

These statements appeared alongside Luz’s own alleged revelations on the website. However, in an email sent on June 13th, 2025 that was copied to Countdown to the Kingdom, the YouTube podcasters state, among other things:

Luz has never promoted Giorgio Bongiovanni or any so-called “alien-affiliated false seers” on her website or elsewhere. …The 2012 event has already been clarified — publicly and legally. There was a hotel mix-up. She did not know Bongiovanni, met him by chance, accepted his translation offer when hers didn’t show, and only later, upon hearing him speak, realized what he stood for. His beliefs are diametrically opposed to hers. The moment she discovered this, she quickly and decisively dissociated herself from him — and has done so publicly ever since…. So friends, let me say this clearly: To persist in spreading or legitimizing accusations after this level of clarification is no longer a mistake. It is a willful distortion. Those who continue — especially with public platforms — bear responsibility before God for the souls they harm… [Luz] has never believed in nor promoted [Bongiovanni’s] teachings. To continue implying otherwise is to knowingly promote a false narrative.

…

Those who knowingly create, promote, or spread defamatory falsehoods about Luz de Maria and her mission — whether in videos, forums, or private correspondence — will also be subject to legal action. Slander is not just a moral failing; it is a civil offense. This is not about revenge — it is about protecting the truth and the dignity of a soul who has faithfully served the Lord under obedience and scrutiny for decades.

In 2011, Revelaciones Marianas changed its appearance and seems to, around then, have become a predominantly Luz de Maria-focused website that looked quite similar to how it still appears today, and how it has appeared since 2011 (here, for example, is how the website looked in 2020). Bongiovanni, however, remained prominently promoted on the site for at least two more (calendar) years. Here is the website, in the year 2013, still promoting Bongiovanni and claiming “…Bongiovanni receives from the Virgin the stigmata… the ‘third secret of Fatima” is revealed to him… [which,] according to Giorgio contains 25 lines written by the nun Lucia dos Santos with divine messages, such as that ‘Beings from distant points of the Universe will arrive on Earth in the name of God.'” Again, this information—these facts—are all publicly available on the Internet Archive. Revelaciones Marianas seemed to gradually delete such claims over the years, and was finally scrubbed of alien theology with the last traces of it seeming to disappear after 2020. (See the link to The Cosmos at the bottom of that page.)

Given the threats made above, we simply state this for the record.

 

Appearances with Giorgio Bongiovanni

In the midst of being hosted on the same website, Luz de Maria appeared in 2011 or 2012 at a conference that was posted on YouTube in which she congratulates Giorgio Bongiovanni on 23 years of receiving his alleged “stigmata.”

A translation of her opening remarks begins:

A hug for everyone in the name of Christ and the Blessed Mother. It is a blessing for me to share this special day with Giorgio, the 23rd anniversary of his stigmatization. This is not just another conference, but a very significant event from a spiritual point of view.” [nb. Luz allegedly also receives the stigmata during the Passion in Lent]. She continues, “It is not just another conference, for me it is completely significant in the spiritual sense... “

She then calls for spiritual unity, including unity within the “Arca” groups. According to a 2015 article in Aleteia, Giorgio and his brother “form groups called ‘Arcas ‘ [Arks], awaiting the arrival of aliens.”

When asked about this appearance by one of our team members in 2016, Luz privately denounced association with Giorgio. And she has just issued a public legal threat through her attorney to anyone who links her to Giorgio and his beliefs through the YouTube channel that promotes her. However, in what appears to be a 2017 interview with Mexican journalist Jaime Duarte, ^[15]The interview was uploaded to YouTube in 2017, although we cannot be certain when the interview itself took place. and which is available on YouTube, Luz says:

I was simply invited [to speak at the conference with Giorgio], and I spoke about the Blessed Virgin Mary for the time I was given, which was about 15 minutes, and that was my participation, but this has nothing to do with any group. I don’t carry out the Mission with anyone other than Christ because I but only go hand in hand with Christ because He asked me not to rely on any other instrument. Yes, I have to walk with Christ and nothing else to avoid confusion. I’ll tell you that this was in 2012, and since then, several people have dedicated themselves to stigmatizing me as a ufologist. Yes, but I’m really not a ufologist. I haven’t attended conferences or congresses on UFOs because Christ has told me that the universe is teeming with life. What kind of life, I don’t know. I don’t shy away from it. It’s something I can’t say what kind of life it is, but if he has told me that the universe is teeming with life, then it must be so.” — (AI transcript translation); “Vidente Luz de María responde a comentarios de Jaime Duarte”, October 18, 2017; YouTube

Within the interview, she provides arguments commonly (and mistakenly) used to justify alien belief: Maria Valtorta (whose writings have since been declared non-supernatural by the Vatican), Padre Pio (alien-belief quotes are often dubiously attributed to him, which are addressed in the appendices here), and Monsignor Corrado Balducci (who was famously insistent that “more evolved space aliens” are now here on UFOs to come and save pathetically “unevolved” humanity). ^[16]Father Balducci was a Vatican cleric who became famous in the 1990s for his much-televised promotion of Ufology, including his outlandish claims that human nature is a horribly unevolved thing, therefore we are in desperate need of intervention from more-evolved space aliens. To one new age, occultist Ufologist, Fr. Balducci said, “Lower than [humans], there isn’t anything… [the ETs] are probably so evolved that evil doesn’t even enter into [them] …Don’t even think about it [ET/UFO sightings] being the devil. … [Aliens] are going to intervene… they are going to help us.” (Steven Greer, Disclosure (2013), Section I. §2)

 

A Defense

The podcaster of Luz de Maria published a video on June 12th, 2025, insisting that Luz and Bongiovanni presenting together at the 2012 conference was simply an accidental mix-up at a hotel, that the two had no idea who each other were, and that Luz categorically disavows Bongiovanni and rejects ET belief in general. According to a statement that was read by the podcaster, Luz wrote, “I do not see things nor believe in them in the context with which [Bongiovanni] expresses them, since he has his own context in seeing and accommodating his thoughts and beliefs that are ever so different from mine.” Luz also said, “I have never participated in any kind of conferences together with Mr. Bongiovanni.” The podcaster goes on to claim that, “[Luz] absolutely categorically in the most extreme manner does not share any of the beliefs of [Bongiovanni]. She does not believe in extraterrestrials. Okay? And the person I’m addressing right now, who has a mustache and a beard, knows who I am talking about. She does NOT believe in extraterrestrials. … do you want me to make you a drawing? She does not believe in extraterrestrials… PERIOD. I hope it’s clear” (24:23). He then promises that “[Luz] will explain it to you next time she comes on our channel” (23:34). Several days later, on June 21st, 2025, Luz did indeed appear on his channel. The explanation did not come. There was no disavowal of Bongiovanni (or his views) from Luz, as the podcaster promised, nor was there even any mention of him, ETs, or UFOs.

Mr. Bongiovanni’s own website also hosts various messages of Luz. Of course, this in principle could have been done without Luz’s knowledge, much less consent. However, this page claims that Luz de Maria gave an interview for “Radio Tierra Viva,” one of Bongiovanni’s own media organizations, in 2011 (before the conference noted above). The interviewer was Inés Lépori, who works for Bongiovanni. And this page contains words allegedly from Luz de Maria on the coming of Christ, and they appear to be presented by Bongiovanni as deriving from a 2013 joint event of both Luz and Bongiovanni, apparently involving Bongiovanni’s own “Chronicles from the Arks.” ^[17]Cronache dalle Arche Bongiovanni’s website contains a transcript of Luz’s alleged remarks at this conference, along with a black and white photo (see inset). Based on the photos, these two Luz/Bongiovanni conferences appear to have taken place on separate occasions. 

Bongiovanni’s website also publishes his magazine, “Nuova Poseidonia”, which contains another photograph of himself and Luz de Maria found on page 16 of Giorgio’s magazine. The image is joined by text written by Luz underneath the following headline penned by Bongiovanni: “I RECEIVED THIS MESSAGE FROM MY FRIEND AND SPIRITUAL SISTER LUZ DE MARIA. I BELIEVE! READ, MEDITATE AND INFER. San Giovanni (Italia) – 1 dicembre 2011 – G. B. “ ^[18]HO RICEVUTO QUESTO MESSAGGIO DALLA MIA AMICA E SORELLA SPIRITUALE LUZ DE MARIA. IO CREDO! LEGGETE, MEDITATE E DEDUCETE.  The “message” from Luz consists of a meditation on the Passion, wherein, Luz writes “At the moment of the Sacred Passion of our King, all of us, along with the entire cosmos, including the universes, shuddered.” The original Spanish reads “… todo el cosmos que incluye los universos,…” Indeed, “universos” (plural), not “universo” (singular) is used; thus Luz is writing as if there were many universes. Little wonder Bongiovanni found this worthy of inclusion in his publication. Bongiovanni does appear to be accurately relaying the truth here, since this same “message” can also be seen on Revelaciones Marianas website via the Internet Archive here.

Merely being photographed with a false New Age UFO mystic, or even delivering some remarks alongside him, should not be taken as an indication (much less a proof) that Luz herself is New Age or “false.” In fact, her remarks at an (apparent) later event with Bongiovanni are not only unproblematic, but edifying! We should recall that Jesus dined with sinners and spread His message beyond the confines of the Twelve Apostles. Moreover, it’s true that many good and holy Catholics believe in aliens, and it would not be surprising if Luz did as well since this is an area that has been lacking in good theology for decades.

 

Belief in Aliens?

When questioned this year about her view of “aliens” as being demonic in origin, Luz asked the same interviewer about a claim that Pope [John XXIII] met with aliens (note, this is the claim that had been on the Revelaciones Marianas website in previous years). When pressed further, Luz challenged the interviewer’s (correct) assertion that the demonic is behind Ufology, admonishing him to “not enter into assumptions about what is happening,” and changed the subject. 

While Luz says in the same 2025 interview that she has not received any messages on this subject, in 2014 there was a message to her, allegedly from St. Michael the Archangel, saying something quite similar: “Man will discover life in the depths of the Earth, and that Earth has cradled them as it has cradled man. Humankind will be amazed, and these intelligent creatures will be horrified to see what humankind has become.”  The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:

Of all visible creatures only man is “able to know and love his creator”. (n. 356)

It also makes clear that there is no gap between men and angels: “In the act of creation, God calls every being from nothingness into existence. ‘Crowned with glory and honor,’ man is, after the angels, capable of acknowledging ‘how majestic is the name of the Lord in all the earth.’ Even after losing through his sin his likeness to God, man remains an image of his Creator” (§2566). The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church adds, “Only man and woman, among all creatures, were made by God ‘in his own image’.” (Gen 1:27; §451). ^[19]Indeed, belief in intelligent non-human creatures “in the depths” of the earth is no different and no less dangerous than belief in space aliens. It might be worth noting another seer published on Countdown to the Kingdom, Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta, to whom Our Lord said:

There is great difference between the creation of the whole universe and the creation of man … because man was created in Our [i.e., the Trinity’s] Image and Likeness … he is not only Our work, like all the rest of creation, but he possesses part of Our Life… (November 10, 1929) Only the human will, as We had created it with the great gift of the free willing … [can] love Us and remain together with Us… It was the greatest honor and gift We gave. (May 12, 1934) We [The Trinity] made use of creation in order to form Our veils, Our vast residences; however, We held back from giving reason to them, because they were created for man, not for themselves, and therefore We reserved giving to man the capacity and reason of the whole Creation… (September 2, 1928)

From our point of view, it is not possible to (coherently) believe in the authenticity of Luisa’s private revelations while also being open to belief in aliens: intelligent incarnate nonhuman creatures — whether from space or from the “depths of the earth.” The selections above are just a few of multitudes of passages in Luisa’s volumes that expressly rule out the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence. And here we should note that Luisa just last year received the Nihil Obstat from the highest doctrinal authority in the Vatican (other than the Pope), the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Yet another credible mystic, Maria Simma, said: “…Let me put it this way. Just recently a friend of mine asked me to ask a Poor Soul [in Purgatory] if there was intelligent life on other planets. The answer came a few weeks later. The Poor Soul said, “No.” So there is no intelligent life on other planets. But this does NOT mean that all those sightings and stories of abductions are not true. So many people would not wish to lie about this, but it does mean something else. If there is no other intelligent life elsewhere in our universe, and here I’d like to add that anyone with a deeper knowledge and faith in the Holy Bible would conclude the same, then all of those sightings are Satan’s work. Satan wants us to be very curious and what better way is there than to lead us astray running after little green creatures out into the voids of space? Curiosity has killed far more than merely the cat. And all those films and television shows about civilizations out there can easily lead the young into danger. (Eltz, Nicky. Get Us Out Of Here. Chapter 7)

Given the troubling content on Revelaciones Marianas for years, the public claims of Bongiovanni himself, the photographs of Luz seemingly at various events with him, and Luz’s own words on the question of extraterrestrials, etc., it is unclear why those promoting Luz on YouTube are now publicly threatening anyone who wants clarity regarding these facts. More than that, they have made assumptions, judgments, and calumniating remarks about Countdown to the Kingdom and our team for sometime now that are demonstrably false and defamatory. We find this behavior scandalous, and therefore have not engaged this slander until now with anything but prayer. ^[20]“Pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:28 

For our part, we give Luz de Maria any benefit of the doubt and assume that she does not adhere to Giorgio’s false mysticism, despite these appearances and mutual hosting of messages on her website. We just want to be certain. Why? While the Catholic Church has not defined a dogma on extraterrestrial life, and therefore it is not a sin to believe there could be aliens, we do believe the existence of extraterrestrials is ruled out by good Catholic theology, ^[21]One of the Church’s greatest living theologians, Fr. Thomas Weinandy, recently explained succinctly why Catholic theology rules out the possibility of extraterrestrials. You can read his article here at The Catholic Thing. and that belief in such entities may actually be a dangerous deception in these tumultuous times (cf: The First and Last Deception). 

 

Conclusion

We wish to reiterate that this is not a declaration on the authenticity of Luz de Maria de Bonilla. As in the case where we issued a statement on Fr. Michel Rodrigue (with a recent update) after having discerned his messages for a time, it was not to declare the alleged seer to be a “false prophet.” Again, such decisions on the supernaturality of alleged mystical phenomena remain the domain of the Magisterium.

In addition, there will almost always be with alleged seers what we called above “prophetic misses” — yes, even among the sainted!

For example, who could ratify in full all the visions of Catherine Emmerich and St. Brigitte, which show evident discrepancies? —St. Hannibal, in a letter to Fr. Peter Bergamaschi who had published all the unedited writings of Benedictine mystic, St. M. Cecilia

Mariologist, Dr. Mark Miravalle notes:

Such occasional occurrences of flawed prophetic habit should not lead to the condemnation of the entire body of the supernatural knowledge communicated by the prophet, if it is properly discerned to constitute authentic prophecy. —Private Revelation: Discerning With the Church, p. 21

That said, we have indeed set aside Luz de Maria’s messages at this time due to the concerns above. Countdown to the Kingdom reserves every right to determine the content and trajectory of the messaging of this apostolate in order to best help souls to follow the Gospel. Luz’s messages are still publicly available to be read at Revelaciones Marianas and we encourage those who are still interested to continue to test her messages as per St. Paul’s instruction:

Do not despise the words of prophets,
but test everything;
hold fast to what is good…

(1 Thessalonians 5:20-21)

In that regard, generally speaking, the alleged messages of Luz de Maria are consistent with the “prophetic consensus.” They reflect someone who assiduously studies the news and the “signs of the times”, and who openly speaks of these things with the apparent good intention of preparing souls for the times ahead. First and foremost, Luz de Maria is a sister working alongside all of us in Christ’s Vineyard. We are all struggling to grasp the significance of the hour through which we are living as we try to hear and understand the voice of the Good Shepherd.

As noted in the introduction, Countdown to the Kingdom has been threatened both publicly and privately by certain podcasters who appear incensed by those of us who are following the biblical command to “test everything” when it comes to prophecy. We have laid out our concerns as charitably as possibly, finding ourselves in the inescapable position of having to publicly say that we cannot endorse certain statements of this seer. 

A wrong response to this article would be to discard consideration of private revelation entirely. As Pope Benedict XIV cautioned:

One may refuse assent to “private revelation” without direct injury to Catholic Faith, as long as he does so, “modestly, not without reason, and without contempt.” —Heroic Virtue, p. 397. 

The right response would certainly be to devote oneself to what we know God is calling us to today: conversion of heart, a life centered on the Sacraments (especially Confession and the Eucharist), the daily recitation of the Holy Rosary, the reading of Scripture, fasting, works of mercy, evangelization, proclaiming the Divine Mercy, striving to live in the Will of God — and continuing to “test everything” while holding fast to what is good. In summary, as Our Lady has said so often: pray, pray, pray.

For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. (1 Cor 13:9-10)

 

—Prof. Daniel O’Connor, Mark Mallett