The alleged visions and revelations contained in the writings of Maria Valtorta cannot be considered supernatural. They should rather be understood as literary forms used by the author to narrate, in her own way, the life of Jesus Christ. This is what the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith reaffirmed in a statement published on February 22. Maria Valtorta, an Italian writer born in 1897 and deceased in 1961, is primarily known for her monumental work, The Poem of the Man-God. In this work, she describes with great precision the life of Jesus, his teachings, and his miracles, claiming to rely on visions and inner voices she allegedly received.
The Holy See frequently receives requests from clergy and laity for clarification on the Church's position regarding the writings of Maria Valtorta, such as her work, Il poema dell’Uomo Dio (The Poem of the Man-God), now known under the title L’Evangelo come mi è stato rivelato (The Gospel as It Was Revealed to Me), and other publications.
It is appropriate to recall that the alleged "visions," "revelations," and "messages" contained in the writings of Maria Valtorta or, in any case, attributed to her cannot be considered as having a supernatural origin. On the contrary, they should be considered simply as literary forms that the author used to narrate the life of Jesus Christ in her own way.
In its long tradition, the Church does not accept the apocryphal Gospels and other similar texts as normative since it does not recognize them as divinely inspired. On the contrary, the Church refers to the sure reading of the inspired Gospels.
Born in Caserta, Maria Valtorta spent most of her life in Viareggio, bedridden for many years due to a serious illness. It was during this period of suffering that she allegedly began to write, obeying, according to her, a divine order. Between 1943 and 1947, she wrote thousands of pages detailing the life of Christ, with an abundance of striking details and historical precision.
Her work, The Poem of the Man-God, later published in Italy under the title The Gospel as It Was Revealed to Me, never received the official approval of the Church. On the contrary, on December 16, 1959, the four volumes of the work were placed on the Index of Forbidden Books. On January 6, 1960, L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, published a front-page anonymous article titled A Clumsily Novelized Life of Jesus. This text severely criticized Valtorta's book and explained that its inscription on the Index was based on canon 1385 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law, which required obtaining ecclesiastical imprimatur before any publication.
Although the Index of Forbidden Books was abolished by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on June 15, 1966, the warning against Valtorta's writings remains relevant. In 1985, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then Prefect of the Congregation, sent a letter to Cardinal Giuseppe Siri of Genoa to recall that the 1959 condemnation should not be taken lightly. He emphasized that Valtorta's work "clumsily novelizes the life of Jesus" and advised against its reading, to avoid "the harm it could cause to the more naive faithful."
The statement also recalls a well-established tradition of the Church:
"In its long history, the Church has never accepted the apocryphal gospels or other similar texts as normative, because it does not recognize in them a divine inspiration. It rather invites the faithful to turn to the sure reading of the inspired Gospels."
Thus, while recognizing the piety and devotion that may have inspired Maria Valtorta, the Church maintains a position of prudence, guiding the faithful toward the authentic sources of Revelation.