Such veneration has led many to believe that Catholics worship Mary, which is not true, according to church teaching. The Web site for Utah's Catholic diocese — www.utahcatholicdiocese.org — explains that "like other saints, Mary is venerated, or especially honored, not worshipped, by Catholics. Unlike other saints, however, Mary is given a higher veneration due to the role she played in life as the mother of Jesus Christ."

A faction within the Catholic church has long been lobbying for an additional designation for Mary — that of "co-redeemer" with Christ in the redemption of mankind from sin. A formal commission has been established to examine the possibility, but no papal decision has yet been declared.

The late Pope John Paul II referred to her often as a "mediator" between human beings and God in their request for forgiveness or blessings.

Taylor said she and other members of her organization — the World Apostolate of Fatima U.S.A., which is recognized by the Vatican — seeks to spread an understanding of Mary that recognizes her as "the mother, just like the mother of every family. She is a soft touch and she takes us to her son, Jesus. She is our greatest intercessor" with God.

As Taylor sees it, "one of the reasons we go to Mary is, just like in any family when the kids want the car or a favor, a lot of times it's easier to ask Mom because she knows how to ask Dad in the right way." Mary brings the role of motherhood into the church, she said, as an example for women to follow.

Though her organization focuses particularly on the events at Fatima, hundreds of such apparitions and appearances have been recorded through the centuries, she said. "One of the reasons that she is appearing in these different apparitions is that people just aren't doing what she is asking.

"Like a mother, she just keeps repeating the same thing over and over until the kids get it. She's the mother of our Lord who asks us to pray and return to her son, and we do that by following the Ten Commandments." Though she appears in different places with different attire at various times and is called by various names to denote the geography of the region, "it's basically the same message" — to pray, live righteously, seek world peace and Christian unity, Taylor said.

Some also view Mary as a personal protector, including Pope John Paul II, who often expressed a particular fondness for Our Lady of Fatima and credited her with saving his life after an assassin wounded him in the early years of his papacy. Taylor said the pope took the assassin's bullet to Fatima in 1982 and placed it in the crown of jewels on the statue of Mary, which resides in the basilica there.