An interior locution is a mystical concept used by various religions, including the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

. In an interior locution, a person reportedly receives a set of (usually auditory) ideas, thoughts, or imaginations from an outside spiritual source. Interior locutions are most often reported during prayers. An interior locution is a form of private revelation

Private revelation

In the teaching of the Catholic Church, a private revelation refers to visions and revelations from God to a specific Christian which have taken place since the completion of the New Testament...

, but is distinct from an apparition

Apparitional experience

In psychology and parapsychology, an apparitional experience is an anomalous, quasi-perceptual experience.It is characterized by the apparent perception of either a living being or an inanimate object without there being any material stimulus for such a perception...

 or religious vision

Vision (religion)

In spirituality, a vision is something seen in a dream, trance, or ecstasy, especially a supernatural appearance that conveys a revelation.Visions generally have more clarity than dreams, but traditionally fewer psychological connotations...

 because no supernatural entity is reported as present during the interior locution.

In interior locutions, some people report quickly receiving large amounts of information. The determination of whether the locution was actually from another source or the person’s mind itself is often the subject of controversy.

In two examples, the Vatican biographies of both Saint Teresa of Avila and Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...

 of Calcutta refer to their interior locutions, although Mother Teresa often preferred to remain private about them. Some visions of Jesus and Mary

Visions of Jesus and Mary

Since the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Calvary until today, a number of people have claimed to have had visions of Christ and personal conversations with him. Some people make similar claims regarding the Blessed Virgin Mary. Discussions about the authenticity of these visions have often invited...

 are classified as visions by the Vatican rather than locutions, e.g. those of Faustina Kowalska or Margaret Mary Alacoque.

Interior locutions sometimes lead to major new religious movement

New religious movement

A new religious movement is a religious community or ethical, spiritual, or philosophical group of modern origin, which has a peripheral place within the dominant religious culture. NRMs may be novel in origin or they may be part of a wider religion, such as Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism, in...

s. For example the interior locutions reported by the Roman Catholic priest Father Stefano Gobbi

Stefano Gobbi

Father Stefano Gobbi was an Italian Roman Catholic priest. He was born in the Province of Como, Italy and was ordained as a priest in 1964. He later obtained a doctorate in sacred theology from the Pontifical University in Rome...

 on May 8th 1972 at the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima

Our Lady of Fatima

Our Lady of Fátima is a famous title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary as she appeared in apparitions reported by three shepherd children at Fátima in Portugal. These occurred on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on May 13...

 led to the formation of the Marian Movement of Priests

Marian Movement of Priests

The Marian Movement of Priests is a Roman Catholic movement founded by Father Stefano Gobbi on October 13, 1972, the 55th anniversary of Our Lady of Fátima....

 in October 1972. According to the Marian Movement of Priests

Marian Movement of Priests

The Marian Movement of Priests is a Roman Catholic movement founded by Father Stefano Gobbi on October 13, 1972, the 55th anniversary of Our Lady of Fátima....

 its members now include over 400 Catholic cardinal

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

s and bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

s, more than 100,000 Catholic priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

s, and several million lay Catholics worldwide. The attendance at some of Father Gobbi's prayer cenacle

Cenacle

The Cenacle , also known as the "Upper Room", is the term used for the site of The Last Supper. The word is a derivative of the Latin word cena, which means dinner....

s at times exceeds 20,000 people.

Etymology

From the Latin locutio, speaking, speech, or discourse; and from loqui, to speak. Source

Sources

• Michael Freze, 1993, Voices, Visions, and Apparitions, OSV Publishing ISBN 087973454X