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The new guidelines issued by the Vatican recommend a cautious approach to alleged supernatural events, such as weeping Madonnas and blood-dripping crucifixes that have for centuries excited the Catholic faithful.
Pope Francis has expressed scepticism of such phenomena, saying last year that Virgin Mary apparitions are "not always real" and that he likes seeing her as "pointing to Jesus" rather than drawing attention to herself.
Incidents reported by the faithful, including the appearance of "stigmata" or Jesus' crucifixion wounds on the hands and feet of saintly people, have often become the basis of shrines and pilgrimages.
Reports of such phenomena are said to have increased in recent years due to disinformation on social media.
Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez is the Prefect of Vatican's doctrinal office.
He says the new procedure will allow for more careful assessment to ensure phenomena are not fraudulent - and to prevent attempts to make money.
"For these reasons, today the Dicastery, with the approval of the Pope, does not and will not direct discernment toward a declaration of supernaturalness, but toward a prudential decision that can be defined with less time and more easily and can direct the pastoral action of the bishops. In each case, it is necessary to make distinctions, discern, purify what is confusing, and save what is good and does well."
The new guidance replaces rules set out in 1978, removing the power from bishops - and leaving it only for the Pope - to recognise the supernatural nature of apparitions and other purportedly divine events.
It allows bishops six potential conclusions**, including ruling that a phenomenon is not supernatural; or declaring "nihil obstat" - Latin for nothing hinders - which means there would be no barrier to worship.
Vatican approval should be sought before conclusions are published, with an option for the Pope to intervene in exceptional cases.
Supernatural recognition by the Vatican is rare.
Cardinal Fernandez says many places of pilgrimage are linked to purported supernatural events not authenticated by the Vatican, but this poses no serious problems for the faith.
Though not mentioned in the new document, one example is the popular shrine of Medjugorje in Bosnia.
"Our Lady of Medjugorje" refers to reported visions of Mary, the mother of Jesus, said to date back to 1981.
These visions were reported by six teenagers from Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The teenagers, aged 10 to 16 at the time, claimed to continue seeing and receiving messages from these apparitions over the years.
In 2017, Pope Francis stated that the original visions are worth further study, but he expressed scepticism about the ongoing visions.
"As far as the presumed present apparitions go, the report has its doubts. I personally am harsher. I prefer the Madonna as mother, our mother, not the Madonna of the post office, who delivers a message every day at a set hour... this is not Jesus's mother. These presumed apparitions are not worth much. That's my personal opinion."
Nicole Winfield is the Associated Press' Vatican correspondent.
She says the Vatican was in the process of evaluating the Medjugorje apparitions.
"Several well-known Marian shrines around the world that draw millions of people every year to pray. There are some that have been absolutely approved as authentic by the church. There are other that are still in the process of being evaluated. One of them is the shrine in Bosnia, Medjugorje. There have been years and years of study by the church to determine whether or not the visions of the Virgin Mary that allegedly appeared, to people back in the 80s, whether they are authentic."
As to how the Vatican is going to decide on this particular site, it's unclear.
Cardinal Fernandez says he expects a decision to be made soon.
