Dear Malena:

The Lady of All Nations, after 45 years of investigation and controversy, was approved by the Bishop of Haarlem in 2002 for public veneration by title, image and prayer. The apparitions and messages, however, to my understanding, are still not approved but are left up to the discretion of the Faithful at this time.

EWTN has a brief history and a link to the letter of approval from the bishop: click here

The explanation of the phrase "Who Once Was Mary" is given by Colin B. Donovan in his article linked above:

In the approved prayer, the Blessed Virgin is referred to as Our Lady of All Nations "who once was Mary". It is explained by the promoters of the devotion in the following manner:

This refers to the fact that Mary is no longer just Mary but rather The Lady, The Woman at the foot of the Cross. These words refer to her Eternal Motherhood over all of us, for she is Mother Whom Jesus gave to us from the Cross with the words: Woman behold thy Son!

I might add that the Motherhood of Mary is eternal in the sense that it was foreseen by God,  along with the Incarnation of the Word, from all eternity. Similarly, the Church speaks of Mary as the Mother of God, not because she herself is eternal or Mother of the divine nature, but because He of whom she is Mother in the order of human nature is God, the Eternal Word.

We must always remember that ALL private revelations, even approved ones like Fatima, Lourdes, and this one, are OPTIONAL for belief. No Catholic must believe these private revelations nor practice devotions coming from them.

The approval of the Church merely grants that the private revelation was supernatural (from God) and that it may be an aid to the devotion of the Faithful. But that is only a optional suggestion.

While we may choose to not believe in an approved private revelation we must give it respect since it has been judged real by the competent authorities.

For myself, this is not one that I include on my rather short list of private revelations that interest me. Lourdes is the primary one on my list. I do use the "Fatima Prayer" during the rosary but that is about all I take from Fatima. The Miraculous Medal and Brown Scapular are part of my habit as a Consecrated Brother, as is the rosary. For the most part that is about all that interests me in the world of private revelations.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary