Our Lady of Medjugorje

Our Lady of Medjugorje
Statue of Our Lady of Medjugorje
Location	Medjugorje, of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a number of other locations
Date	24 June 1981 – ongoing
Witness	Ivan Dragićević Ivanka Ivanković Jakov Čolo Marija Pavlović Mirjana Dragićević Vicka Ivanković
Type	Marian apparition
Approval	Pending decision by the Holy See
Shrine	Medjugorje

Our Lady of Medjugorje (Croatian: Međugorska Gospa), also called Queen of Peace (Croatian: Kraljica mira) and Mother of the Redeemer (Croatian: Majka Otkupiteljica), is the title given to the "visions" of the Blessed Virgin Mary which allegedly began in 1981 to six Herzegovinian teenagers in Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina (at the time in SFR Yugoslavia). The visionaries are: Ivan Dragičević, Ivanka Ivanković, Jakov Čolo, Marija Pavlović, Mirjana Dragičević and Vicka Ivanković and ranged in age from ten to sixteen years old at the time of the first apparition.

There have also been continued reports of the visionaries seeing and receiving messages from the apparition of Our Lady (Gospa) during the years since. The seers often refer to the apparition as the "Gospa", which is a Croatian archaism for lady. On May 13, 2017, a papal response came when Pope Francis declared that the original visions reported by the teenagers are worth studying in more depth, while the subsequent continued visions over the years are, in his view, of dubious value. He went on to say that there are people who go there, convert, find God and their lives change. He said that this is a spiritual and pastoral fact that cannot be denied. As a pastoral initiative, after considering the considerable number of people who go to Medjugorje and the abundant fruits of grace that have sprung from it, the ban on officially organized pilgrimages was lifted by the Pope in May 2019. This was made official with the celebration of a youth festival among pilgrims and Catholic clergy in Medjugorie for five days in August 2019. However this was not to be interpreted as an authentication of known events, which still require examination by the Church.

History

On June 24, 1981, young Mirjana Dragićević and Ivanka Ivanković reported seeing an apparition of the Virgin Mary in a village in what is now in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The following day another vision was reported by Mirjana and Ivanka and this time four other young people reported seeing it as well: Marija Pavlović, Jakov Colo, Vicka Ivanković, and Ivan Dragićević.

The teenagers claim that they saw an apparition on Podbrdo Hill; the alleged apparition was a young woman with an infant in her arms. Surprised and scared, they did not approach. The next day at the same time four of the youths returned, and were later joined by the other two.

However, Mirjana gave a different account to the bishop, saying that they went to smoke cigarettes in hiding. There, they claimed they saw an apparition, for which they thought was Mary, mother of Jesus. In a latter conversation with Bishop Pavao Žanić, Mirjana tried to convince the bishop they were looking for the missing sheep, a claim the seers continued to advocate.

Nevertheless, Bishop took a stand for the seers and the local Franciscans against the communist authorities who tried to prosecute them. He informed the Pope about the events in September 1981. The whole of that time, the Bishop remained cautious towards the apparitions, without any final conclusion. He became skeptical towards the apparitions after the apparition accused him of the disorder in Herzegovina that existed between the Franciscans and the diocesan clergy and defended the two Franciscans who refused to leave their parishes as requested by the Papal decree Romanis Pontificibus.

Bishop Pavao formed two commissions for the examination of the apparitions. The first commission was active from 1982 to 1984, and its investigation was expanded by the second commission which examined the events from 1984 to 1986. The commission asked Vlašić to hand over the Chronicle, which Vlašić did, but only with a long delay and after modifying the Chronicle.

The negative conclusions of the commissions were delivered to Rome, from which it was expected to agree with the conclusions and to give a negative judgment of the apparitions, however, the Rome requested another investigation to be made by the Episcopal Conference of Yugoslavia, which was done between 1987 and 1990.

The Conclusion of the Conference of Bishops, published in Zadar on 10 April 1991 was the apparitions "non constat de supernaturalitate", that is that on the basis of previous examinations, it is impossible to establish that these are supernatural apparitions or revelations. However, the Conference left the possibility of the pilgrimage.

A 2009 paper by Daniel Maria Klimek, T.O.R., details the intricate connection between the Medjugorje apparitions and the writings of the Italian mystic Maria Valtorta.

In March 2020, Mirjana Dragićević stated that the apparitions on the second of each month have come to an end.

Days before Mirjana Dragićević's announcement, the Associated Press reported that the number of visitors was already in sharp decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2020, Reuters reported that the travel restrictions had caused a marked decrease in pilgrimages, down from over 100,000 per year, along with a loss in revenue for local businesses.

Sister Lúcia the main visionary of Our Lady of Fátima

Sister Lúcia of Fatima, circa 1917

The main visionary of Our Lady of Fatima, Sister Lúcia, (Also known as Lúcia of Fátima) continuously received visions of the Our Lady of Fatima from 1917 on. The reported visions at Fátima gathered widespread attention, as numerous pilgrims began to visit the site. After a canonical inquiry, the Bishop of Leiria-Fátima officially declared the visions of Fátima as "worthy of belief" in October 1930, officially permitting the belief of Our Lady of Fátima.

Sister Emmanuel Maillard the founder of Children of Medjugorje, a lay missionary organization dedicated to delivering five simple messages from Our Lady in Medjugorje, wrote that Sister Lúcia also had visions of Our Lady of Medjugorje. Mailard writes that Lucia's nephew, Father Salinho, who is a Salesian priest and lives in Portugal, reported that Sister Lucia had not only continued receiving visions of Fatima but she also confirmed the apparitions of Our Lady of Medjugorje. In some of these apparitions, the Virgin Mary spoke to Sister Lúcia of her continued work in Medjugorje.

Description of Mary

Fr. Janko Bubalo, a Franciscan of the Hercegovinian province, followed the events associated with the apparitions from the beginning. In order to avoid confusion in the future, Fr. Bubalo sent a questionnaire to all the visionaries asking them to describe the Virgin Mary's appearance. Five of the six visionaries responded and signed their completed questionnaire forms at Humac in 1992. These five were: Ivan Dragićević, Ivanka Ivanković, Marija Pavlović, Mirjana Dragićević, Vicka Ivanković. Jakov Čolo couldn't return his questionnaire form but said he agreed with the others and had nothing to add.

The visionairies wrote that Our Lady appears to be 18 to 20 years old, slender and around 165 centimetres (5 ft 5 in) tall. Her face is long and oval. She has black hair. Her eyes are blue with delicate eyelashes and thin black eyebrows. She has a little nose and rosy cheeks. She has reddish thin lips and her smile is more like some indescribable gentleness. It's visible as if somehow under her skin.Her simple dress is bluish-grey and falls freely all the way down to the little whitish cloud on which she is standing. Her veil is pure white and covers her head and shoulders. It also reaches down to the little cloud. She has a crown of twelve golden stars on her head.Finally he asked, "Is Our Lady really beautiful, as you have said?" Their answer was, "Well, really we haven't told you anything about that. Her beauty cannot be described. It is not our kind of beauty. It is something ethereal, something heavenly, something that we'll only see in Paradise and then only to a certain degree.

Seer Mirjana, in her autobiography, says that when they asked Gospa, "How is it possible that you are so beautiful?" Our Lady gently smiled. "I am beautiful because I love," she said. "If you want to be beautiful, then love."

Locations of alleged visions outside of Medjugorje

Medjugorje is where the visions began in 1981 and still are occurring. Some visionaries when traveling had visions in other locations. A couple of the visionaries moved and might still have visions in their location. An explanation for these other locations is coming.

• Bosnia and Herzegovina:
  • Mostar
  • Sarajevo
  • Visoko (Ivan Dragičević allegedly had visions there during his high school education)
  • other places
• Croatia:
  • Zagreb
  • Varaždin
  • Dubrovnik (Ivan Dragičević allegedly had visions there during his high school education)
  • other places
• United States
  • Boston, Massachusetts
  • Birmingham, Alabama
  • Sterrett, Alabama
• Italy
  • Milan
  • Monza
  • other places
• Switzerland

Biographies of the assumed seers

Vicka Ivanković

Vicka Ivanković is the oldest of the alleged seers, born on September 3, 1964, in Bijakovići, a village near Međugorje. She was 16 at the time of the alleged apparitions. She claims to have had daily apparitions, and on occasions two, three, four or five times a day. According to her claims, the apparition told her her biography from January 1983 to April 1985.

One of the major controversies of the Međugorje phenomenon was her diary about the apparitions, which went public with or without her consent. She claimed that the copying of her diaries occurred without her knowledge or consent. She married Marijo Mijatović in 2002.

She claims to have prayed and talked with Our Lady and to have been given nine "secrets". Her "prayer mission", given by the Blessed Virgin Mary, is to pray for the sick. Vicka says that her daily apparitions have not yet stopped. Vicka claims to have received a biography of Mary's life, contained in two handwritten notebooks, which Vicka has said will be published when the Blessed Virgin Mary tells her to do so.

Regarding her alleged visions, Vicka Ivanković once stated:

Before, I prayed from pure habit. Now I've turned completely to prayer. I commit my life completely to God. I feel sorry for those who do not believe in God, because Our Lady wants no one to be lost. We can help each other find the right way to God. It's up to the people to obey the messages and be converted. Great things are happening here – Our Lady is among us. She wishes to attract everyone to Her Son. That's the reason She has been coming so long and so often. Here everyone feels the nearness and the love of God. As role model and example, Gospa (Mary) began, in January 1983, to tell me Her life story, which took over two years.

Ivanković lives in a mansion in Krehin Gradac near Medjugorje.

Mirjana Dragičević

Mirjana Dragičević was born on 18 March 1965, in Sarajevo. She was 15 at the time of the alleged apparitions. She lived in Sarajevo for a long time, where she has also finished her education. She claims to have had regular apparitions between 24 June 1981, and 25 December 1982. She claims that she became depressed and prayed for the apparition to see her again. According to her claims, Gospa left her "a gift" that she could see her on her birthday. As Međugorje became more and more popular, Dragičević later said that as of 2 August 1987, the apparition would appear every 2nd day of every month. As of 2 January 1997, Dragičević knew the exact hour of the apparition (10 to 11 AM).

She claims that the apparition told her ten secrets, which are intended "for humanity in general, for the world, then for Međugorje, Yugoslavia, and some other areas". Dragičević also said that every seer has a special mission. She was ordained for those "who do not know the love of God", Vicka Ivanković and Jakov Čolo for the sick, Ivan Dragičević for the young and the priests, Marija Pavlović for the souls in Purgatory, and Ivanka Ivanković for families.

Dragičević is married to Marko Soldo since 1989 and they have two children. They live in Međugorje, where they own a hotel. They also own a mansion at the Croatian island of Hvar in Sućuraj, which they rent for 25,000 Croatian kunas (equivalent to 3,300 Euros or 3,850 United States dollars) a week. One of her daughters, Veronika, studied at the University of Mostar, and is remembered by her colleagues for arriving at classes in a luxury Range Rover.

Dragičević wrote several books, including an autobiography titled Moje srce će pobijediti (My heart will win).

Marija Pavlović

Marija Pavlović

Marija Pavlović was born on April 1, 1965, in Bijakovići near Međugorje. She was 15 at the time of the alleged apparitions. She finished secondary school in Mostar. She became a seer since the second day of the alleged apparitions on June 25, 1981.

She was once asked why she didn't become a nun, to which she replied: "Through all those years I thought I'm gonna be a nun. I started visiting a monastery; my desire to go there was very strong. But the abbess told me: "Marija, if you tend to join, you can, but if Bishop decides that you cannot talk about Međugorje, you must listen to him." In that moment, I started to think that my calling is perhaps that I witness to what I saw and felt, and that I will seek my sainthood outside the monastery." She also claims to have daily apparitions and that she keeps nine secrets from Gospa. She claims that Gospa sends her monthly messages for the world. These messages were at first made public by fra Tomislav Vlašić, then after him by fra Slavko Barbarić.

Later, in February 1988, she joined fra Tomislav Vlašić, a New Age promoter, and his group of 15 young men and women in the community "Queen of Peace, where totally yours – Through Mary to Jesus" in Parma, Italy. Together they participated in spiritual exercises for five months. She left the group in July 1988. Vlašić was an ex-friar since 1987 who with his German assistant Agnes Heupel founded a mystic community. Heupel also claimed to receive messages from Gospa. Vlašić claimed that through Pavlović's testimony the community was a work of Gospa herself, and that Pavloviće had delivered him an answer in March 1987 to his question to Gospa about the community, which, among other things, stated: "This is God's plan" and that "Gospa leads the group through father Tomislav and Agnes, through which she sends her messages for the community". In July 1988, Pavlović denied any messages from Gospa regarding the community.

She married an Italian, Paolo Lunetti, in Milan in 1993. They live in a six-story mansion in Monza, but spent most of the time in Milan.

Ivan Dragičević

Ivan Dragičević was born in Mostar on May 25, 1965. He was 15 at the time of the alleged apparitions. After graduating from elementary school, he enrolled at a secondary school in Čitluk, but failed to pass the first class. In August 1981 he applied to the seminary of the Herzegovinian Franciscan Province, where he was already known for the alleged apparitions. He was sent to a seminary in Visoko. In the seminary, he also claimed to have daily apparitions. Again he failed to pass the first class and was sent to the gymnasium in Dubrovnik, where it was thought he would pass the class more easily. Thus, in autumn 1982, he was transferred from the Franciscan seminary to the humanist gymnasium in Dubrovnik. He was unsuccessful there as well and left the school altogether in January 1983.

He himself also appeared to the rest of the seers on 12 November 1981 sending them his regards.

While in the Franciscan seminary, he claimed that Gospa came to an image of Jesus and said: "Angel, this is your Father", which was never taught by any Christian denomination. He also claimed, like Vicka Dragičević, that Gospa told him her biography from December 1982 to May 1983.

Dragičević married Laureen Murphy, a former Miss Massachusetts, in 1994. They have four children and live in Boston and then resides in the other half the year in the parish of Medjugorje. His wife owns a tourist agency for pilgrims to Medjugorje. Dragičević owns a hotel in Medjugorje and a mansion worth a million of the United States dollars.

Ivanka Ivanković

Ivanka Ivanković was born in Bijakovići on June 21, 1966. At the time of the alleged apparitions, she was 14. She, like Ivan Dragičević and Vicka Dragičević, claims that Gospa told her biography between January and May 1983. She claims to have had regular apparitions until May 7, 1985, and that since then the apparitions occur only once a year. She was, she claims, given the tenth secret by Gospa.

She is married to Rajko Elez with whom she has three children. They live in Međugorje.

Jakov Čolo

Jakov Čolo

Jakov Čolo was born in Bijakovići on March 6, 1971. He was 10 at the time of the alleged apparitions. He claimed to have had daily apparitions from June 25, 1981, to September 12, 1998. As of then, he claims that he has one apparition a year on Christmas Day. He claims that Gospa told him the tenth secret.

He married Anna-Lisa Barozzi, an Italian, in 1993. They have three children and live in Međugorje.

Other alleged seers

Other seers include the former parson of Medjugorje Jozo Zovko who had a vision of Our Lady in a church on 11 April 1983.

Jelena Vasilj, a young woman from Medjugorje, also had apparitions of Our Lady on 24 May 1983.

Official position of the Church

Main article: Catholic Church response to the Medjugorje apparitions

The Bishops' Conference of Yugoslavia, at their spring meeting at Zadar on April 10, 1991, declared that at this time the Medjugorje's apparitions cannot be affirmed as a supernatural, ruling that: "On the basis of the investigations, so far it cannot be affirmed that one is dealing with supernatural apparitions and revelations." This leaves it open as they continue to investigate. In the actual declaration it is noted that thousands of pilgrims come to Medujorje and are in need of pastoral care. Their declaration finished with: "For this purpose, the bishops will issue especially suitable liturgical-pastoral directives. Likewise, through their Commission they will continue to keep up with and investigate the entire event in Medjugorje."

Typically, as for all claims of private revelation, the Catholic Church follows a standard criterion for evaluating apparitions. There are two possible judgments: constat de supernaturalitate ("It is confirmed to be of supernatural origin") and non constat... ("It is not confirmed..."). The Catholic Church has made successive comments on the status of the Medjugorje apparitions. Each has declared non constat; that is, it cannot confirm the supernatural nature of the apparitions. The Vatican commission set up to study Medjugorje concluded on 18 January 2014. On 7 May 2015, Pope Francis announced the results would come soon. On 11 June 2015, the Vatican's chief spokesman communicated that no decision was expected until the Fall of 2015.

Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II allegedly confided to a number of Catholic confidantes about how he felt about Medjugorje. Monsignor Murilo Sebastiao Ramos Krieger, Archbishop of Florianopolis in Brazil was going on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje for a fourth time and Pope John Paul II confided and confirmed to Krieger that "Medjugorje is the spiritual center for the world!" Cardinal Frantisek Tomasek, Archbishop Emeritus of Prague, heard Pope John Paul II say that, if he wasn't pope, he would have liked to have been in Medjugorje helping with the pilgrimages.

Bishop Pavol Hnilica went to Russia on March 25, 1984 with Mother Teresa's rosary, to be present in Russia when Pope John Paul II in Rome consecrated Russia and the whole world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This consecration fulfilled Our Lady's request in Fatima. When Hnilica returned to Rome, Pope John Paul II invited him to lunch and they shared a three-hour lunch talking about the consecration. During that meeting the Pope allegeldy said, "...Medjugorje is the continuation and it is the completion of Fatima!"

During a meeting with the Superior General of the Franciscan Order, the Holy Father asked: "All around Medjugorje bombs have been falling, and yet Medjugorje itself was never damaged. Is this not perhaps a miracle of God?"

Even though the supporters of the apparitions claimed that Pope John Paul II and Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith were sympathetic towards the apparitions, Ratzinger, when presented a list of statements collected by Sister Emmanuel Mailard, responded from his official position as a Cardinal and said: "I can only say that the statements about Medjugorje attributed to the Holy Father and me are mere fabrications!" Maillard was relaying the Pope's personal feelings shared with his confidantes.

Pope Francis

Pope Francis

In an interview in May 2017, Pope Francis commented on the findings of the commission headed by Cardinal Camillo Ruini saying that the report said of the initial apparitions that they "need to continue being studied" and expressed doubts in the later apparitions. He also expressed his own suspicion towards the apparitions saying he prefers "the Madonna as Mother, our Mother, and not a woman who’s the head of an office".

The Polish Archbishop Henryk Hoser was given a "special mission of the Holy See" to "acquire more in-depth knowledge of the pastoral situation in Medjugorje" and “above all, the needs of the faithful who come to pilgrimage” to “suggest any pastoral initiatives for the future.” The Archbishop reported to the Pope in the summer of 2017.

Authorization of Pilgrimage made official

On May 12, 2019, Pope Francis authorized pilgrimages to Medjugorje considering the "considerable flow of people who go to Medjugorje and the abundant fruits of grace that have sprung from it." These pilgrimages can now be officially organized by dioceses and parishes even though the authentication of these visions has not been granted yet. The first sanctioned pilgrimage then took place for five days from August 2-6 2019. During the pilgrimage, approximately 60,000 young Catholics from 97 different countries took part in the celebration of a youth festival. Fourteen archbishops and bishops and about 700 Catholic priests joined the festivities as well.

Investigations

Bishop Pavao Žanić's commissions: 1982–1986

Bishop Pavao Žanić established the first two commissions for the investigation of the alleged apparitions

Bishop Pavao Žanić established the first two commissions for the investigation of the apparitions. The first commission was active from 1982 to 1984, and had four members. The investigation was expanded with the establishment of the second commission that had fifteen members and examined the events from 1984 to 1986. The second commission included nine professors from various theological faculties and two psychiatrists. The second commission examined Fr. Tomislav Vlašić's Chrinicles and Vicka's diaries. The Chronicles and diaries were found incredible, with records kept irregularly, entered subsequently, and some parts of Vicka's diaries were forged.

The negative conclusions of the commissions were delivered to Rome, from which it was expected to agree with the conclusions and to give a negative judgment of the apparitions, however, the Rome requested another investigation to be made by the Conference of Bishops of Yugoslavia. The Conclusion of the Conference of Bishops, published in Zadar on 10 April 1991 was the apparitions "non constat de supernaturalitate", that is that on the basis of previous examinations, it is impossible to establish that these are supernatural apparitions or revelations. However, the Conference left the possibility of the pilgrimage.

The Ruini Commission: 2010–2014

Cardinal Camillo Ruini headed the commission established by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010

Pope Benedict XVI established a new commission headed by Cardinal Camillo Ruini with other fourteen members on 17 March 2010. The commission was active until 17 January 2014. Other prominent members of the commission included Cardinals Jozef Tomko, Vinko Puljić, Josip Bozanić, Julián Herranz and Angelo Amato, psychologists, theologians, mariologists and canonists. The task of the commission was to "collect and examine all the material", and publish a "detailed report" based on its findings.

The Ruini Commission made a distinction between the first appearances from 24 June 1981 until 3 July 1981, with 13 votes in favor of those apparitions being of "supernatural" origin, one vote against, and an expert with a suspensive vote. Regarding the rest of the apparitions, from July 1981 onwards, the Commission found them to be influenced by heavy interference caused by the conflict between the Franciscans and the diocese over the redistribution of parishes. The Commission deemed later visions to be "pre-announced and programmed", and they continued despite the seers stating they would end.

Regarding the pastoral fruits of Medjugorje, the Commission voted in two phases. In the first phase, they disregarded the behavior of the seers and voted six in favor of the positive outcome (including three experts), seven stating they are mixed (including three experts) with most being positive, and other three experts stating the fruits are a mix of positive and negative. In the second phase, taking into consideration the behavior of the seers, twelve members (including four experts) stated they cannot express their opinion, and other two members voted against the supernatural origin of the phenomenon.

The report was received with negative opinions in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, expressing doubts regarding the apparitions. Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, who headed the Congregation at the time, said in April 2017 regarding Medjugorje, that "pastoral questions" cannot be separated "from questions of the authenticity of apparitions".

Controversial apparitions and messages

There are several apparitions and messages from the alleged Madonna, that caused controversy. These visions and messages were recorded by Vicka's diaries.

Chronicle of Apparitions and Vicka's diaries

Fr. Tomislav Vlašić became a spiritual guide of the seers and was conducting the Chronicle of Apparitions (Kronika ukazanja). The Chronicle covers the period from 11 August 1981 to 15 October 1983. The chronicle is written to give the impression of immediacy, using terms such as “same scene as yesterday” or “tonight” and “tonight”. However, Nikola Bulat, member of the commission that examined the apparitions, concluded that the Chronicle wasn't written daily as it seems. Under the number dates, events that occurred later were recorded. The intro of the Chronicle was written only on 25 February 1982, so Bulat concludes that it is possible that Vlašić started writing the Chronicle only then, eight months after the apparitions or during the October 1981 at its best.

The commission also received Vicka's three out of four diaries. The first diary was written by Vicka's sister Ana and it encompasses the period from 24 June 1981 to 6 September 1981. Some of the problematic aspects the commission found with the diary is that Vicka never saw it nor wrote it, and it contained the information Vicka claimed to have never told to her sister.

The second diary was largely copied from Vlašić's Chronicle, and it encompasses the period from 12 October 1981 to 14 December 1981. The 18 October 1981 was written twice, with different content. It contains two handwritings, non of which is Vicka's. Vicka told the commission that this diary was also written by her sister.

Vicka's third diary is the only one written by Vicka. It includes the period between 6 February 1982 to 25 March 1982. It isn't reliable as the dates in it do not correspond to the days of the week, while only the first eight days are correctly written. For example, on the day of Ash Wednesday, it says it was Good Friday. It also contains songs and quotes unrelated to the apparitions. It has poor grammar and content.

The question of the Vicka's fourth diary remains unresolved. Vicka claimed in a letter to Bishop Pavao that she has been writing it since the beginning of the apparition, and the second time she claimed that she never had it. Similarly, Fr. Vlašić claimed that the fourth diary exists, and then later sweared on the Cross that he never held it in his hands.

Herzegovina Case

While Friar Tomislav Vlašić was still a chaplain in Medjugorje, and Friars Ivica Vego and Ivan Prusina, who refused to obey the Papal decree Romanis Pontificibus and leave the parishes, were chaplains in the parish of Saints Peter and Paul in Mostar, Vicka allegedly received messages from the Maddona from 19 December 1981 until 29 September 1982, and recorded them in her diary.

On 21 September Fr. Ivan Prusina, along with other Franciscans, with the help of the crowd, violently expelled diocesan priests from the parish. Because of his disobedience, Fr. Ivan Prusina had his priestly jurisdiction revoked by Bishop Pavao Žanić on 9 October 1980. Honorius Pontoglio, the General Vicar of the Order of Friars Minor expelled Fr. Ivan Prusina from the Order on 29 January 1982.

The Madonna allegedly told Vicka that Fr. Ivan Prusina and Fr. Ivica Vego "are not guilty of anything" in the matter. On 15 January 1982, the bishop invited the alleged seers to his residence to ask them were there any messages from the Madonna on the issue, and they replied that there are not. However, on 3 April 1982, the seers came to the bishop to tell him that the Madonna scolded them for not telling the truth and that she requests that the two friars remain in Mostar and continue to celebrate masses and hear confessions. Tomislav Vlašić took responsibility for the lies of the seers telling the bishop he instructed them not to tell the truth because the bishop might dispute the authenticity of the apparitions.

On 21 June 1983, one of the seers, Ivan Dragičević, sent a threatening message from the Maddona to the bishop, in which she requests the bishop's conversion regarding her apparitions, otherwise, he would be "judged by me [the Madonna] and my son Jesus". On 6 February 1985, Ivan Dragičević sent somewhat more tolerant message from the Madonna, with her stating that if he doesn't believe in her apparitions, at least he shouldn't persecute her priests who believe in her messages and promote them".

Fr. Ivan Prusina and Fr. Ivica Vego appealed to the Franciscan Order and the Congregation for Clergy, who ignored their appeal considering their decisions to be final. However, the Apostolic Signatura, the highest judicial court of the Holy See, on 27 March 1993 concluded that they had a right on appeal and saw this as a violation of the procedure and declared the dismissal to be null and void; the same followed for Fr. Ivica Vego as well. The Franciscan Province of Herzegovina tried to present this as a sign of victory against the bishop, however, the bishop's revocation of Fr. Ivan Prusina's priestly jurisdiction remained in force, and the Apostolic Signature never reviewed the matter itself, only the procedural defects. However, only later it became known that Fr. Ivica Vego had made a nun Leopolda pregnant, whom he eventually married and lives with her near Medjugorje.

Archbishop of Split-Makarska Frane Franić, who supported the alleged apparitions from the beginning, tried to persuade Vicka to retract the messages about the two friars, so the authenticity of the apparitions could be defended more easily. However, both Vicka and Ivan continued to claim that the messages regarding the two friars are from the Maddona, like any other.

The messages included the accusations against Bishop Pavao Žanić and encouragement for the two friars not to leave the parish. It was then when Bishop Pavao took his final negative stance on the alleged apparitions.

Business disputes

Vicka Ivanković used her apparitions to mediate in business disputes. The two shareholders of a hotel, whom Kutleša names as A.A. and B.B., on one side, had certain issues with the third shareholder, referred to as C.C., so they asked Vicka for help. Vicka allegedly consulted the Maddona.

I asked about you and heard what was going on with C.C. and she understood everything he wanted. I asked Our Lady about you. It's like this. Regarding C.C., he should be warned not to do so because he is not aware of what he is doing. She said that he would not last long and that he too would be put to an end because he does not believe in anything and does not follow God's order and that is why nothing can happen to him with a blessing. And let me tell you, don't talk about anything because he won't accept God's words. You don’t have to talk to him because it’s a big blow to him, only he won't admit it. And give up his wife because she wants to drive you to great evil and she wants to persuade him (ie her husband) to drive you out of there more easily. You stick to yours and don't give in and he will be finished.

Yet, in another dispute, at the beginning of 1995, problems arose over construction of hotel in Medjugorje, called "Pastoralni centar Međugorje". A family from the Netherlands received a call for financial aid from a local family to build the hotel, whom Kutleša refers to as N.N. Prior to that, the N.N. family asked Vicka of consult the Madonna for advice on when to start the construction several times. In April 1995, the Madonna told them: "It's not the right time yet, when the times comes, I'll let you know." When they requested the advice the second time, the Madonna allegedly responded the same. The third time Vicka told them that the Madonna approved the start of the construction.

The Dutch family sought a confrimation from Vicka's spiritual director Friar Slavko Barbarić, whether Vicka told the N.N. family to start the construction. However, before he was able to respond, Vicka, noticing the stall in money landing replied to them.

"I have already written to you once via my friends N. N. and his family, so I am contacting you again because you may not have understood me well, and at the same time I am a little surprised that you are looking for someone else's messages through Our Lady.

When Our Lady approves and emphasises the beginning of work on the construction of the facility, then I do not know why you suspect and ask for some subsequent message and approval from ordinary people.

Our Lady - Mother of God's permission was given through me for the construction of the building, so if you believe in Medjugorje and the apparition of Our Lady, I do not know why all the doubts. I sincerely wish you a happy start to construction and joint cooperation.

Friar Slavko, unaware of Vicka's response, replied to the letter he received on 28 March 1995, and informed the Dutch family that Vicka "did not consult the Mother of God on the issue". The next day, the Dutch family asked him how is possible that Vicka is saying them one thing, and to him the other. Fr. Slavko finnaly tried to sort the issue by sending them another letter on 3 April 1995.

My question was: Why did she then tell me that she did not ask her (Our Lady), why did she lie to me? I spoke to Vicka in front of her parents and she had little fear of her father to confirm the answer because her father was already angry at the insistence of the N.N. family. She has now also apologized in writing to me and says she never thought it was that important. She writes: It has happened now, and it will never happen again! ... To understand Vicka's situation, I will say something else in relation to the letter you received from Vicka and faxed it to me. When I read the letter, I was sure the text did not belong to Vicka. Then I asked her. And it was like this: She was getting ready for a trip to Rome and she had little time. Mr. N. N. and his son wrote the text and asked Vicka to sign the text with her own hand. In a hurry she signed the text with her own hand. Vicka has only the last sentence. Vicka therefore almost cried and apologized several times, because she knows what consequences this case of 'lies' can have, because you also wondered how ‘credible’ Medjugorje is.

Apparitions of Jozo Zovko and Ivan Dragičević

See also: Jozo Zovko

In October 1981, the parson of the Parish of Medjugorje Jozo Zovko was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for disrespecting the "People's Revolution" in his sermon on 11 July 1981. In the sermon, Zovko said that the people should be careful not to be seduced by the "false teaching and false teachers", which the communist authorities recognised as referring to themselves, however, Zovko defended his statement claiming it was referring to Bishop Pavao Žanić.

The seers also claim to have had visions of Zovko who was under trial at the time. Jakov Čolo and Vicka Ivanković had the first apparition of Zovko on 19 October 1981. While they prayed, they saw Zovko who smiling with the Madonna. The Madonna asked them to invite youth and children to sing holy songs and pray, so Zovko can see how they "worship God and him".

Jozo Zovko appeared to Jakov and Vicka for the second time two days later, on 21 October 1981. The Madonna told them not to worry about Zovko "because he's a saint", and that the trial would continue. However, his trial was over that very day, and the sentence was published the next day.

Zovko himself allegedly had the apparition of Our Lady of Medjugorje on 11 April 1983.

Ivan Dragičević also appeared to other seers on 12 November 1981 together with the Madonna to send them his regards. Before he appeared, the seers prayed Credo with the Madonna. When they got to the part "He was incarnate by the Holy Ghost out of the Virgin Mary, and was made man", the Madonna started laughing out loud "out of love".

Skepticism

Critics such as Catholic author E. Michael Jones, consider the apparitions to be a hoax, and have stated that the reports of mysterious lights on the hill could easily be explained by illusions produced by atmospheric conditions, or fires that were lit by local youths.

Raymond Eve, a professor of sociology, in the Skeptical Inquirer has written:

I acknowledge that the teenagers' initial encounters with the Virgin may well have been caused by personal factors. For example, Ivanka, who was the first to perceive a visitation, had just lost her natural mother. The perception of apparitional experiences spread rapidly among her intimate peer group. ...The region's tension and anxiety likely exacerbated this contagion process and the need to believe among the youthful protagonists.

Skeptical investigator Joe Nickell has noted that there are a number of reasons for doubting the authenticity of the apparitions such as contradictions in the stories. For example, on the first sighting, the teenagers claimed they had visited Podbrdo Hill to smoke. They later retracted this, claiming they had gone to the hill to pick flowers. According to Nickell there is also a problem of the "embarrassingly illiterate" nature of the messages.

Two former bishops of the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno, Pavao Žanić and Ratko Perić, have stated that they believe that the apparitions are a hoax. Zanic in the beginning was sympathetic to the young visionaries and on July 25, 1981, he made a statement to the press: "No one has forced them or influenced them in any manner. These are six normal children; they are not lying; they express themselves from the depth of their hearts." All of a sudden Zanic completely changed his mind and became the main critic and opponent of the Medjugorje apparitions. Cardinal Ratzinger took the dossier from Msgr. Zanic and put the matter in the hands of the Yugoslavian Bishops Conference. Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, the Secretary to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that was presided over at the time by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, wrote in a letter to the bishop of Saint-Denis-de-La Réunion that "what Bishop Perić said in his letter …is and remains his personal opinion" which does not represent the official position of the church.

See also

• Faustina Kowalska
• Marian apparition
• Mariology of the Catholic Church
• Visions of Jesus and Mary
• Our Lady of Fatima

References

Books

• Bulat, Nikola (2006). Istina će vas osloboditi [The Truth will set you free] (in Croatian). Mostar: Biskupski ordinarijat Mostar. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Kutleša, Dražen (2001). Ogledalo pravde [Mirror of Justice] (in Croatian). Mostar: Biskupski ordinarijat Mostar. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Perica, Vjekoslav (2002). Balkan Idols: Religion and Nationalism in Yugoslav States. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Žanić, Pavao (1990). La verita su Medjugorje [The truth about Medjugorje] (in Italian). Mostar: Diocese of Mostar-Duvno. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

Journals

• Perić, Ratko (2012). "Međugorske stranputice" [The Medjugorje side roads]. Službeni vjesnik (in Croatian) (3): 97–102.
• Zovkić, Mato (1993). "Problematični elementi u fenomenu Međugorja" [The problematic elements in the Medjugorje phenomenon]. Bogoslovska smotra (in Croatian). 63 (1–2): 76–87.

News articles

• "Autentyczność objawień w Medziugorie". eKai (in Polish). 11 April 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
• Garrison, Greg (3 July 2012). "Visionary from Medjugorje says Virgin Mary is aware of economic crisis". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
• Garrison, Greg (17 July 2012). "Could an Alabama shrine become the next Catholic pilgrimage site?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
• Harris, Elise (13 May 2017). "Pope Francis: I am suspicious of ongoing Medjugorje apparitions". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
• "OVO JE VILA VIDJELICE IZ MEĐUGORJA PRED KOJOM JE BETONIRANA PLAŽA, A ZA KOJU ONA KAŽE 'KAKVA KUĆA, KOJA PLAŽA?' Sedam dana luksuza naplaćuje 25.000 kn". Jutarnji list. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
• "PROGONSTVO FRA ZOVKA: Zašto je Papa prognao fra Zovka iz Međugorja" [Exile of Fr. Zovko: Why Pope exiled Fr. Zovko from Medjugorje]. Nacional (in Croatian). 18 October 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
• Rašeta, Boris; Mahmutović, Denis (5 August 2019). "Vidjelice iz Međugorja imaju milijune - hoteli, vile, auti..." Express. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
• Tornielli, Andrea (17 May 2017). "Medjugorje; the findings of the Ruini report". La Stampa. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
• "Pope authorizes pilgrimages to Medjugorje". Vatican News. 12 May 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2020.

Web-sites

• Majdandžić-Gladić, Snježana (2017). "O međugorskim zelotima ili Gospom protiv Gospe" [On the zealots of Medjugorje or with Gospa against Gospa]. Vjera i djela (in Croatian). Retrieved 15 August 2020.

External links

• Shrine of Our Lady of Medjugorje – Official Website (in English)