Our Lady of Medjugorje

Our Lady of Medjugorje
Statue of Our Lady of Medjugorje
LocationMedjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina and a number of other locations
Date24 June 1981–present
Witness
  • Ivan Dragičević
  • Ivanka Ivanković
  • Jakov Čolo
  • Marija Pavlović
  • Mirjana Dragičević
  • Vicka Ivanković
TypeMarian apparition
ShrineMedjugorje

Our Lady of Medjugorje (Croatian: Međugorska Gospa), also called Queen of Peace (Croatian: Kraljica mira) and Mother of the Redeemer (Croatian: Majka Otkupitelja), is the title given to the visions of Mary, the mother of Jesus, said to have begun in 1981 to six Herzegovinian Croat 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. They ranged 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 during the years since. The seers often refer to the apparition as the Gospa, which is a Croatian archaism for 'lady'. On 13 May 2017, Pope Francis declared that the original visions reported by the teenagers are worth studying in more depth, while the subsequently continued visions over the years are, in his view, of dubious value.[1]

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,[2] the Pope lifted the ban on officially organized pilgrimages 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.[3] However, this was not to be interpreted as an authentication of known events, which still require examination by the Catholic Church.[2]

As of 2020, clerics and the faithful were not permitted to participate in meetings, conferences or public celebrations during which the credibility of such apparitions would be taken for granted.[4]

On September 19, 2024, the Vatican granted "the spiritual event" of Medjugorje a 'Nulla Osta', which means Catholics “are authorized to give it their adherence in a prudent manner”, encouraging pilgrimages to Medjugorje without entering into the question of alleged apparitions. The Holy See also warned believers not to go to Medjugorje for 'alleged seers' but for the Queen of Peace.[5][6]

  1. ^ Harris 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Pope authorizes pilgrimages to Medjugorje - Vatican News". www.vaticannews.va. 2019-05-12. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  3. ^ Luxmoore, Jonathan (2019-08-07). "Vatican confirms Medjugorje approval by joining youth festival". Catholic News Service. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
  4. ^ Vigano, Archbishop Carlo Maria (21 October 2013). "Vatican Warns U.S. Bishops on Medjugorje". Catholic Culture. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  5. ^ WINFIELD, NICOLE. "Vatican gives green light to devotion at Bosnia site in Medjugorje where Madonna reportedly appeared". The Associated Press. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  6. ^ "Medjugorje's approval". 24sata. Retrieved 19 September 2024.