The Virgin Mary case of communism vs. Catholicism

A place of spiritual enrichment

A popular pilgrim site in Bosnia and Herzegovina has received tentative Vatican approval as a place of spiritual enrichment.

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández

Cardinal Fernández revealed that Medjugorje, a town in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, had been granted the status of Nihil Obstat.

Apparitions of the Virgin Mary

However, the Vatican stopped short of recognizing the alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary reported by six school children in 1981, instead insisting that Pope Francis' approval was based on the pastoral reality of the village and that many "positive fruits" had come from the site since the sightings over 40 years ago.

Crnica hill, Bijakovici

On June 24, 1981, six youngsters claimed to have experienced a vision of the Virgin Mary on Crnica hill in the village of Bijakovici near Medjugorje, then part of Yugoslavia.

"Queen of Peace"

The apparition identified herself to the children as the "Queen of Peace" and continued to appear to the bemused visionaries every day.

Catholicism and communism

Expressions of Catholic faith were strictly forbidden in communist Yugoslavia, and the authorities weren't prepared to tolerate the growing numbers of people gathering daily on a hill to pray to some alleged apparition.

Fleeing reprimands

Terrified of potential repercussions, the children fled the area, running like frightened rabbits through vineyards and olive groves towards St. James Church.

Collapse of communism

By the early 1990s, travel by pilgrims to the site was no longer being hindered by the state. The authorities had far more pressing concerns to deal with—the impending breakup of Yugoslavia.

Worth closer scrutiny

In 2017, Pope Francis declared that the original visions reported by the teenagers were worth studying in more depth. Meanwhile, a number of the original visionaries continued to report continued regular visions of the Virgin Mary.

A skeptical Rome

Then in 2019, the Vatican officially authorized pilgrimages to Medjugorje, lifting its own ban on gatherings at Bijakovici by the faithful. But Rome remained skeptical of the continued visions reported over the years since 1981.

Major center of Catholic pilgrimage

Medjugorje today is an important site of Catholic pilgrimage. Since the reports of the first apparitions surfaced, more than 40 million people have traveled to Bijakovici.

Finding a new life

"The positive fruits are most evident in the promotion of a healthy practice of a life of faith, in accordance with the tradition of the Church," the Vatican elaborated.

Spiritual conversion

Indeed, many pilgrims have reported experiencing profound spiritual conversions after visiting Medjugorje. Pictured are devotees negotiating what is today called Apparition Hill, the new name for Crnica hill.

"The confessional of the world"

Medjugorje is dubbed "the confessional of the world" because of how profoundly people experience the sacrament there.

Controversial

But the regularity of the alleged messages from the Virgin Mary, the content of some of the messages that appear to be contradictory to accepted doctrine, plus the accusations against Bishop Pavao Žanić, who became a fierce opponent of the Medjugorje phenomenon believing that they were a Franciscan manipulation and a hoax, have resulted in Medjugorje being somewhat of a controversial devotion.