Home > Articles > Is Our Lady Appearing In Yugoslavia?

L ast fall a popular Italian magazine carried an article on alleged appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary in southern Yugoslavia, in the village of Medjugorje (pronounced med-zhu-gor'zhe, "between the hills") in the mountains of Bosnia-Herzegovina (map). The article made me decide to go to Medjugorje to look into the situation. Here, then, is an account of my trip, made from notes I took on the way.

Shortly, after leaving Trieste, the train stops at the Italian-Yugoslavian border. I have been told that if I give any sign I intend to go to Medjugorje, the border police will turn me back. Accordingly, I have my Xeroxed copies of the Italian magazine article hidden in an inside pocket, and no tell-tale religious literature in my small bag.

Sure enough, after the Italian customs agents have chatted with me, the Yugoslavian policeman checks my bag thoroughly. He finds a book. Holding it gingerly between thumb and forefinger, he brandishes it triumphantly before me. "Vat iss dis book?" he says with suspicion and menace. I explain that it is a guidebook to Italy; but he checks the book carefully to verify my words.

The train arrives in Split early the next day. I look for an older priest there with whom I have corresponded and who I hope will direct me to Medjugorje. I have lost his address, so I go to the Cathedral in the center of Split to ask where I might find him. The beautiful Cathedral, in the heart of the old medieval city, has all its doors locked. I follow my ears to the source of children singing, and in a basement room of a building joining the Cathedral a nun writes an address for me on a slip of paper.

Eventually I find the priest, but he tells me I cannot go to Medjugorje alone. Too far, no public transportation. Then he turns on the radio. "They watch us and listen to us all the time," he explains. The radio will cover our voices. And then he tells me that, if I went to Medjugorje alone, I would be spotted as a foreigner before I ever arrived. Once the authorities knew my destination, I would be immediately ushered to the nearest border.

The Church, he continues, is under severe attack from the government, and has been since the death of Tito. In Croatia especially, the government fears the Church. Not that all the Croatians are practicing Catholics. In Split, fewer than 20% of those baptized practice their faith. In the country, the percentage of practicing Catholics varies, and can go as high as 90%.

I insist that, somehow, I will go to Medjugorje. The priest arranges a car and a driver for me, and we leave that afternoon for a three-hour drive in the rain. Medjugorje, a village of about 300 people, lies about 12 miles west of Mostar in the republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina. In this area the people are almost all Croatian and strongly Catholic.

We arrive at the Medjugorje parish church a little after five. The church is already full even though Mass does not begin until six. Most of the more than a thousand people have walked miles in the rain. I count only seven cars in the parking lot. The driver tells me this happens every night, but even more people come on weekends.

I begin to enter the church where some of the young people who have seen the Blessed Virgin are leading the Rosary. But the driver takes my arm and leads me to the side door of the rectory where a Franciscan friar greets us. "What do you want?" he asks me suspiciously. "Why have you come?" Almost immediately, three Sisters join us in the hallway, all of them clearly overworked and nervous. We speak briefly, finding common languages, and suddenly a door opens and the pastor walks in, takes my hand, and says my name.

To my surprise, he is a man I know, Tomislav Vlasich. In contrast to the others, his face wears an expression of great peace. He wants to prepare for Mass, he tells me. He invites me to concelebrate with him, and says we will meet in the sacristy. When the devotions after Mass finish, he continues, we can talk. And we do talk, into the night. Father Vlasich tells me the story.

O n the afternoon of June 24, 1981, on the hill of Podbrdo on Mount Krisevach near Medjugorje, a lady dressed grey and wearing a white veil appeared in the air to six young people - four girls: Vida Ivankovich, 17; Mirjana Dragicevich, 16; Marija Paulovich, 16; Ivanka Ivankovich, 15; and two boys: Ivan Dragicevich, 16; and Jacov Colo, 10. The youngest, Jacov, fell to his knees, and the others followed him. The lady spoke of peace and asked them to pray and do penance for peace in the world, to go to the sacraments frequently, and to have confidence in God. Then she entrused to them five secret messages, telling them to give the messages personally to the Pope.

[Image to the right: Mary, Queen of Peace,
An artist's impression from a description given of an apparation of Our Blessed Mother by Ivan Dragicevic on 12 May 1998.]

The six ran to the Franciscan parish rectory and told the pastor, at that time Father Josip Zovko, that "the Great Lady" had appeared to them and had spoken to them. In the days following, the six young people returned late every afternoon to the hill, and the Blessed Virgin continued to appear and to speak with them almost every day. Soon , most of the people in the area knew what was happening, word spread, and large crowds began to assemble every afternoon on the hill to pray and wait for Our Lady to appear to the six young persons.

There were miracles reported: a blind man now sees, a paralyzed child now walks, many who were sick are now healed. Hundreds of conversions took place. Enemies were reconciled. But the greatest miracle was, and is, the religious awakening of the region around Medjugorje, the spirit of prayer, and the fact that almost everyone fasts on bread and water every Friday.

The local communist government, its seat at the nearby city of Mostar, became alarmed, particularly because so many young people went up on the hill every evening to pray. Special evening events, held under government auspices for young people, dances and films, attracted only a handful of the local youth. They were almost all up on the hill.

The government began, after only a short time, to take serious repressive measures. At first, no automobilies were allowed to enter Medjugorje in late afternoon or evening. Then the local police gave orders to the pastor that no religious assemblies could take place outside the church. The praying on the hill moved down into the parish church. ("We have the best communist government in the world," a Franciscan tells me, laughing. "They tell our people to go to the church.") The six young people to whom Mary continued to appear were arrested and taken to the police station, threatened seriously, told to recant, and then released. The pastor was notified that he would have to cease this religious nonsense and stop fooling the people.

	Vicka Ivankovic - Vicka is the oldest of the group. She was born September 3, 1964, in Bijakovici. Our Lady appeared to her for the first time on June 24, 1981. For her, the daily apparitions have not yet stopped. Our Lady has so far confided nine secrets to her. Vicka lives in her parents' home in the parish of Medjugorje.
	Mirjana Dragicevic-Soldo - Mirjana was born March 18th, 1965 in Sarajevo. She is the second oldest of the seers. Very intelligent, Mirjana graduated from the University of Sarajevo where her family lived.
	Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti - Marija is the third oldest member of the group. She was born on April 1, 1965, in Bijakovici. She has three brothers and two sisters. When the apparitions started, she was studying in Mostar which is about eighteen miles away.
	Ivanka Ivankovic-Elez - Ivanka was the first to see Our Lady on June 24, 1981, and is the youngest of the 4 girls and was born on July 21, 1966, in Bijakovici. Ivanka has one brother and one sister. Her Mother Jagoda, died in May 1981. When the apparitions first began, Ivanka asked the Blessed Mother how her mother was. The Blessed Mother told her that she was fine and was with her Son. She had daily apparitions from June 24, 1981, till May 7, 1985. On that day Our Lady confided to her the last of the ten secrets. Our Lady told her that for her entire life she will have an apparition every year on June 25, the anniversary of the apparitions. And so far it has been just that way. Ivanka is living in the parish of Medjugorje, is married and has three children.
	Ivan Dragicevic - Ivan is the oldest of the two boys who see Our Lady and was born on May 25th, 1965 in Bijakovici. There are three younger children in the family and although Ivan and Mirjana share the same last name, they are not related.
	Jakov Colo - Jakov is the youngest of the seers. He was born on March 6, 1971 in Bijakovici, and was only 10 years old when the apparitions started. Jakovs' mother Jaca, died on September 5th 1983 and it affected Jakov very deeply since he rarely saw his father.

Armed police surrounded the rectory one afternoon, closed in, and raided the Franciscan house. The files were taken, and any loose documents and books. The priests and Sisters were arrested, taken to Mostar, grilled and humiliated. All were eventually released except the pastor, Father Zovko, who was tried and found guilty of sedition. He is now serving a 3 ½ - year prison term for "attacks on the security and unity of the homeland."

Shortly after, two other Franciscan priests, Fathers Ferdo Vlasich, 72 years old, and Iozo Krizich, 30, editors of a Catholic periodical, were arrested for publishing articles on the events at Medjugorje. Both were tried and sentenced, Father Vlasich to eight years in prison, and Father Krizich to five and a half years. More than 50 persons have been arrested and held at least for some time in connection with the appearances at Medjugorje.

Publicity has come almost entirely from the national communist newspapers, which have viciously attacked the events at Medjugorje, labeling the Franciscan priests and Sisters "separatists" and linking them to an extreme right-wing Nazi-Fascist group called the Ustacia Movement. Ustacia aims at Croatian independence through violent means. Apparently composed of a few fanatics, its recent activities have been limited to symbolic gestures such as hijacking an airplane. A cartoon in a national paper shows the Blessed Virgin dressed as a terrorist, a large knife held between her teeth, appearing to some children; the caption reads, "The true face of the Blessed Mother." The attacks in the press and the ludicrous charges of sedition and terrorism have called nationwide attention to Medjugorje in a way that the Catholic press could never have done.

What has been the attitude of the Church? The Bishop of Mostar has visited Medjugorje at least twice and has spoken with the young people and with the Franciscans. He has stated publicly that the six young persons have invented nothing, that they are neither deluded nor lying. The National Conference of Bishops has requested that the Bishop of Mostar appoint a commision, including theologians, psychologists, and doctors, to study the happenings at Medjugorje so as to arrive at a conclusion. The attitude of the Yugoslavian hierarchy seems quite favourable, but of course no official pronouncement has been made.

The appearances have continued, Father Tomislav Vlasich tells me. The Blessed Virgin continues to appear to and to speak with each of the young people every day, even though they are not together. Apparently she is forming each one personally in the spiritual life. Mirjana Dragicevich is a student in the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sarajevo. Ivan Dragicevich has entered the Franciscan seminary at Visoko. Ivanka Ivankovich is with friends at Mostar. The other three remain in Medjugorje. Vida Ivankovich works with her father in the tobacco fields; Jacov Colo and Marija Paulovich go to school.

V ida, Jacov, and Marija have now finished leading the Rosary, and the pastor and I meet in the sacristy to vest for Mass. On important feast days, such as the Immaculate Conception, more than 10,000 people come for the evening Mass. Most of them are obliged to stand outside the church to participate as best they can. I have been told that the congregation holds at least eight or ten plainclothes policemen every night. I peek out the sacristy door, but all I see is an ocean of faces.

The Mass lasts a long time. The homily, preached by Father Vlasich with great force and fervor, goes over 20 minutes. Everyone goes to Communion. I am impressed by the deep spirit of reverence, in the silences and also in the singing.

After Mass, no one leaves. Those three of the six young people remaining in Medjugorje - Jacov, Vida, and Marija - lead the congregation in seven Our Fathers, seven Hail Marys, and seven Glory Bes. The pastor says a long prayer for the healing of their bodies, their hearts, their relationships. During the prayer, no one moves or shuffles feet or coughs.

When the prayer for healing has finished, most of the congregation leave. The few who remain come up to the altar, into the sanctuary, to be prayed over individually for various kinds of healing. Vida and Marija, helped by the pastor, five or six other young women, and me, form little groups of two or three to listen briefly to the troubles of those who want prayers, and then to pray over them simply for their intentions. The strong spirit of reverence, even of awe, remains in the church.

The six young people, to each of whom the Blessed Virgin allegedly appears and speaks every day - what are they like? The three that I met seem completely normal, even average. They look and dress like young people do all over the world. Just looking at them, I could easily think they were American or French or Australian. They obviously have much love for and trust in Father Vlasich. About 40 years old, the pastor possesses a great serenity. He is warm, kind, and forceful. Most of all, he is peacefully courageous. Almost certainly, the government will trump up some kind of charges against him, try and convict him, and send him to prison for a long term. He is not afraid. But he is careful. "I base my preaching," he tells me, "entirely on the Bible and on sound theology." He makes no reference whatever to politics.

H ow can I evaluate my experience at Medjugorje? It was a time of great grace for me personally. Certainly, I feel closer to Mary, more aware of her love in my priestly life. I know that, somehow, I am closer to her than I was, and more of a priest.

How do I evaluate what has happened and what is still going on at Medjugorje? The Church has not spoken officially. Like any Catholic, I will conform my personal evaluation to the Church's authoritative pronouncement when that comes.

Personally, though, I have no doubts as to the validity of the apparitions. Any doubts I might have had were removed by what I saw and heard, especially by the powerful spirit of holiness, of reverence, of prayer. If I needed any confirmation from outside sources, I had that confirmation from the older priest in Split who lent me his car, from the favourable and prudent attitude of the Bishop of Mostar, from the positive evaluation of a respected priest-teacher of spiritual theology in Zagreb, and from the brutal communist opposition.

If the Blessed Virgin really has appeared to and spoken to the six young people, then surely the story of Medjugorje is far from over. At the moment there are no facilities for pilgrimages, and the Franciscan staff remains small and overworked. And, at this writing, the Church has not yet officially investigated the situation or passed judgment on it. The children have not presented the secret messages to the Holy Father.

I have not signed my name to this article. My name is on my passport, and when the Yugoslavian border guards see my passport, I do not want them to check it against their list of undesirable foreigners who have written seditious articles and turn me back. Because I intend to return to Medjugorje.

As of November 2001 the Vatican has not yet given official recognition to the apparitions that are taking place in Medjugorje since 1981. Since the apparition first began millions of pilgrims have made their way to Medjugorje. Thousands have experienced miracles and countless others have converted spiritually.

Links to Medjugorje web sites :
Apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Medjugorje

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