Pilgrims attend Masses at Medjugorje's St. James Church during the day and the evening Mass is celebrated outdoors to accommodate huge crowds.

They climb rocky Podbrdo — Apparition Hill — bearing a statue of Our Lady, marking where she allegedly appeared. Pilgrims also climb up Mount Križevac, praying the Stations of the Cross, journeying to the huge cross nearly 40 feet tall built by villagers in the early 20th century.

They fill the lines at all the confessionals, as the Sacrament of Penance is offered daily.

Franciscan priests have administered to the needs of the souls of the Croatian people in the parish and region with its Mediterranean climate and fertile plains for farmers and vineyards since the 13th century.

They have been closely involved with the visionaries and pilgrims from the start of the apparitions.

The visionaries

The six visionaries are Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti, Ivan Dragicevic, Vicka Ivankovic-Mijatovic, Jakov Colo, Mirjana Dragicevic-Soldo, and Ivanka Ivankovic-Elez.

Always called "the visionaries," they are now adults.

While Vicka, Ivan, and Marija still reportedly receive a daily apparition at the specific time of 6:40 p.m., the others do so now only on particular dates.

Mirjana allegedly receives apparitions once a month — plus once a year on March 18, her birthday — with Ivanka reporting once a year on June 25, the anniversary of the first apparition, and Jakov once a year on Christmas Day.

The message

Our Lady came to Medjugorje to show the faithful the way to peace and help convert lives so as to return to God, according to the visionaries, including to bring people to her son, Jesus.

Early in the apparitions, she reportedly identified herself as the "Queen of Peace."

"Dear children, this is the reason for my presence among you for such a long time: to lead you on the path of Jesus. I want to save you and, through you, to save the whole world.

"Many people now live without faith; some don't even want to hear about Jesus, but they still want peace and satisfaction!

"Children, here is the reason why I need your prayer: Prayer is the only way to save the human race" (July 30, 1987). Read more

• First published by the National Catholic News Agency
• Joseph Pronechen is a staff writer with the National Catholic Register; his articles have appeared in numerous publications

By issuing a decree of nihil obstat (literally "nothing stands in the way"), the Holy See "authorises prudent adherence" to the messages of Medjugorje but has not formally recognised the reality of the visions.

The ruling, issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), encourages devotion while urging caution regarding the messages from alleged visionaries.

In 1981, six children from Medjugorje claimed to have received messages from the Virgin Mary. These visions sparked a global phenomenon, with millions of pilgrims visiting the site.

Although the Vatican now permits public devotion, it maintains a neutral stance on the supernatural nature of the events.

The Vatican's decision highlights the spiritual fruits of Medjugorje such as conversions, renewed faith and an increased return to the sacraments.

Faithful are free to believe or not

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the DDF, noted that the pilgrimages have brought many positive changes. These include more profound spiritual commitment and numerous vocations to religious life.

However he emphasised that these benefits come from the pilgrims' experiences rather than direct interaction with the alleged visionaries.

"The upcoming messages will need to be analysed and, for now, they should not be considered true" Fernández said at a press conference.

Cardinal Fernandez added that the messages, when published, must be accompanied by a note from the DDF specifying that the faithful are free to believe or not.

Profoundly Catholic

While the Vatican appreciates the spiritual value of Medjugorje, it also cautions the faithful against certain messages. It said that positive experiences "occur mainly in the context of pilgrimages to the places of the original events, rather than during encounters with the 'visionaries' to witness the presumed apparitions".

Some of these messages, particularly those involving strict instructions on practical matters, are deemed "misleading" and not of divine origin. The DDF warned that certain phrases, such as "my plan" and "my project", attributed to Mary in the visions could create confusion over Christ's central role in salvation.

Despite the precautions and reservations, the DDF declared that the essential experiences of the past 40 years at Medjugorje were "profoundly Catholic".

"We see that God is doing good things" Cardinal Fernandez added.

Sources

New York Post

La Croix International

CathNews New Zealand

On Thursday, the dicastery published a letter from Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Faith, to the Archbishop of Mérida-Badajoz, José Rodríguez Carballo, in which he confirms the request for the "Nihil obstat" made by the chief shepherd.

It says the church should "continue to offer the faithful who approach it a place of inner peace, consolation, and conversion."

However, following the new norms of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith from mid-May, the authority makes no statement about the authenticity of the supernatural phenomenon. Still, it recognises that there are signs of the work of the Holy Spirit.

Read More

There are many kinds of apparitions and visions, but Marian ones predominate in the Catholic Church.

The last major Vatican document addressing the topic is the "Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy," issued in 2001.

It quotes a line from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which sums up the church's stance with admirable clarity: "Throughout the ages, there have been so-called private revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith" (No. 67).

In other words, you do not have to believe in Marian apparitions to be a good Catholic.

But I do.

I've never had a problem believing in them.

My general approach is: If God could create the universe ex nihilo and raise his Son from the dead, then having Mary appear from time to time, and even being the occasion for some miracles, seems easy by comparison.

That statement may sound flip.

But it is entirely serious.

It is surely within God's power to enable these things to happen.

So, I am always amazed when people say, "God wouldn't possibly do that." Oh, really?

I also say this as someone who has visited three major Marian shrines, which have deeply moved me: Lourdes, Fátima and Knock.

The stories of the visionaries and what I experienced in those places go a long way to convince me of the veracity of the apparitions.

There is also a striking sameness among most Marian apparitions (at least these three) that reminds me of the sameness that one finds as a spiritual director who listens for God's voice.

As St Ignatius Loyola says in his Spiritual Exercises, there is a certain quality to God's voice that one can recognize.

Likewise, in these apparitions.

Three stories

I know Lourdes best, having been there several times on pilgrimages with the Order of Malta over the years. Continue reading

• James Martin, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, author, editor at large at America and founder of Outreach.

Father Merton D'Silva, who is the assistant at the St Ambrose parish church next door to the children's school, said archdiocesan authorities have taken a "wait-and-see" approach to the apparitions. The children attend St Ambrose Church and Lower Primary School near Kochi, a major port city on the south-west coast of India.

The alleged apparitions began when one of the children put some holy water in her ear to heal it. She told her fellow students that the water immediately helped her ear.

When the children left the school to pray in the church, they saw in the sky a vision of Christ being scourged. Reciting the name of Jesus, they went into the church to thank God for healing the girl's ear. Many of the children say they saw Our Lady, who spoke to them.

A week after the 28 September apparitions, the children again claimed to see Our Lady. Adults in the church with them could not see anything, but confirmed they could smell jasmine. Many of them say they received the gift of contrition as they prayed.

A priest asked the children to point out exactly where they could see Our Lady. The congregation say they saw a bright light and the priest says he felt someone patting his head.

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Image: Vultus Christi

One hundred years ago, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in a field in Fatima, Portugal.

She brought with her requests for the recitation of the rosary, for sacrifices on behalf of sinners, and a secret regarding the fate of the world.

Every local bishop since has approved the apparitions and deemed them worthy of belief, the highest recognition a Marian apparition can receive from the Church.

Miracle researcher Michael O'Neill told CNA that the Fatima apparitions could be considered the "gold standard of Marian apparitions."

"It has everything you've ever wanted to look for in a Marian apparition. It's got these secrets, the prophecies... you also have a feast day in the general Roman calendar, the approval of the local bishop, and of every pope afterwards, you have the canonization of the visionaries and the basilica that was built, so all the hallmarks of a Marian apparition are there," he said.

O'Neill records the details of Fatima, other Marian apparitions and all things miraculous on his site, miraclehunter.com.

This year, Pope Francis visited the apparition site on May 12-13, the 100th anniversary of the first Fatima apparition. The visit included the canonizations of two of the child visionaries, who died just a few years after the visions.

But even though it's been 100 years, "the messages of Fatima are as relevant today as they were in 1917," O'Neill said.

"The essence of the message is a call to conversion, and that's something that's as important in our life in modern times as it was when Mary appeared in 1917. I think this 100 year anniversary is a great opportunity for us to revisit the devotion and to re-incorporate it into our lives today."

Historical context

In 1917, the country of Portugal, like most of the rest of the world, was at war. Continue reading

Sources

• Catholic News Agency article by Mary Rezac
• Image: Schoenstatt.org

One night, an almost-21-year-old Donnie was spending a quiet night at home in his room. Without the distraction of music or the noises of a party, his thoughts soon turned dark - to panic and suicide.

Looking for a diversion, he grabbed a random book from his parent's bookshelf, which happened to be about Marian apparitions. Continue reading

Bishop Hector Cardelli of San Nicolas in Argentina's Buenos Aires province made the announcement on May 22 concerning Our Lady of the Rosary of San Nicolas.

Apparitions from 1983 to 1990 have been investigated and approved as worthy of belief for the diocese.

The apparitions reportedly continue to this day.

The apparitions began after some rosaries in homes throughout San Nicolas de los Arroyos in Buenos Aires province began to glow without any explanation.

A woman named Gladys Quiroga de Motta began to pray to the Virgin Mary.

The Virgin appeared to her carrying the infant Jesus and wearing a blue gown and veil.

Gladys has shared about 1800 messages from the Virgin Mary, some of which are serious warnings.

She says she has also had 68 visits and messages from Jesus.

Continue reading

Following a private audience with the Pope, Bishop Antonio Marto of Leiria-Fatima told media that Francis expressed a desire to make the trip, provided he is still "alive and healthy" at the time.

If Francis makes the trip he will be the fourth pope to do so, following Benedict XVI, St John Paul II and Blessed Paul VI.

The most likely dates for a papal visit would be May 13, the anniversary of the first apparition, or October 13, the anniversary of the miracle of the Sun.

Continue reading