Vatican Allows Devotion To Medjugorje, Fails To Call Apparitions ‘Authentic’
The Vatican gave Catholics the go-ahead on Thursday to continue visiting the Bosnian village of Medjugorje, a place millions deem holy after children had reported seeing visions of the Virgin Mary there decades ago.
The Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith released a statement that fell short of declaring the apparitions as “authentic” — but instead recognized the “positive fruits” for pilgrims stemming from the spiritual experience.
The Vatican note recognized what it called “abundant conversions” of people who had visited the site in the past — adding that a “desire awakened in the context of Medjugorje to give (pilgrims) deeply to the service of God in obedience to the church, or to give themselves with greater commitment to the life of faith in their home parish.”
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“It should be noted that such experiences occur above all in the context of pilgrimages to the places associated with the original events rather than in meetings with the ‘visionaries’ to be present for the alleged apparitions,” the Vatican statement added.
The visions of Mary, the mother of Jesus, were said to have started in 1981 and been witnessed by six Herzegovinian Croat children in Medjugorje, which at the time was a part of Yugoslavia. The children — Ivan Dragičević, Ivanka Ivanković, Jakov Čolo, Marija Pavlović, Mirjana Dragičević and Vicka Ivanković — claimed to have experienced the visions into their teens years and beyond.
In 2017, Pope Francis said he was skeptical of the appariations but declared those original visions as worthy of more in-depth study.
As a result of a new Vatican criteria, this latest statement appeared to conclude the Holy See’s probe into the visitations — elevating the village to the French town of Lourdes Fatima in Portugal, two other places that are visited by Catholic pilgrims from around the world.
In the foreword to the 20-page document, approved by Pope Francis on Aug. 28, the Vatican’s doctrinal office summed it up this way: “The time has come to conclude a long and complex history that has surrounded the spiritual phenomena of Medjugorje.”
The Vatican said its latest declaration, however, “does not imply that the alleged supernatural events are declared authentic.”
“Instead, it only highlights that the Holy Spirit is acting fruitfully for the good of the faithful ‘in the midst’ of this spiritual phenomenon of Medjugorje,” the Vatican said.
Since the early 1980s, the village has become a major pilgrimage site for religious tourists, attracting hundreds of thousands each year. As a result of this latest document, the Vatican said Catholics “must be attentive and cautious.” Mary’s alleged messages, which have focused on peace and warned of catastrophes.
Last year, 1.7 million Eucharistic wafers were distributed during Masses there, according to the holy site.
“So many others have discovered the beauty of being Christians through Medjugorje,” the Vatican document added. “For many, it became a place chosen by God to renew their faith; thus, some experience it as a new starting point for their spiritual journey. In many cases, people were able to overcome a spiritual crisis thanks to Medjugorje.”
Clemente Lisi is the executive editor of Religion Unplugged. He previously served as deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and a longtime reporter at The New York Post. Follow him on X @ClementeLisi.