Our Lady of Medjugorje (Croatian: Međugorska Gospa), also known as Queen of Peace (Croatian: Kraljica mira) and Mother of the Redeemer (Croatian: Majka Otkupitelja), is the name given to a series of visions of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. These visions are said to have appeared to six Croatian children in Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, starting in 1981. People who claim to have seen these visions often refer to the Virgin Mary as "Gospa," an old-fashioned Croatian word meaning "lady."

In May 2019, Pope Francis allowed officially organized pilgrimages to Medjugorje after considering the large number of visitors and the many spiritual benefits reported from the site. This decision did not confirm the truth of the visions, which still need to be studied by the Catholic Church.

On September 19, 2024, the Vatican gave Medjugorje a "Nihil Obstat," a formal approval that allows Catholics to support the spiritual event in a careful and respectful way. This approval encourages pilgrimages to Medjugorje but does not address claims about the visions themselves. The Vatican also reminded believers that they should visit Medjugorje to honor the Queen of Peace, not to seek out the people who claim to have seen the visions.

Background

At the time of the reported visions, the village of Medjugorje was located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a country made up of several Slavic nations. Tensions existed between these groups because of religious differences: most Croats were Catholic, most Serbs were Eastern Orthodox, and Bosnians and Herzegovinians included both groups and also had Bosnian Muslims. The death of President Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia in May 1980 led to anti-communist protests and growing ethnic tensions, which weakened the country and caused political, economic, and national problems. Public debt increased, and dissatisfaction was shown in 1981 when Albanian students in Kosovo protested. After Tito’s death, Yugoslavia’s security forces increased efforts against people they considered enemies of the state, especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where these forces were most loyal to Tito. These actions focused heavily on the Catholic Church in Herzegovina.

At the same time, the election of Pope John Paul II from communist Poland and the Catholic Solidarity Movement in Poland worsened the conflict between the Vatican and Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe.

In the 1980s, there was a rise in Marian apparitions in Europe, especially in Ireland and Italy. Chris Maunder linked these events, including those in Medjugorje, to the anti-communist movement in Eastern Europe that contributed to the fall of communism.

The Franciscan Province of Herzegovina was created in 1843 when it was separated from the Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena. In 1846, the Holy See established the Apostolic Vicariate of Herzegovina, which was part of the Ottoman Empire and considered a mission area. The first vicars were all Franciscans. In 1881, the area came under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Pope Leo XIII worked to create dioceses and appoint local bishops.

The Franciscans of Herzegovina saw this as a threat because it reduced their income and their role as community leaders, which they had built over centuries while working under Turkish rule.

A legal dispute, called the Herzegovina Affair or Herzegovina Case, began in 1923 when Rome ordered the Franciscans to give up half of the parishes they controlled to the secular clergy. This transition was difficult because there were not enough diocesan clergy, and the friars resisted giving up their parishes. The Franciscans only partially followed the order and have refused to fully comply with Rome’s decisions since then. Their resistance led to conflicts with the Church’s leadership, including their Franciscan Order in Rome. Their refusal to follow Rome’s instructions violated church authority and canon law.

In 1933, Pope Pius XI asked the Catholic world to build crosses on major mountains to celebrate the 1900th anniversary of Jesus’ crucifixion. In 1933, a large cross was built by the local Catholic diocese on a mountain near Medjugorje. The 1,770-foot (540 m) peak was originally called Mount Sipovac, but locals renamed it Mount Krizevac, meaning "Mount of the Cross." The 33-foot (10 m) cross, weighing fifteen tons, was built in six weeks, with all materials carried by workers.

In 1975, Pope Paul VI, in the papal decree Romanis Pontificibus, ordered the Franciscans to leave most parishes in the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno, keeping 30 and giving 52 to the diocesan clergy. In the 1980s, the Franciscans still managed 40 parishes with the help of 80 friars. In August 1980, the new bishop of Mostar, Pavao Žanić, announced that only one quarter of the city would remain under the Franciscans.

The Mostar Cathedral of Mary, Mother of the Church was completed in the summer of 1980.

According to Michael Budde in his book Beyond the Borders of Baptism: Catholicity, Allegiances, and Lived Identities, as Medjugorje gained national and international recognition, the pilgrimage site became a powerful symbol of religion’s role in opposing the Communist Yugoslav regime.

Initial events

On 24 June 1981, around 6:30 pm, 15-year-old Ivanka Ivanković and her 16-year-old friend Mirjana Dragičević were walking. Ivanka said she saw a woman glowing brightly on Mount Podbrdo nearby. She told Mirjana, but Mirjana laughed and did not believe her. Later, they met 13-year-old Milka Pavlovic, and all three reportedly saw the same figure. Then, 17-year-old Vicka Ivanković joined them and also saw the figure, but she ran away in fear. Vicka returned with 16-year-old Ivan Dragičević and 20-year-old Ivan Ivanković, who were picking apples. Ivan Dragičević dropped his apples and ran when he saw the figure. Later, all of them said they saw the same apparition. T.K. Rousseau wrote that the Medjugorje visions began shortly after Orthodox Serbs remembered the 40th anniversary of mass killings of Serbs by the Ustaše at Šurmanci during World War II.

The six people who claimed to see the apparition told Father Jozo Zovko, a Franciscan friar and parish priest at St. James Church in Medjugorje, that they saw the Virgin Mary (Gospa). Zovko was at first unsure. However, he noticed that the seers became upset if others suggested they were lying, and their descriptions of Gospa matched each other. According to Randall Sullivan, they described her as a young woman about 20 years old with blue eyes, black hair, and a "crown of stars" around her head. She wore a white veil and a bluish-grey robe, but her feet were not visible because she appeared to be floating on a white cloud. She spoke in a singing voice.

In early July, Zovko stopped doubting and accepted the apparitions. Yugoslav officials called the reports a "clerical-nationalist" plot by Croat extremists.

The Mostar Cathedral of Mary, Mother of the Church was completed in the summer of 1980. To create the cathedral parish, the parish of SS. Peter and Paul was divided. The Franciscans believed this was unfair.

Vicka claimed to receive messages from Gospa from 19 December 1981 until 29 September 1982, and she wrote them in her diary.

On 15 January 1982, the bishop asked the seers if they had received messages about certain issues, and they said they had not. However, on 3 April 1982, the seers told the bishop that Gospa scolded them for not telling the truth and asked that two friars remain in Mostar to continue their work. Gospa allegedly told Vicka that Fr. Ivan Prusina and Fr. Ivica Vego were not guilty. Tomislav Vlašić said he was responsible for the seers’ lies, explaining that he told them not to tell the truth to avoid the bishop doubting the apparitions.

On 21 June 1983, Ivan Dragičević sent a message from Gospa to the bishop, claiming she demanded the bishop’s conversion or he would be "judged by me and my son Jesus." On 6 February 1985, Ivan Dragičević sent a less harsh message, stating that if the bishop did not believe in the apparitions, he should at least stop punishing priests who believed in them.

Peter Jan Margry noted that these reported Marian apparitions are unusual because they formally support Catholic teachings and obey the church and the Pope, but in practice, they claim the messages are authentic, associate with excommunicated priests, and disobey the church and the Pope.

The Archbishop of Split-Makarska, Frane Franić, who supported the apparitions from the start, tried to convince Vicka to retract messages about the two friars to protect the apparitions’ credibility. However, Vicka and Ivan continued to say the messages were from Gospa. The messages accused Bishop Pavao Žanić and encouraged the friars to stay in their parishes. This led Bishop Pavao to take a final negative stance on the apparitions.

The bishop remained cautious about the apparitions, without making a final decision. He became skeptical after the apparition blamed him for conflicts between Franciscans and diocesan clergy and defended two Franciscans who refused to leave their parishes as ordered by the Papal decree Romanis Pontificibus.

Because of his disobedience, Fr. Ivan Prusina had his priestly authority removed by Bishop Pavao Žanić on 9 October 1980. Fr. Prusina and Fr. Ivica Vego appealed to the Franciscan Order and the Congregation for Clergy, but their appeal was rejected, as the decisions were considered final. However, the Apostolic Signatura, the highest court in the Vatican, ruled on 27 March 1993 that the appeals should have been considered, calling the dismissal a violation of procedure and declaring it invalid. The same ruling applied to Fr. Ivica Vego. The Franciscan Province of Herzegovina claimed this was a victory against the bishop, but the bishop’s removal of Fr. Prusina’s authority remained in place. The Apostolic Signatura did not review the matter itself, only the procedural issues. Later, it was revealed that Fr. Ivica Vego had a child with a nun, and the two now live near Medjugorje.

Government response

In 1982, the communist government changed its view of the Medjugorje phenomenon, no longer seeing it as a political issue but as a way to gain economic benefits. In the winter of 1983, the government began encouraging religious tourism. In 1983, a government-owned publisher, A.G. Matos, released a book titled The Madonna's apparitions in Medjugorje (Croatian: Gospina ukazanja u Međugorju) by Ljudevit Rupčić, a religious scholar and a member of the Franciscan order from Herzegovina who supported Medjugorje. In 1984, government-run tourist agencies began providing services for pilgrims visiting Medjugorje. The Yugoslav government-owned airline, Jat Airways, added special flight routes for pilgrims traveling from Italy. Starting in the mid-1980s, Yugoslav media began supporting the Medjugorje phenomenon, focusing on its economic advantages.

Catholic Church response

In May 2019, Pope Francis removed the ban on officially organized pilgrimages to Medjugorje after considering the large number of visitors and the many positive effects reported there. This decision did not confirm the truth of reported events, which the Catholic Church continues to study.

On September 19, 2024, the Vatican gave Medjugorje’s "spiritual event" a "Nihil Obstat," meaning Catholics are allowed to participate in a careful and respectful way. This approval encourages pilgrimages to Medjugorje but does not address claims about visions. The Holy See also advises believers to visit Medjugorje for devotion to the Queen of Peace, not for people who claim to have visions.

Biographies of the assumed seers

Ivanka Ivanković was born in Bijakovići in 1966. When the alleged apparitions began, she was 14 years old. Her mother had passed away in May of that year. She was the first person to see the apparition. Like Ivan Dragičević and Vicka Dragičević, she said Gospa told her about her life from January to May 1983. She claimed to have regular apparitions until May 7, 1985, and that since then, the apparitions occur once a year on the anniversary of her first apparition, June 24, 1981. She said Gospa gave her all ten secrets.

She is married to Rajko Elez, and they have three children. Rajko Elez is one of six sons who owns a local restaurant. They live in Međugorje.

Mirjana Dragičević Soldo was born in 1965 in Sarajevo. She was 15 years old when the alleged apparitions began. She lived in Sarajevo for some time and finished her education there. She was the second person to see Gospa. She said she had regular apparitions between June 24, 1981, and December 25, 1982. She said she became depressed when the visions stopped and prayed to see Gospa again. According to Kutleša, Soldo was given all ten secrets, which are intended "for humanity in general, for the world, then for Međugorje, for Yugoslavia, and some other areas and about the sign." Mirjana said Gospa left her a gift that she would see Gospa on her birthday. According to the book Ogledalo Pravde, Soldo said that starting August 2, 1987, "every second day of the month I hear our Lady's voice in me, and sometimes I see her, and with her I pray for the unbelievers." As of January 2, 1997, Soldo knew that Gospa would appear at 10 to 11 a.m.

She said Gospa told her ten secrets, which are intended "for humanity in general, for the world, then for Međugorje, Yugoslavia, and some other areas." Soldo also said that every seer has a special mission. She was given the mission to pray for people who do not know the love of God, Vicka Ivanković and Jakov Čolo for the sick, Ivan Dragičević for the young and the priests, Marija Pavlović for souls in purgatory, and Ivanka Ivanković for families.

Soldo has been married to Marko Soldo, the nephew of the late Franciscan Father Slavko Barbarić, since 1989. They have two children. They live in Međugorje, where they own a hotel. They also own a mansion on the Croatian island of Hvar in Sućuraj. One of her daughters, Veronika, studied at the University of Mostar.

Soldo wrote an autobiography titled Moje srce će pobijediti ("My Heart Will Triumph").

On March 18, 2020, Mirjana Dragičević announced that the Blessed Mother would no longer appear to her on the second of each month.

Marija Pavlović Lunetti was born in 1965 in Bijakovići near Međugorje. She finished secondary school in Mostar. To save her brother’s life, she donated one of her kidneys. She was 16 years old when she first saw the apparition of Our Lady on June 25, 1981. She said she receives daily apparitions, was given nine secrets from Gospa, and receives a message on the 25th of each month for the entire world. These messages were first made public by the Franciscans overseeing the visionaries, Tomislav Vlašić, then Slavko Barbarić. She was given the mission to pray for souls in purgatory.

She is married to Italian Paolo Lunetti, and they have four children. Even though she lives most of the year in Milan, Italy, she visits Međugorje often. When asked by an Italian journalist why she did not become a nun, she said she felt drawn to the monastery but realized her vocation was to witness what she saw and felt. She said she could seek holiness outside the monastery.

Later, in February 1988, she joined fra Tomislav Vlašić, a New Age promoter, and his group of 15 young men and women in the community "Queen of Peace—totally yours—Through Mary to Jesus" in Parma, Italy. Rene Laurentin wrote that her joining Vlašić’s group was "enthusiastic." Together, they participated in spiritual exercises for five months focused on prayer. Vlašić was an ex-friar since 1987 and, with his German assistant Agnes Heupel, founded a mystic community. Heupel claimed to receive messages from Gospa. Vlašić claimed that through Lunetti’s testimony, the community was a work of Gospa herself and that Lunetti had answered his question to Gospa about the community in March 1987. Vlašić said Lunetti stated: "This is God’s plan" and that "Gospa leads the group through father Tomislav and Agnes, through which she sends her messages for the community."

Her friends and family in Međugorje were alarmed by her involvement, worried about Vlašić’s ambitions. They helped her leave the group. She left in July 1988 and denied in writing ever receiving messages about the community from Gospa. According to Randall Sullivan, in Lunetti’s open letter after leaving the group in July 1988, she said Vlašić’s claim "absolutely does not correspond to the truth."

Pavlović Lunetti also faced embarrassment when she publicly endorsed Maria Valtorta’s book The Poem of the Man-God. The book was later banned in some places.

Vicka Ivanković was born in 1964 in Međugorje. She was the first person to see the apparition of Gospa on June

Economic impact

According to Daniel McLaughlin of the Irish Times, the Yugoslav authorities first believed the apparitions in Medjugorje were linked to Croat extremists. However, they later recognized the economic value of the site. Paolo Apolito wrote that during the 1980s, about one million pilgrims visited Medjugorje each year. Pilgrimages continued even after the Bosnian War ended in 1995.

The growing popularity of Medjugorje changed the local community from a small village into a regional center. Journalist Inés San Martin noted that in 1981, Medjugorje was "barely more than a village," but by later years, it had become a place filled with hotels, restaurants, and shops selling religious items. San Martin added that selling religious goods is common at major Catholic sites, such as Rome’s St. Peter’s Square and Lourdes.

Some profits from Medjugorje were illegally used to support the Croat military. For example, a businessman from the United Kingdom claimed to collect money for war orphans, but the funds were instead sent to the military.

According to the Guardian, the Hercegovačka Banka was created in 1997 by private companies and the Franciscan order, which manages the Medjugorje shrine. The bank, based in Mostar, has branches in several towns. In 2001, the bank was investigated for possible connections to Bosnian Croat separatists who aimed to create an independent region. Fra Tomislav Pervan and Fra Ivan Ševan, along with three former officers of the Croatian Defence Council, were on the bank’s supervisory board. On April 6, 2001, masked police, supported by NATO troops, took control of the bank. Locals opposed the action, as the bank was private, not a public institution. The Guardian reported that the bank’s spokesman called the seizure "illegal." According to Vecernji list BiH, the bank and its companies were later destroyed, and the money of many businesses and customers was blocked.

In 2016, an Italian was convicted for being part of a group that took money from people who helped pilgrims visit Medjugorje.

In 2018, Henryk Hoser, the apostolic visitator in Medjugorje, said the Neapolitan mafia, called the Camorra, had a presence at the pilgrimage site. Italian officials are investigating the Camorra’s links to hotels, guides, and souvenir sellers in Medjugorje.

In March 2020, the Associated Press showed empty streets in Medjugorje, noting that locals feared travel restrictions and the coronavirus pandemic would reduce visitors and harm their livelihoods. In June 2020, Reuters reported that travel limits caused a sharp drop in pilgrimages, from over 100,000 per year, and led to financial losses for local businesses.

Locations of alleged visions outside of Medjugorje

Medjugorje is the place where the reported visions began in 1981 and are still said to happen. Some people who see these visions have reported seeing them in other locations when they travel or move. Here is a list of some of these people:

Media

The radio station "Mir" Međugorje began broadcasting on November 25, 1997.

Since January 2006, the Informative Centre MIR Međugorje has published the Croatian-language monthly magazine Glasnik mira ("Peace messenger"), which shares news, stories, and testimonies from the Međugorje shrine.