Catholic Church response to the Medjugorje apparitions

Various officials of the Catholic Church have been discerning the validity of alleged apparitions of Mary, the mother of Jesus in the Bosnian-Herzegovinian village of Medjugorje (Serbo-Croatian: Međugorje), known as Our Lady of Medjugorje, since they began on 24 June 1981. The Church has sought to provide guidance regarding the Marian apparitions to potential devotees and pilgrims.

Official pilgrimages were officially authorized by the Holy See in May 2019. In August 2024, Pope Francis granted approval for devotions linked to Medjugorje. The Holy See has stated that these approvals do not signify recognition of the apparitions.

Background

Main article: Our Lady of Medjugorje § Background

When Bosnia and Herzegovina became part of Austria-Hungary, Pope Leo XIII took steps to establish dioceses (1881) and appoint local bishops. This included transferring parishes administered until then by the Franciscans to diocesan clergy. The friars resisted, and in the 1940s Franciscan provinces still controlled 63 of 79 parishes in the dioceses of Vrhbosna and Mostar. In the 1970s, friars in Herzegovina formed an association of priests to encourage popular opposition to diocesan parish takeovers. A 1975 decree by Pope Paul VI, Romanis Pontificibus, ordered that Franciscans to withdraw from most of the parishes in the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno, retaining 30 and leaving 52 to the diocesan clergy. In the 1980s the Franciscans still held 40 parishes under the direction of 80 friars.[1]

On 24 June 1981, six children in the village of Medjugorje (then part of Yugoslavia), said they had seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary and that these apparitions were continuing. The village began to attract pilgrims.

Local ordinary at the time of the events

On 11 January 1982, Pavao Žanić, Bishop of Mostar, within whose jurisdiction Medjugorje lay, established a commission to look into the matter.[2] When three days later, on 14 January 1982, three of the seers told him that the "Madonna" supported the Franciscans, Bishop Žanić began to be concerned that they were being guided more by their Franciscan advisors than by the Blessed Virgin.[3]

Initially, Bishop Žanić defended the seers and the possibility of the Virgin Mary appearing to them,[4] although not endorsing the visions themselves.[5] He informed the Pope about the events on 6 September 1981.[6] Žanić set up a commission of inquiry and prepared to forward its results to Rome. However, the alleged apparitions continued, as well as purported messages from the Virgin Mary, which appeared to side with the Franciscans against the bishop. According to Vicka's diaries, the Virgin Mary was consulted several times on the situation of Franciscan priests who were ordered to hand over the administration of the parishes in Mostar, and reportedly replied that the bishop was to blame for the whole situation and that the Franciscan priests should continue their mission.[4][7]

Žanić saw in this proof that the seers had been manipulated and that the apparitions were false,[4] and began to speak publicly about his doubts. In 1983, Žanić received a letter from one of the visionaries, Ivan Dragičević, stating that the Gospa "sends a penultimate warning to the bishop" and further stating that "if he does not address or correct himself, he will be tried by my court and the court of my son Jesus."[4][8] Žanić was stunned, and forwarded the letter to the Vatican the same day, stating that "the issue was resolved" for him.[9] Since Žanić led the process of parish reorganization, he considered the apparitions to be a Franciscan fabrication in order to damage his reputation in the diocese, and saw the alleged message from the Virgin Mary as proof of this.[5] The Franciscans used the pilgrimages to their advantage, but at the same time claimed that the apparitions took place spontaneously at the initiative of Our Lady.[10]

In 1984, Žanić published a statement in which he disputed the authenticity of the events in Medjugorje, denouncing the Franciscans who promoted apparitions. More specifically, Žanić warned that Tomislav Vlašić, a priest in Medjugorje who was the spiritual father of seers, was a "manipulator and deceiver".[9] Žanić was especially critical of Vlašić, who became the spiritual director of the alleged seers and whose sexual scandal had not yet become public.[5] Two years later, Žanić sent a report to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which was then led by Joseph Ratzinger, claiming that the Medjugorje apparitions were not authentic.[9]

Žanić publicly called for the abolition of pilgrimages in the church organization, and the Vatican supported him. However, the Vatican expressed the view that individual pilgrims should be provided with pastoral care and access to the sacraments.[9]

Žanić was unable to prevent public opinion in the Catholic world regarding Medjugorje, which has already become a global phenomenon. Proponents of the apparition rejected the bishop's authority and felt that the bishop had overlooked divine intervention for personal reasons, and the 1985 commission's negative decision on the apparitions was largely ignored. The Vatican did not come to Žanić's aid, but remained silent, leading to speculation about the Pope's support for Medjugorje. It is likely that Pope John Paul II somewhat favored Medjugorje privately, given that Medjugorje was appropriate for Vatican foreign policy during the 1980s, chiefly to the point of the Vatican providing support to the United States in overthrowing the Communist bloc in Eastern Europe.[10]

In 1984, Bishop Žanić decided to extend a first Commission to study the apparitions and expanded its membership to fifteen: 12 priests and 3 medical experts. They held seven meetings in all. This second commission completed its work in May 1986. Eleven members determined that the events at Medjugorje were Non constat de supernaturalitate (i.e., apparitions are neither approved nor condemned, but further study is needed to determine whether a supernatural character is present). Žanić informed the Episcopal Conference of Yugoslavia and the Holy See.[3]

Diocesan investigations

First diocesan commission, 1982–1984

On January 24, 1981, Žanić established the first of two commissions for the investigation of the apparitions. The first commission was made up of four members of the Ecclesiastical Authority and was active from 1981 to 1984.[11] The diocesan commission formed in 1981 and reconstituted in 1984 made a negative conclusion on the apparitions in 1985 that the supernatural was not established.[10]

Second diocesan commission, 1984–1986

In February 1984, Žanić expanded the initial commission to fifteen members. It included nine professors from various theological faculties and two psychiatrists.[12] The second commission examined Fr. Tomislav Vlašić's Chronicles and Vicka's diaries. The Chronicles and diaries were found to be non-credible, with records kept irregularly, entered subsequently, and some parts of Vicka's diaries forged.[11] The commission asked Vlašić to hand over the Chronicle, which Vlašić did, but only with a long delay and after modifying the Chronicle.[13] In May 1986, the Commission declared that it could not establish that the events in Medjugorje were of a supernatural character.[14]

Commission and ruling of the Episcopal Conference of Yugoslavia

With the possible breakup of Yugoslavia, many Croat church leaders saw the new Marian cult in Herzegovina as both an aid to anti-communist efforts and a potential focus for Croat nationalism in both Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.[1]

As the Medjugorje events had exceeded the scope of a local event, in January 1987, upon the suggestion of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Franjo Kuharić and Bishop Žanić made a joint communiqué, in which they announced the formation of a Commission under the direction of the Episcopal Conference of Yugoslavia.[2] By doing so, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith removed the matter from the local bishop and placed the decision into the hands of the Yugoslav National Conference of Bishops.[15]

The bishops of the Episcopal Conference would both review the work of the previous diocesan commissions and conduct its own inquiry. The Conference instructed that pilgrimages should not be organized to Medjugorje on the supposition of its being supernatural.[2]

At their spring meeting in Zadar on April 10, 1991, the Episcopal Conference agreed with the second diocesan commission: they published a communiqué which stated that they had ruled non constat de supernaturalitate, stating that "[o]n the basis of studies it cannot be affirmed that supernatural apparitions and revelations are occurring",[15][2] and would leave that decision to a future date.[15] The Conference instructed that pilgrimages should not be organized to Medjugorje on the supposition of its events being supernatural.[16] In its statement, the commission made note that since many pilgrims come to Medjugorje from all over the world, these people need pastoral care and guidance. The Vatican made it clear that the bishops were not allowed to organize pilgrimages but they could join them.[15]

Ratko Perić

In 1993 Bishop Žanić retired at the age of 75, and was succeeded as bishop of Mostar-Duvno by his coadjutor, Bishop Ratko Perić.[17]

Ratko Perić remained hostile towards the apparitions as his predecessor. Perić published two books on the Virgin Mary arguing his opposition to the Medjugorje phenomenon. He stated his personal opinion that not only was the supernatural origin of the apparitions not established, but that the nonsupernatural had been established, a more negative judgment than that of the Yugoslav bishops' conference of 1991.[18]

On 2 October 1997, Perić wrote in a letter that he believed the events alleged at Medjugorje were no longer non constat de supernaturalitate (supernatural nature is not established) but constat de non supernaturalitate (it is established that the events are not of a supernatural nature).[17]

In May 1998, in response to an inquiry from Gilbert Aubry, Bishop of Saint-Denis de La Réunion, the secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Bertone, cited the previous 1991 finding of non constat de supernaturalitate by the Yugoslav Episcopal Conference, and noted that since the division of Yugoslavia the jurisdiction now laid with the Episcopal Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bertone also stated that Bishop Perić's statement "should be considered the expression of the personal conviction of the Bishop of Mostar which he has the right to express as Ordinary of the place, but which is and remains his personal opinion".[19]

Petar Palić

Petar Palić succeeded Ratko Perić as bishop of Mostar-Duvno in 2020, and as of 2021 had not made his position on Medjugorje public.[20] However, a report from Deutsche Welle stated that Palić holds similar views as his predecessor Perić.[21]

Position and investigations of the Holy See (1996–2017)

In response to an inquiry from a French bishop, in March 1996 then Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, stated that official pilgrimages to Medjugorje, if presumed as a place of authentic Marian apparitions, were not permitted to be organized neither on the parish nor on the diocesan level. The following June, in response to reporters' questions, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, spokesman for Holy See Press Office, said that Archbishop Bertone was referring specifically to official pilgrimages. He also said that Catholic parishes and dioceses were not allowed to organize pilgrimages to Medjugorje, as that might have given the impression of a canonical endorsement.[2]

In 2010, an international Vatican commission was set up by Pope Benedict XVI to study Medjugorje.[10][22]

On 21 October 2013, the Apostolic Nunciature to the United States communicated, on behalf of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, that Catholics, whether clergy or laypeople, "are not permitted to participate in meetings, conferences or public celebrations during which the credibility of such 'apparitions' [of Medjugorje] would be taken for granted". It added that , and that the Holy See considered the 1991 judgment of the Episcopal Conference of Yugoslavia to be still in force. The letter was sent to every diocese in the U.S. as Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, then-Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, wanted the U.S. bishops to be aware that Ivan Dragicevic, one of the "so-called visionaries" of Medjugorje, was scheduled to give presentations at parishes across the country and was anticipated to have more apparitions during these talks.[23]

Ruini commission

A commission on Medjugorje was established in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI and chaired by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, on the alleged Medjugorje apparitions.[24][25][26][27][28]

Other prominent members of the commission included Cardinals Jozef Tomko, Vinko Puljić, Josip Bozanić, Julián Herranz and Angelo Amato, as well as psychologists, theologians, mariologists, and canonists. The commission was established to "collect and examine all the material," and publish a "detailed report" based on its findings.[29] It was tasked to evaluate the alleged apparitions and to make appropriate pastoral recommendations for those pilgrims who continued to go to Medjugorje despite the ban on official pilgrimages. The commission was active until 17 January 2014.[30]

On 18 January 2014, the commission was reported to have completed its work, the results of which it would communicate to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.[30]

It its conclusions, the Ruini Commission made a distinction between the first appearances from 24 June 1981 until 3 July 1981, with reportedly 13 votes in favor of those apparitions being of "supernatural" origin, one vote against, and an expert with a suspensive vote. The commission noted that:

the seers were caught by surprise by the apparition, and that nothing of what they had seen was influenced by either the Franciscans of the parish or any other subjects. They showed resistance in telling what happened despite being arrested by the police and death threatened them. The commission also rejected the hypothesis of a demonic origin of the apparitions.[29]

Regarding the rest of the apparitions, the commission found them to be influenced by heavy interference caused by the conflict between the Franciscans of the parish and the bishop. The commission deemed later visions to be "pre-announced and programmed", and they continued despite the seers stating they would end.[29]

The Commission also found that there were no miraculous healings connected to the apparitions in Medjugorje.[31]

Regarding the pastoral fruits of Medjugorje, the commission voted in two phases. Firstly they focused on the spiritual fruits of Medjugorje but putting aside the behaviors of the seers. They voted six in favor of the positive outcome, seven stating they are mixed with most being positive, and the other three experts stating the fruits are a mix of positive and negative. In the second phase, taking into consideration the behavior of the seers, twelve members stated that they could not express their opinion, and the other two members voted against the supernatural origin of the phenomenon.[29]

At an unknown date, the commission voted 13–1 to confirm the supernatural origin of the first seven occurrences of the apparition.[26][29] In addition, Commission members also voted to recommend lifting the Holy See ban on official diocesan and parish pilgrimages to Medjugorje and for turning the town's parish St. James Church into a pontifical shrine under Holy See oversight. The move, the commission said, would not signify recognition of the apparitions, but would acknowledge the faith and pastoral needs of the pilgrims while ensuring a proper accounting of donations.[26][32]

Once completed, the Ruini Report was received by Pope Francis.[29][33]

Pope Francis also mentioned that the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, which reviewed the Ruini report and other material to which it was privy, expressed doubts about both the phenomenon and the Ruini report.[26]

Hoser's investigation

After examining the Ruini Report, the Pope Francis assigned the Polish Archbishop Henryk Hoser a "special mission of the Holy See" with the purpose of exploring the pastoral situation at Medjugorje.[29][33]

On 11 February 2017, Pope Francis named Bishop Henryk Hoser of Warszawa-Praga in Poland as his special envoy to Medjugorje, not to investigate the veracity of the apparitions but to evaluate the pastoral situation in Medjugorje and assess how the needs of pilgrims should best be met.[34] The Pope's decision on the situation was to be made by rendered after Polish Archbishop Henryk Hoser had completed his additional examination of the pastoral situation in Medjugorje.[26]

On 7 December 2017, Archbishop Henryk Hoser, Pope Francis' envoy to Medjugorje, having completed his assessment, said in an interview that official pilgrimages at Medjugorje are allowed, stating: "dioceses and other institutions can organize official pilgrimages". He also said: "The decree of the former episcopal conference of what used to be Yugoslavia, which, before the Balkan war, advised against pilgrimages in Medjugorje organized by bishops, is no longer relevant".[35]

Official authorization of the Church

Official authorization of pilgrimage

On 7 December 2017, Archbishop Henryk Hoser, Pope Francis' envoy to Medjugorje, having completed his assessment, said in an interview that official pilgrimages at Medjugorje are allowed, stating: "dioceses and other institutions can organize official pilgrimages". He also said: "The decree of the former episcopal conference of what used to be Yugoslavia, which, before the Balkan war, advised against pilgrimages in Medjugorje organized by bishops, is no longer relevant".[35]

Prior to Hoser's review, pilgrimages to Medjugorje organized by official Church groups were discouraged, although people could make them privately or through pilgrimage tour groups. Hoser announced that the previous impediment put in place by the Episcopal Conference of Yugoslavia had been lifted.[35]

On May 12, 2019, it was announced that Pope Francis authorized official pilgrimages to Medjugorje. According to Vatican News, these pilgrimages can "be officially organized by dioceses and parishes", but that this should not be interpreted as a recognition of the authenticity of the alleged Marian apparition of Medjugorje. In a press conference, Alessandro Gisotti, then ad interim director of the Holy See Press Office, said: "Considering the considerable flow of people who go to Medjugorje and the abundant fruits of grace that have sprung from it".[36]

The first sanctioned pilgrimage then took place for five days from August 2–6, 2019. During the pilgrimage, approximately 60,000 young Catholics from 97 countries took part in the celebration of the Medjugorje International Youth Festival. Fourteen archbishops and bishops and about 700 Catholic priests attended as well.[37]

Official authorization of devotion

In September 2024, the final decision of the Catholic Church, the document The Queen of Peace, was made public by the Holy See. In it, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (new name of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) stated that it authorized the devotion linked to the alleged apparitions at Medjugorje, but "without making a declaration on the alleged supernatural character of Marian apparitions".[38][39][40]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Perica, Vjekoslav (4 July 2002). Balkan Idols: Religion and Nationalism in Yugoslav States. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-517429-8 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b c d e Colin B., Donovan. "Medjugorje (Alleged Apparition)". EWTN Global Catholic Television Network. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
  3. ^ a b Peric, Ratko. "Međugorje: Secrets, messages, vocations, prayers, confessions, commissions", Diocese of Mostar-Duvno, 1 September 2007
  4. ^ a b c d Thavis 2015, p. 66.
  5. ^ a b c Maunder 2016, p. 160.
  6. ^ Kutleša 2001, p. 42.
  7. ^ Kutleša 2001, p. 43.
  8. ^ Kutleša 2001, p. 89.
  9. ^ a b c d Thavis 2015, p. 67.
  10. ^ a b c d Maunder 2016, p. 161.
  11. ^ a b Zovkić 1993, p. 77.
  12. ^ Žanić, Pavao. ""Izjava Mostarskog Biskupa o Medjugorju", July 25, 1987
  13. ^ Bulat 2006, pp. 26–29: "That the Chronicle was revised can be seen from the excerpt from January 3, 1982. In the Chronicle submitted to Msgr. Žanić has two original leaflets about two chaplains: one was written by Vicka, the other by Mirjana. The same excerpts are brought by Fr. Grafenauer and he claims that they were copied from Tomislav's Chronicle. However, Vicki's original piece of paper, which is in the Chronicle, submitted to Msgr. Žanić, does not agree at all with the excerpt given by Grafenauer and which – according to Grafenauer's explicit statement – would have been copied from the Chronicle written by Fr. Tomislav Vlašić"
  14. ^ "Library : Regarding Medjugorje". www.catholicculture.org. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  15. ^ a b c d Maunder 2016, pp. 153–155, 157, 161–163
  16. ^ "Biskupije Mostar-Duvno i Trebinje-Mrkan | Dioeceses Mandetriensis-Delminiensis et Tribuniensis-Marcanensis". Cbismo.com (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 18 January 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  17. ^ a b "Library : Letter to Thierry Boutet". www.catholicculture.org.
  18. ^ Maunder 2016, p. 162.
  19. ^ Bertone, Tarcisio (26 May 1998). "Letter to Bishop Gilbert Aubry". EWTN Global Catholic Television Network. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021.
  20. ^ Baier, Stephan (19 June 2021). "Medjugorje, eine globale Marke, bekannt wie CocaCola". die-tagespost.de (in German). Retrieved 19 March 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ "Novi mostarski biskup dobro zna šta je suživot na Balkanu". dw.com (in Bosnian). Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  22. ^ Thavis 2015, pp. 94–95.
  23. ^ "Library : Vatican Warns U.S. Bishops on Medjugorje". www.catholicculture.org. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
  24. ^ "Holy See confirms creation of Medjugorje Commission". Catholic News Agency (ACI Prensa). 17 March 2010.
  25. ^ "Medjugorje commission announced". The Catholic Leader. 27 March 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
  26. ^ a b c d e "Medjugorje; the findings of the Ruini report". La Stampa. 17 May 2017.
  27. ^ "Holy See confirms creation of Medjugorje Commission". Catholic News Agency (ACI Prensa). 17 March 2010.
  28. ^ "Medjugorje Commission Announced". Catholic News Service. 28 March 2010.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g Tornielli 2017.
  30. ^ a b "Commission to submit study on Medjugorje". News.va. 18 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  31. ^ "Vatican says no miracles have taken place at Medjugorje". La Croixe International. 7 January 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  32. ^ Cindy Wooden (18 May 2017). "What's going on with Medjugorje? An interview with a priest assigned to investigate it". www.americamagazine.org. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  33. ^ a b Maunder 2016, pp. 153–155, 157, 161–163
  34. ^ Pentin, Edward (11 February 2017). "Pope Francis Appoints Polish Archbishop to Be Special Envoy to Medjugorje". National Catholic Register. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  35. ^ a b c "Official pilgrimages to Medjugorje are being authorized, confirms Pope Francis' envoy--Aleteia". Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture.
  36. ^ "Pope authorizes pilgrimages to Medjugorje - Vatican News". 12 May 2019.
  37. ^ "Vatican confirms Medjugorje approval by joining youth festival". Archived from the original on 7 August 2019.
  38. ^ "Vatican offers cautious green light to Medjugorje devotion". Crux. 19 September 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
  39. ^ ""The Queen of Peace": Note About the Spiritual Experience Connected with Medjugorje (19 September 2024)". www.vatican.va. Archived from the original on 4 December 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
  40. ^ "Pope Francis grants approval for Medjugorje devotion - Vatican News". 19 September 2024.

Cited sources

  • Maunder, Chris (2016). Our Lady of the Nations: Apparitions of Mary in 20th-Century Catholic Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198718383.
  • Thavis, John (2015). The Vatican Prophecies: Investigating Supernatural Signs, Apparitions, and Miracles in the Modern Age. New York City: Viking. ISBN 9780525426899.
  • Kutleša, Dražen, ed. (2001). Ogledalo pravde [Mirror of Justice] (PDF) (in Croatian). Mostar: Biskupski ordinarijat Mostar (Bishop's Ordinariate Mostar). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 November 2021.
  • Zovkić, Mato (1993). "Problematični elementi u fenomenu Međugorja" [The problematic elements in the Medjugorje phenomenon]. Bogoslovska smotra (in Croatian). 63 (1–2): 76–87.
  • Bulat, Nikola (2006). Istina će vas osloboditi [The Truth will set you free] (in Croatian). Mostar: Biskupski ordinarijat Mostar.

Further reading

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