Medjugorje and the perspective of the Church

By Mgr Armando Matteo*

The phenomenon of the alleged apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Medjugorje concerns the events that began on June 24, 1981, in the parish of St. James of Medjugorje, administered by the OFM Franciscan Fathers of the Province of Herzegovina, in the diocese of Mostar-Duvno in former Yugoslavia (today Bosnia and Herzegovina).

That day, in the late afternoon, two girls, Ivanka Ivanković and Mirjana Dragicević, went to the village of Podbrdo, at the foot of the Crnica hill. Suddenly, Ivanka saw the Virgin (who did not appear to Mirjana). The two girls continued their walk through the village.

On the same day, at around 6 p.m., six children saw the figure of Mary holding a child in her arms in the same place: in addition to Ivanka and Mirjana, Vicka Ivanković, Ivan Dragičević, Ivan Ivanković and Milka Pavlović were present. Marija Pavlović and Jakov Čolo, who are still among the six alleged seers, joined the others the next day, on June 25.

On July 21 of the same year, Bishop Pavao Žanić of Mostar-Duvno met with the six “seers” who told him about their recent experiences. The Ordinary was convinced that “the boys were not lying.” He expressed this conviction again a few days later, while administering confirmation in the parish of Medjugorje. Subsequently, on November 19, 1983, Bishop Pavao Žanić sent a confidential report to the then Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith about the alleged apparition of Mary, expressing his “strongest doubts” about it.

On October 12, 1984, the Yugoslav Bishops’ Conference issued a statement regarding the alleged events in Medjugorje, invoking the jurisdiction of ecclesiastical authority regarding the evaluation of the apparitions and prohibiting official pilgrimages to Medjugorje.

On May 19, 1986, the Diocesan Commission charged with evaluating the alleged apparitions in Medjugorje rendered its judgment: 11 members against 4 declared No observation of supernaturality.

In the same year, the Belgrade Pro-Nuncio issued a negative opinion on the work of the diocesan commission. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the time decided to entrust the Yugoslav Episcopal Conference with a new examination of the case.

The following year, on April 9, the work of the Commission of the Yugoslav Episcopal Conference began, and continued until April 1991.

On the 10th of this month, the final report of the Commission of the Yugoslav Bishops’ Conference on the phenomenon of Medjugorje, known as the Zadar Declaration, was published. I quote:

“The bishops have followed the events in Medjugorje from the beginning through the bishop of the diocese (Mostar), the Episcopal Commission and the Commission of the Bishops’ Conference of Yugoslavia for Medjugorje. On the basis of the investigations, it cannot be affirmed so far that these are supernatural apparitions and revelations. However, the numerous gatherings of faithful from different parts of the world, who come to Medjugorje, moved by motives of faith and other reasons, require the attention and pastoral care first of all of the diocesan bishop and with him of the other bishops, so that a healthy devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary may be promoted in Medjugorje and in everything related to it, in accordance with the teaching of the Church. To this end, the bishops will give particularly appropriate liturgical and pastoral directives. Likewise, through their Commission, they will continue to follow and investigate the entire Medjugorje event.”

We now move on to 1994. It was on October 28 of that year that Bishop Ratko Perić, the new Ordinary of Medjugorje, asked Pope John Paul II to establish a commission to render a definitive verdict on the “apparitions.”

In July 1995, the visit of John Paul II to Medjugorje, during his apostolic journey to Sarajevo, was announced. In several private letters, the Pope expressed a positive opinion of Medjugorje and his desire to visit the place. Informed of this situation, Bishop Perić asked the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the time to prevent such a visit, which in reality never took place.

On March 2, 1998, at the request of the Bishop of Saint-Denis-de-La Réunion, the then Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith responded that private pilgrimages to Medjugorje were permitted, noting that Medjugorje was not, however, declared a place of authentic apparitions. It was also stated that Bishop Perić’s position regarding the judgment No observation of supernaturality was not that of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

In the following years, several consultations took place between the then Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the new Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a view to a new examination of the entire documentation. However, the Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina stated that it was not in a position to undertake a new examination and did not consider it appropriate.

The turning point came on January 14, 2008, when Pope Benedict XVI decided to create an international commission to evaluate the alleged supernatural phenomena of Medjugorje.

Cardinal Camillo Ruini was appointed president of this commission. In January 2014, after about six years of work, the international commission delivered its judgment. The conclusions of the Ruini commission were not made public, due to an explicit request from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the time.

In the following years, the latter prepared a series of in-depth studies on the whole Medjugorje event. Two experts were consulted, arriving at very different results from those of the Ruini Commission.

In December 2015, after receiving all the documentation, Pope Francis took upon himself all decisions regarding Medjugorje.

Subsequently, on February 11, 2017, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Henryk Hoser as the Holy See’s special envoy to examine the pastoral situation in Medjugorje. Then, on January 14, 2019, a papal provision was made public, according to which “it is possible to organize pilgrimages to Medjugorje, provided that care is taken that they are not interpreted as an authentication of the events.”

Finally, it should be recalled that on December 27, 2021, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Aldo Cavalli as the new Apostolic Visitor of the parish of Medjugorje, on a permanent and permanent basis. ad nutum Sanctae Sedis Archbishop Cavalli succeeds Polish Archbishop Henryk Hoser, who died on August 13 of the same year.

The full note on Medjugorje can be found here.

* Secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith