Mary’s Invitation

Doing the Stations of the Cross in Medjugorje. Pilgrims trek up to the large stone cross at the summit of the large mountain at Krizevac, which was erected by the local people in 1933 for the 1900th anniversary of Christ’s death.
Doing the Stations of the Cross in Medjugorje. Pilgrims trek up to the large stone cross at the summit of the large mountain at Krizevac, which was erected by the local people in 1933 for the 1900th anniversary of Christ’s death.


(Last of three installments on Medjugorje)

In 1981, when word broke out that something extraordinary was happening in a small village in Communist Yugoslavia -- “Gospa” or Our Lady was reportedly appearing daily to six children, ages 9-16 -- pilgrims from neighboring towns and countries began traveling to the site.

From Italy, an overnight ride by boat from Pescara, across the Adriatic Sea, to Split was one popular route. Others traveled by car to Northeastern Italy, crossing the border town of Trieste into Slovenia. Still, others flew into Split, Mostar or Zagreb by Yugoslav Airlines. Many, like pilgrims of Santiago de Compostela, bravely walked for hundreds of miles.

However, the journey was not the toughest part. The Communist authorities were stringent about anyone visiting Medjugorje. Yugoslavia was an atheistic state -- any public display of religion was banned. The authorities, therefore, could not permit any tourist or pilgrim to enter their country to participate in a religious event!

Yet, somehow, Fr. Rene Laurentin, a noted Marianologist (a theologian specializing in the study of the Blessed Virgin Mary) made it through, after repeated attempts. His visits culminated in the book, “Is the Virgin Mary Appearing at Medjugorje?”. In collaboration with Dr. Henri Joueux, Fr. Laurentin wrote another book, “Scientific and Medical Studies on the Apparitions at Medjugorje”.

I first learned of Medjugorje on Christmas 1987, when I came across a two-page article in a Catholic magazine. In August 1988, with my wife Lucie, and my parents, I made my first trip to Medjugorje, by way of Fatima, Lourdes, and Rome. That first trip changed my life in such a profound way that even to this day, I have not completely understood its effects. I made several trips thereafter, and in 1993, wrote the book, “From Mt. Krizevac to Mt. Carmel”, in an attempt to trace a pilgrim’s outer (physical) journey and inner (spiritual) conversion.

It was difficult to persuade a publisher to take the book. Even Catholic publishers were not interested in a book about a Marian apparition that was not officially sanctioned by the Church, forgetting the fact that Marian apparitions cannot be officially approved until they cease. Political opposition from the Bishop of Mostar towards the Franciscan community running the parish of Medjugorje was not helping things either. A memo from the diocese of San Diego instructed parishes not to promote the devotion. The Southern Cross, San Diego’s diocesan newspaper, was silent about the apparitions.

But, the Mother of God is a persistent individual. Asked by the visionaries why she was appearing to them daily, she replied: “Are you tired of meeting with me?”

Thirty million pilgrims from every corner of the world have come to Medjugorje but the “Gospa” has not stopped. Never in the history of the church has a Marian apparition lasted this long -- 27 years!

Today, it is not that difficult to travel to Medjugorje. The trip involves a short flight from Rome on Croatia Airlines, a dramatic improvement from Yugoslav Air. From Split, it is a 3-4 hour ride by bus through the Dalmatian Coast. There are hundreds of well-established Marian travel agencies around the world. My favorite is Mir Arizona, organized by Helen Zec. She was one of the few brave ones who continued to bring pilgrims to Medjugorje in the height of the war in 1991-93 and did a lot for refugees and orphans of the war.

In the 1980s and into the 90s, pilgrims stayed at private homes -- villagers graciously opened their homes to host pilgrims. There were no commercial accommodations. A warm shower was a luxury. I remember Pansion Jerko fondly; we stayed in small bedrooms above a tiny snack bar. Lucie and I remain grateful to Maria Cilic who opened her house to us and gladly served our group of San Diego pilgrims homemade meals in 1989.Through the years, we’ve stayed at homes, around St. James church. The last several years, we often stay at Ivan’s home or at his brother Dragan and his wife Juanita’s place. We enjoy staying with their family, as well as with Ivan’s mother, Zlata.

The village has changed through the years. Back then, it was tough to find souvenirs to bring home to family and friends. There was only the small Franciscan gift shop next to the church, where one could get a rosary. You could not even find a statue of the Blessed Mother. Now, the place is dotted with religious stores, much like

Lourdes or Fatima, and life size statues of the Blessed Mother are available for hardy pilgrims to bring back home.

In the old days, you were isolated from the rest of the world. A brief international call through a public phone in the post office was costly. Now, internet is available. And you can readily call or text with your cell phone. Back then, a cup of cappuccino, after evening mass, would cost you only 50 cents. And a taxi to any place in town was $4 flat. Now, it’s a euro or $1.50 for cappuccino and five euros or $7 for the taxi.

I often wonder why some people readily jump at the chance of a pilgrimage to Medjugorje -- who would not want to be in a place where the Mother of God appears each day? -- while others, sincerely intending to go, never come around to doing it. Still, others think that what’s happening there for 27 years is some kind of Catholic hocus-pocus, and do not want to be bothered. Why travel halfway around the world from the United States or the Philippines when you can pray in your local church, in front of the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary or the Blessed Sacrament if you wish?

What Fr. Jozo Zovko says about this may be true. Whether you believe it or not, he says, you find yourself in Medjugorje because, for one reason or another, you have been invited to come. In other words, you did not choose to come. The Blessed Mother herself invited you to come.

Fr. Jozo is not one person who speaks lightly. He was the parish priest of Medjugorje, when a few days after the apparitions began, he returned from a retreat to find his little parish turned upside down. Frantic parishioners told him that the Gospa was appearing to six children. The communist police was coming in full force to stop what to them was a religious uprising.

While the visionaries, accompanied by throngs of villagers, were on Podbrdo (the Hill of Apparitions), Fr. Jozo remained in church, skeptical, wondering what he should do. The Blessed Virgin Mary had appeared in Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fatima, and other places. But in his parish? That could not be true. Yet, falling down on his knees to pray before the Blessed Sacrament, he heard a voice that said: “Fr. Jozo, take care of the children!” Fr. Jozo got up and went out of St. James Church only to be met with the children, rushing to church, pursued by the communists.

Fr. Jozo protected and defended the visionaries, and for that he paid a heavy price. He was sentenced to prison, was tortured and scheduled for execution. In prison, the Blessed Mother appeared to him and comforted him.

Today, Fr. Jozo is a retired priest in nearby Siroki-Brieg, where he has built an impressive orphanage that takes care of from 5,000-7000 children.

Fr. Jozo welcomes pilgrims and assures them of Mary’s special invitation. For those who cannot come, he says that is fine. Mary has been here for 27 years, she will continue to wait for them.