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1. GEOGRAPHY – CLIMATE – POPULATION
2. SHORT HISTOPRICAL PRESENTATION
3. THE QUEEN OF PEACE SHRINE – WEEKLY PRAYER PROGRAM
4. THE PARISH OF MEDJUGORJE PILGRIMS’ INFORMATION
1. GEOGRAPHY – CLIMATE - POPULATION
Geographical Situation of Herzegovina
The Parish of Medjugorje is situated in the southern part of Herzegovina in the present-day state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In order for you to have a complete picture of the location, climate, irrigation and vegetation of Medjugorje, it is essential to have a better look at its surrounding areas.
Herzegovina is situated between two regions: a mountainous region to the north and a coastal region to the south. The mountainous wall to the north holds back the circulation of atmospheric masses from the Mediterranean, creating favourable climatic conditions for various vegetal cultivations in the area of Herzegovina.
Herzegovina covers an area of 9,948 square kilometres. It is bordered to the east by Montenegro, to the west by Bosnia, to the south and southeast by southern Croatia and in one area forms part of the Adriatic coast. The main cultural and administrational centre is Mostar.
Climate conditions
The nearby sea, and height above sea level influence the climate of Herzegovina.
Medjugorje is situated in the part of Herzegovina where the Mediterranean climate, with its gentle winters and warm summers, is predominant. It is characterised by rainfall in the colder period of the year.During winter, the Adriatic Sea gives off the heat accumulated during the summer period, easing winter atmospheric temperatures.In July and August, summer temperatures reach their maximum.
Maximum precipitation takes place in the autumn, though rainfall can also be felt in the spring. However, the greatest quantities fall in November and December.
Regarding wind, north and northeasterly winds are predominant. Locally, they are referred to as "northerly" or "Bura". Winter is at its coldest when this characteristically dry wind blows every second day.
Herzegovina has another recurring wind called "Jugo". This wind blows directly from the Adriatic Sea, most often during the autumn and spring. It is saturated with humidity and in the autumn brings rainfall in large quantities. It is considerable in strength and blows for a few days, after which the showers then stop.
On the basis of climatic evidence found in meteorological annals, we can conclude that Herzegovina is influenced by Mediterranean, continental, and mountain climates. And, in the area of southern Herzegovina where Medjugorje is situated, a Mediterranean climate is predominant.
Hydrographical Conditions
Herzegovina is a rugged country in which limy layers originating in the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous ages extend for tens of metres. These layers spring up in spots, are sometimes crushed, or are in the form of large masses. Water follows these rifts, disappears from the surface for a while, creates receptacles underground, or pours underground and crops up later on the surface as a whole river. From these sources the Herzegovinian Rivers - Buna, Tihaljina, Radobolja, Trebisnica, Vriostica, Bregava, Rama, Buka, Krupica etc. - well up. Some of these rivers, after a short flow on the surface, disappear again underground, and after a few kilometres, spring up on the surface again and receive another name.
The copious autumn rains, which fall in the area of Herzegovina, create streams. These make the rivers swell and flood, and the Karst expanses become lakes. The area of southern Herzegovina is more sparse regarding mountain springs. However, those water springs which it does possess present a real attraction, being more abundant than those of the mountains.
The waterways of Herzegovina are very attractive: Some, for the nature-lovers, some for the canoers, some for the fisherman, and others for those seeking a place to bathe, rest and refresh themselves.
Vegetation
Just as the area of Herzegovina stretches from the coast to high mountain-land, so too the belts of woodland correspond to the different levels above the sea. During the winter, or during the summer drought when the vegetation completely dies out, some Herzegovinian landscapes look like a Karst desert.
Of the total land area of Herzegovina, 56.8% is given to agriculture (arable and pastoral lands), while 42.4% is taken up by the woodland. The remainder is 0.8%.
In southern Herzegovina, the evergreen vegetation is predominant, so this picturesque landscape is held throughout the whole year. Its greenery decorates the Karst hillsides and the coastline. In the area surrounding Medjugorje, many expansive lush oak woods can be seen, and here and there, they crop up to beautify other areas of Herzegovina.
Herzegovina also has some indigenous species of plant-life. From the significant Mediterranean genus, we can single out the pomegranate. Its red flowers and fruit attract attention. Its oak, ivy, beech and Cystisis laburnum are elements belonging to the Mediterranean flora, while its pine belongs to the Euro-Asian flora. The pretty blossoms on the brambles and heather, sage and honeysuckle (which are typical of the Herzegovinian hillsides) present an attractive allurement. When this shrubbery blooms, the grey Karst hillsides change colour. In the springtime, the honeysuckle gives it a yellowy hue, which later becomes blue with the sage, then white from the heather and brownish-yellow from the blossoming brambles. If we could look from above, we would see a multi-coloured carpet landscape. This presents a romantic Herzegovinian landscape. The perfume of the flowers and the freshness of the air have a favourable influence on the human organism. Bees fly from flower to flower and produce the well-known Herzegovinian 'restorative' or 'healing' honey.
Apart from the indigenous species of nature, there's also the 'man-made' cultivation of crops, which (with the help of the fruitful soil of the area) has made something unique. The well-known Herzegovinian tobacco (Nicotinum tobacum) is featured as one of the best tobaccos of the world for its quality. However, its exportation is practically unheard of in the present day.
Nonetheless, Herzegovina has other rarities and quality products, which make her exporters proud. Among them, we certainly must mention the well-known wines Zilavka and Blatina. These vines flourish only in Herzegovina under these conditions and in the comfortable Mediterranean climate. Herzegovina is also renowned for the "first cherries." Due to climate and conditions, they ripen much earlier here than in surrounding areas. In fact, the Herzegovinian conditions are predisposed for the planting of fruit trees.
Thousands of cherry, plum, pear, peach, apple, apricot, and marasca trees grow here. Because of this Herzegovina has become one of the biggest providers of fruit and vegetables in Bosnia-Herzegovina. These are immense plantations, watered by artificial rain clouds.
POPULATION
The population of Medjugorje currently numbers about 4300 inhabitants. All are of Croatian nationality, speak the Croatian language, write with the Latin alphabet and are Catholic. Politically, the new state under which Medjugorje emerges is a parliamentary democracy.
Throughout history, this area was noted for continuous migration. Before the First World War, great poverty drove them out into the world. During the period between the two World Wars, Serbian hegemony and persecution under the new multi-ethnic Yugoslavian state drove many to leave their homeland for the far-off lands of North and South America. The real large scale emigration, however, began after the Second World War, when the Communist dictators forced many to run away beyond the borders of their own native Croatia, suffocated by the communist creation called Yugoslavia. In the early nineteen sixties a real exodus of Croatian people occurred: they left on so called "temporary work" for Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, the USA, Canada, Australia and even as far away as South Africa and New Zealand. The communists said that they had left only temporarily, in reality they had sold them throughout the world as slaves. They used them as a cheap way of gaining foreign currency. The irony of the political communist system declared most of them, who were forced to work just for survival itself, to be "enemies of the state," which also condemned their families in the homeland. This is how their return became completely impossible.
The population of the parish of Medjugorje started to return bit by bit, fostered by supernatural events - Our Lady's apparitions (which began back in 1981).
2. SHORT HISTORICAL PRESENTATION
1. The Pre-Croatian Period
If we were to judge by the caves existing in the area of Brotnjo as well as in the parish of Medjugorje, we can't completely exclude the possibility of habitation as far back as the older Stone Age period. From the later Stone Age period, there is material proof of the existence of a pre-Illyrian culture and civilisation in the area. In the older Bronze Age, there is evidence of Illyrian tribes. Copper objects found in the area are proof of an intensive lifestyle. Some walled settlements on the higher points, so-called "gradine" (castle ruins), which were either circular or square in shape, date from this period. A double wall surrounded some of them. In the parish of Medjugorje, there are still existing examples of the double-walled "gradine": in Surmanci and above Medjugorje itself in Zuzelj. Apart from the "gradine", the most eloquent evidence of the Illyrian civilisation (which is abundant in Brotnjo and indeed in the area of Medjugorje itself) are the graves of the Illyrian dignitaries.
In the second century before Christ, the Daors allied themselves with the Romans and waged war with the Illyrian tribes of Dalmatia. Brotnjo first belonged to the Illyrian province of Dalmatia, which has its administrational seat in Solin near Split, and from the third century to the setting of Narona. The writings on the gravestones testify that Roman legions and cohorts were situated in the area, and that Roman veteran soldiers lived there. There remain some parts of a road from the time of the Romans, constructed in the 3rd century. Apart from that, many Roman memorial tombstones and objects of everyday use have been found. The most significant archaeological site from the Roman time is to be found in the Catholic cemetery in Miletina, where some vestiges of buildings made of Roman bricks have been discovered, but it hasn't been sufficiently examined.
2. The Beginnings of Croatian History
At the end of the 6th century, Croatians began to establish themselves in these regions. The region of Brotnjo represented a tribal political-territorial unit, a district, with a tribal regional chief, a district prefect.
Brotnjo always belonged to the land of Hum, which in 1322 fell under Bosnian administration. From 1357, this area then belonged to the Hungarian Croatian King, Ljudevit I.
From the mediaeval period, the most famous memorials of the civilisation in this region are the "stecak" - truly indigenous autochthones grave memorials. In many ways the "stecak" from Herzegovina are superior to those from the rest of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Croatia; in the number and in the dimension of burial grounds, in the beauty of their ornamentation, and in their worth regarding artful elaboration. In Brotnjo itself there are many burial grounds and "stecak", likewise in the area of Medjugorje. Man-formed crosses with arms raised in prayer are sculpted into some of them.
Up to the 12th century, this area was Glagolitic. The famous “Plaque of Humac” testifies to this. In the second half of the 12th century a form of the Cyrillic alphabet called “Bosancica” prevailed. In the area of Brotnjo, not one mediaeval Latin inscription is to be found, only Croatian inscriptions written in “Bosancica”.
3. The Period of Turkish Occupation
Christianity arrived to the area surrounding Medjugorje in the time of the Romans. Judging by the amount of early Christian church ruins it was extensively widespread. In large part they were destroyed, and churches were levelled to the ground during the time of the migration in the 6th and 7th centuries after Christ. The Croatian settlers accepted Christianity very early: They started to be baptised as early as the 7th century. However, the Catholic Church never became really solidly established in the mediaeval Croatian Bosnian state, which facilitated the expansion of the "Bosnian Church." In the 13th century, the Croatian Bosnian state, which included the land of Hum (Herzegovina), was firstly visited by the Dominican missionaries and, after their lack of results, the Franciscan missionaries who accomplished great success in bringing the Bogumils or “Bosnian Christians” back to the Catholic Church and the Catholic faith.
Bosnia and Herzegovina fell under Turkish power in the year 1463. The Turkish invaders wished to occupy the whole of Croatia too, to reach Vienna and Rome, and likewise further west. On their way, the Croatians stopped them; for this reason, the Pope proclaimed them to be the "bulwark of Christianity". Croatia had nevertheless to pay a high price. Not only were many Croatian lives lost in continuous warfare, but the central part of Croatia - its heart - was also snatched away: Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The life of the Catholics under Turkish rule was constantly exposed to the forced passage into Islam, to oppression and to persecution. Under the Turkish feudal system, no Croatian could possess anything immovable. Catholics were permanently considered as “enemies of the state,” because their head was in “enemy” territory: Rome. Croatians subsisted from stock bearing and work on the properties of Turkish invaders and of local landlords who embraced Islam; they were paying large taxes in stock, corn, grain and even children. The Turks forcefully snatched their children, made them embrace Islam and used them as Janissaries, special-force units for the purpose of conquering the still unconquered Christian lands, among others their own Croatian country. For this reason, many Croatians were driven to flee westwards. This is how the Moslem element entered into Bosnia and Herzegovina. Up until the time of Turkish occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the area was almost completely inhabited by Croatians. As the Turkish broke in from the east, the Serbs migrated westwards fleeing from them, but later on they helped them in their conquests, and arrived in these areas where heretofore they had never been.
4. The Role of the Franciscans
The activities of the Franciscans in these areas from the very time of their arrival had a major influence on the survival of Croatians under cultural, religious and every other aspect. The Franciscans emerged in Croatian regions in the first decades of the 13th century. During the whole time of the Turkish occupation (1463 to 1878), the Franciscans were the only ones who tended to the spiritual needs of the Croatian Catholics in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and their only representatives and defenders in front of the Turkish administration. In every way, the Franciscans shared the plight of their people. After the Turks had destroyed all of the Franciscan monasteries in Herzegovina, in the first half of the 16th century, the spiritual care for the Croatian Catholics was taken over by Franciscans from the Christian Dalmatia, i.e. Croatia. During the Turkish administration, the Franciscans were persecuted, tortured and killed, many thrown alive into the river Neretva... After the Turkish rule, only the ruins of the Franciscan monasteries were left.
The first Franciscan Province to be set up in the region of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the Bosnian Franciscan Province. In 1852, the Herzegovinian Custody was established, and in 1892 the Herzegovinian Franciscan province was founded, members of which serve today in the parish of Medjugorje.
The Franciscans have left indelible tracks in the region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Many have enriched the Croatian Church with their personal holiness and heroic witnessing of the Gospel; they educated the population, and contributed to the alphabetisation and the development of art and science.
In the great wars of the 17th century the majority of parishes in Herzegovina were destroyed, among them the parish of Medjugorje. When relative peace returned to Herzegovina in the 18th century, the Franciscans gathered the remaining believers together and established parishes. The parish of Medjugorje was founded in the year 1892.
5. The Austro-Hungarian Administration of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the Creation of Early Yugoslavia
After liberation from Ottoman rule in 1878, the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy took power in these areas. For political reasons, it didn't want to include the newly liberated areas in the Croatian state to which they historically belonged. And so, once again in history, the Croatian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina remained separated from the motherland.
In the year 1914, the First World War began, the reason being the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, carried out by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian. In 1918, at the end of the First World War, Yugoslavia was fraudulently brought into existence as the kingdom of Serbians, Croatians and Slovenians. This fraud was brought about by the big powers of the time. In this state, the Croatian people were oppressed, and the parliamentarian who fought for the freedom of Croatians was perfidiously killed in the Parliament, in Belgrade, in 1928. In 1929, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was established, which was to crumble at the beginning of the Second World War.
6. Life in the Second Yugoslavia
During the Second World War, the losses of the Croatian people were immense. At the end of the war itself, when the cease-fire had already been officially declared, about 300,000 civilians and soldiers lost their lives at Bleiburg and at what is called the "Way of the Cross" of the Croatian people. According to attained agreements, the Allies were supposed to offer refuge to Croats after their surrender, and to others who were seeking to evade communism. But the Allies, according to the order of the field-martial general Harold Alexander, handed the soldiers and the civilians over to the communists – the partisans. In Bleiburg alone a multitude lost their lives, while the rest of them had to form a 60km long line taking them to the communist Yugoslavia and it's concentration camps. This was the beginning of the Croatian Golgotha, the so-called "Way of the Cross,” which extended from the most northern to the most southern point of the new multi-ethnic state of Yugoslavia. The Partisans killed the Croatians while walking, without trial, without establishing their eventual culpability, at their own discretion. Especially persecuted were the Croatians from Herzegovina.
The communists killed 630 priests and nuns from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Alone in the Herzegovinian Franciscan province, 70 Franciscans were killed. The Second World War took 344 lives from the parish of Medjugorje.
In the parish of Medjugorje, life under communist rule was hard. People were beaten and sentenced to years in prison just because they were Catholics and Croatians. In schools, just as elsewhere in Croatia, the communists tried to separate children from their national identity and their faith. Thanks to the strong faith of the people, they didn't succeed in this.
At the same time, the area was systematically economically neglected, with the aim of having as many people as possible leave the area… The pilgrims, who came here at the very beginning of the apparitions, saw all this in action. They found here a very poor region and very rude policemen. The administration didn't permit the slightest help in accommodating the pilgrims; instead, many of them - together with the locals - were persecuted and imprisoned, just because they said that Our Lady was appearing. However, the local people were hospitable and had their standards.
7. Liberation
The communist tyranny fell in 1990, when the Croatian people unanimously decided for the independence and breakaway from the artificially created Yugoslavia. This, certainly, didn't tie in with the idea of Great Serbian, so the Yugoslavian army, made up primarily of Serbs, militarily attacked Slovenia on the 25th of June 1991 (the tenth anniversary of Our Lady's apparitions), then Croatia and afterwards Bosnia and Herzegovina, desiring to suffocate independence. Several hundred thousands lost their lives during this bloody war. The world could have stopped this bloodshed. It didn't do this because of their respective interests. The E.E.C. kept on condemning the warring sides, hoping to wash its hands and save Yugoslavia as a multinational state, which could be used to further their own aims. James Baker, the Prime Minister of the Bush administration, even permitted the Yugoslav army to attack Slovenia.
European and world powers sought out and still seek their own interests in these areas. Because of that, they tried and continue to try to fog-up this war presenting it as a civil war in which all were equal. The truth is, however, completely different and very simple: The Serbs, wanting to create the Great Serbia, attacked other peoples which up until then had lived with them in the same state. They were able to do this because, in ex-Yugoslavia, all the power was in their hands. The major world powers had chosen them as the "policemen" of the Balkans, and because of this, they looked benignly on their actions. Even when they had committed the first genocide, as in Vukovar, the major world powers didn't want to stop them. They only began to stop them when they exceeded every measure, and began to injure the reputation of their protectors.
The warfare between Croatians and the Moslem community in Bosnia and Herzegovina (in 1993) began as a series of misunderstandings, but also out of a desire of some foreign intelligence services to occupy as much as possible of the territories in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to consolidate there. The Croatians simply desired that no one other than themselves govern them anymore. They wanted to have their own schools, to be allowed to call their own language Croatian, while remaining in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Moslem community, the largest in Bosnia and Herzegovina, led by a fundamentalist leadership, wanted to administrate the new state according to the Islamic law and to impose its rule upon the others. For this reason, they brought into the country the Islamic soldiers - mudjahedins - from all over the world, who committed terrible crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This war, however, was stopped very rapidly because it was really not needed.
Today, Medjugorje is a part of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Because of the communist administration and the terrible war, the infrastructure of Medjugorje is still underdeveloped. This however, didn't stop pilgrims from coming here, even during the cruelest clashes of the war. Many of them brought aid, thus helping the Croatian people to remain where they were. The Croatian people will never forget this. Today, pilgrims are coming more and more. They want to experience this time of grace with their whole hearts, and not let it pass them by.
3. The Queen of Peace shrine – Medjugorje
Weekly Prayer Program
MONDAY
07.30 am - Holy Mass in Croatian (+ 1 pm in Summer)
Morning - Holy Mass in various languages
Afternoon - Silent Adoration in the Adoration Chapel
5(6)–8(9) pm Evening Prayer Programme and Confession
5(6) pm - Joyful and Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary
6(7) pm - Holy Mass
7(8)–8(9) pm – Blessings of objects, Prayer for health of soul and body, Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary
TUESDAY
07.30 am - Holy Mass in Croatian (+ 1 pm in Summer)
Morning - Holy Mass in various languages
Afternoon - Silent Adoration in the Adoration Chapel
5(6)–8(9) pm Evening Prayer Programme and Confession
5(6) pm - Joyful and Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary
6(7) pm - Holy Mass
7(8)–8(9) pm - Blessings of objects, Prayer for health of soul and body, Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary
WEDNESDAY
07.30 am - Holy Mass in Croatian (+ 1 pm in Summer)
Morning - Holy Mass in various languages
Afternoon - Silent Adoration in the Adoration Chapel
5(6)–8(9) pm Evening Prayer Programme and Confession
5(6) pm - Joyful and Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary
6(7) pm - Holy Mass
7(8)–8(9) pm - Blessings of objects, Prayer for health of soul and body, Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary
9(10)–10(11) pm - ADORATION OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT
THURSDAY
07.30 am - Holy Mass in Croatian (+ 1 pm in Summer)
Morning - Holy Mass in various languages
Afternoon - Silent Adoration in the Adoration Chapel
5(6)–8(9) pm Evening Prayer Programme and Confession
5(6) pm – Rosary
- Advent, Christmas time and Ordinary time: Joyful and Luminous mysteries.
- Lent: Luminous and Sorrowful mysteries.
- Easter time: Luminous and Glorious mysteries.
6(7) pm - Holy Mass, then Blessings of objects
7(8)–8(9) pm - ADORATION OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT
FRIDAY
07.30 am - Holy Mass in Croatian (+ 1 pm in Summer)
Morning - Holy Mass in various languages
Afternoon - Silent Adoration in the Adoration Chapel
2(4) pm - WAY OF THE CROSS ON MOUNT KRIŽEVAC
5(6)–8(9) pm Evening Prayer Programme and Confession
5(6) pm – Joyful and Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary
6(7) pm - Holy Mass, then Blessings of objects
7(8)–8(9) pm - VENERATION OF THE HOLY CROSS
SATURDAY
07.30 am - Holy Mass in Croatian
Morning - Holy Mass in various languages
Afternoon - Silent Adoration in the Adoration Chapel
1 pm - Holy Mass in Croatian
5(6)–8(9) pm Evening Prayer Programme and Confession
5(6) pm - Joyful and Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary
6(7) pm - Holy Mass
7(8)–8(9) pm - Blessings of objects, Prayer for health of soul and body, Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary
9(10)–10(11) pm - ADORATION OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT
SUNDAYS AND FEAST DAYS
8, 11 am, 6(7) pm - Holy Mass in Croatian
Morning - Holy Mass in various languages
Afternoon - Silent Adoration in the Adoration Chapel
2(4) pm - ROSARY ON APPARITION HILL
5(6)–8(9) pm Evening Prayer Programme and Confession
5(6) pm - Joyful and Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary
6(7) pm - Holy Mass
7(8)–8(9) pm - Blessings of objects, Prayer for health of soul and body, Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary
4. THE PARISH OF MEDJUGORJE PILGRIMS’ INFORMATION
THE PARISH OF MEDJUGORJE Medjugorje is one of the villages of the Western-Hercegovina municipality of Citluk, of historic Brotnjo. As the largest of the five villages which comprise the parish (Medjugorje, Bijakovici, Vionica, Miletina, Surmanci), Medjugorje gave its name to this extensive Roman Catholic parish. In recent times it has been one of the best known and most visited places of pilgrimage in the whole Catholic world. The name Medjugorje is of Slavic origin which means "area between two mountains." The territory of the Medjugorje parish spreads out at an altitude of 200 meters above sea level and has a mild Mediterranean climate that offers ideal conditions for cultivation of wine, tobacco, and fruit.
The parish of Medjugorje was founded in 1892 and placed under the protection of St. James, patron saint of pilgrims. Five years later the old parish church of St. James in Medjugorje was completed. At that time it was both sufficiently large and beautiful, but built on earthquake prone ground, it soon began to sink and crack. Therefore, after World War I plans were made to build a new church, which was completed and blessed on January 19, 1969. At that time, it attracted little attention, even from the people of the nearest surroundings. In the summer of 1981 the church of Medjugorje became a focal point for the gathering of millions of pilgrims from all over the world. People began to come, see and be convinced of the extraordinary events in Medjugorje. There awaiting them was a message about the necessity of faith, prayer, conversion, fasting. . ., as the preconditions of peace and salvation of the world.
After the beginning of the apparitions, the Church as well as the area around it were gradually developed. The remains of the old church are preserved in a park inside the traffic circle on the left side of the current shrine.
Medjugorje is a unique event in the modern world. In the last fifteen years it has attracted approximately 20 million pilgrims from all over the world. Here they again discover peace, their humanness, and their closeness with God. They become witnesses of truth, love and peace.
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APPARITION HILL
The place of Our Lady's first apparitions on the hill of Crnica is usually called Apparition Hill. It is situated several hundred meters above the Bijakovo hamlet of Podbrdo. A steep footpath leads from the houses to the very place of the apparitions. Now slightly widened by the millions of pilgrims who have so far visited the place of the first apparitions, the path has become visible from as far away as St. James. Numerous pilgrims, many of whom were born and raised on flat asphalt, often in unsuitable clothing or even barefoot, and on their knees, climbed over the sharp stones to the place of Our Lady's first apparitions. Half way up the path is located a large plain wooden cross. This is where on the third day of the apparitions, June 26, 1981, Our Lady appeared to the visionary Marija Pavlovic who, after having had a vision with the others at the usual place that evening, ran down the hill a little ahead of the other visionaries. At this place Marija once more saw Our Lady, now with a sad face. Behind her was a large cross and motioning with her hands she said, "Peace, peace, peace and only peace! Peace must reign between God and man and also between men!" Today this is a place where pilgrims stop, remaining in prayer and reflection on the message given by Our Lady, directed to man, and the world of today, which is so much in such great need of peace. The very site of apparitions is a large bare space on the rocky ground more than a hundred meters in diameter, completely trodden down by the feet of millions of pilgrims, without a single stem or blade of grass between the rocks, without hardly a lump of ground or even little rocks. At the site which the visionaries closely marked as the very place where Our Lady had appeared to them, a high cross is erected, planted into a pile of rocks. Only something truly extraordinary could have attracted such a great multitude of people to that place. At any time of day or night, any day of the year, individuals and groups can be found in prayer, in song, in deep meditation, and silence.
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CROSS MOUNTAIN (KRIZEVAC)
About one kilometer from the church of Medjugorje, as the crow flies, Cross Mountain rises up as a continuation of Crnica Hill, forming an angle with it. On its peak (520 meters above sea level) the pastor and people of Medjugorje at that time erected an 8.56 meter high reinforced concrete cross in commemoration of the 1900th anniversary of the Passion of Jesus. In it they engraved the words, "To Jesus Christ, Redeemer of the human race, as a sign of their faith, love and hope, the pastor Bernadine Smoljan and the parish of Medjugorje erected this cross. From every evil deliver us, O Jesus." Relics received from Rome for the occasion are embedded in the cross bar itself. They include a piece of the cross, venerated by Christians as the one on which Jesus Christ was crucified, the largest part of which is preserved in the Church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem in Rome. The cross was completed on March 15, 1934. Later on the custom was established of celebrating Holy Mass at the base of the cross on the first Sunday after Our Lady's birthday in commemoration of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Cross Mountain does not so much attract pilgrims for its natural beauty or because of the importance of the cross erected on it, but only because, after the Medjugorje apparitions began, a great number of people claim that they saw various luminous and other "signs" on that cross. Everyone connected them with the apparitions of Our Lady themselves, with the message of the Medjugorje apparitions - peace between God and man and between men. They understood that the way to that peace leads unavoidably through the cross. They included the veneration of the cross in their pilgrimage devotions and practices. Climbing up that difficult, near impossible path to the Cross on the mountain, pilgrims pray the devotion of the Way of the Cross. That is why, along the path on Cross Mountain, fifteen bronze reliefs are placed and the image of Our Lady is in each one of them. Our Lady accompanies both Jesus and us on the way of the cross in our life
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THE APPARITIONS OF OUR LADY TODAY
According to the testimony of the six young parishioners, the Blessed Virgin Mary has been appearing daily in the parish of Medjugorje since June 24, 1981. That day the visionaries were frightened by the apparition of Our Lady and ran away. On the following day, June 25, they responded to Our Lady's call and went to Apparition Hill, where for the first time they prayed and spoke with her. That is why this day is celebrated as the anniversary of the apparitions of the Queen of Peace, as Our Lady introduced herself. For pictures and further information about the Visionaries:
Ivanka Ivankovic - Elez - Was born in 1966, had daily apparitions till May 7, 1985. On that day, confiding to her the last of ten secrets, Our Lady told her that for the rest of her entire life, she will have an apparition once a year on June 25, the anniversary of the apparitions.
Mirjana Dragicevic - Soldo - Was born in 1965, had daily apparitions until December 25, 1982. On the last day of her apparitions, Our Lady told her that for the rest of her entire life she will have an apparition once a year on March 18, her birthday. Since August 2, 1987, on each second day of the month, she hears Our Lady's voice within herself and prays with her for unbelievers. Sometimes she also sees her.
Vicka Ivankovic - Was born in 1964, still has daily apparitions.
Marija Pavlovic - Lunetti - Was born in 1965, still has daily apparitions. Through her on every 25th day of the month Our Lady directs her monthly message to the parish and the world.
Ivan Dragicevic - Was born in 1965, still has daily apparitions.
Jakov Colo - Was born in 1971, has apparitions annually on Christmas.
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Information Office: 011-387-36-651-988 Parish Office: 011-387-36-650-206; 650-310; 651-333
Fax: 011-387-36-651-444 Radio: 011-387-36-651-100; fax 651-300
E-mail: medjugorje-mir@medjugorje.hr official website: www.medjugorje.hr
Automatic Message: 011-387-60-325-325. By calling this number you can hear the latest message of Our Lady and the news from Medjugorje which is updated every Wednesday.
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IMPORTANT DATES
June 24: Peace March (Humac-Medjugorje)
June 25: Anniversary of Our Lady's apparitions
July 20-28: International Music Festival
July 25: Feast of St. James, Parish Patron Saint
July 31-August 6: International Youth Prayer Meeting
First Sunday after September 8, Nativity of Our Lady: Mass on Cross Mountain
October 3: Transitus' Vigil of St. Francis
December 31: Prayer Vigil
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