Medjugorje (Bosnia-Herzegovina) is preparing to celebrate on June 25 the 45th anniversary of the beginning of the alleged Marian apparitions which, according to the visionaries’ testimonies, began in 1981 and continue to the present day. As every year, tens of thousands of pilgrims from around the world will travel to this town in Bosnia and Herzegovina to take part in the commemorative events.
Preparations began this week with a novena of prayer dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the title “Queen of Peace,” while the parish is finalizing the liturgical and pastoral events planned for one of the most important dates on Medjugorje’s calendar.
The commemoration also comes in a context different from previous years. In September 2024, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a declaration of nihil obstat that authorized public devotion linked to Medjugorje and recognized the abundant pastoral fruits associated with the shrine, although without issuing a judgment on the supernatural character of the alleged apparitions.
One of the main centers of Catholic pilgrimage
Over more than four decades, Medjugorje has become one of the most frequented pilgrimage destinations in the Catholic world.
The anniversary celebration, together with the International Youth Festival (Mladifest) held each summer, marks the time of greatest pilgrim influx of the year. For June 25, various religious celebrations are planned, including a peace march, a Marian procession, and a large open-air Mass.
Preparatory activities include the daily recitation of the rosary on Mount Podbrdo, popularly known as the “Hill of Apparitions,” as well as various liturgical celebrations around the parish church of St. James.
Prayers for peace amid international conflicts
The opening of the novena brought together several hundred pilgrims, including the auxiliary bishop of Kharkiv-Zaporizhzhia, Jan Sobilo, and Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti, one of the members of the group of visionaries.
During the gathering, a special prayer was offered for peace in various regions of the world affected by conflicts, including Ukraine, the Holy Land, Lebanon, and several African countries.
According to media outlets linked to Medjugorje, Pavlovic-Lunetti stated that she had received an invitation from the Virgin to dedicate the following day to more intense prayer. Nevertheless, the parish continues to distinguish between the officially organized pastoral events and activities related to the personal testimonies of the visionaries.
The legacy of the Ruini Commission
The celebration of this 45th anniversary also coincides with the recent death of Cardinal Camillo Ruini, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 95.
Ruini chaired from 2010 to 2014 the international commission established by Benedict XVI to study the phenomena related to Medjugorje and present conclusions to the Holy See.
Although the full results of its work were never officially published, various reports indicated that the commission distinguished between the initial events of 1981 and the subsequent manifestations, showing a more favorable assessment of the early accounts and a more cautious stance regarding the later phenomena.
The conclusions of the investigation marked a point of reference in the Vatican’s handling of the case and contributed to the path that later led to the pastoral decisions adopted during the pontificate of Francis.
What the Holy See decided about Medjugorje
The declaration of nihil obstat published in 2024 did not entail recognition of the supernatural nature of the alleged apparitions.
The Holy See chose to focus primarily on the spiritual fruits observed over the decades among pilgrims visiting the shrine, allowing the promotion of devotion linked to the “Queen of Peace” and the normal development of pilgrimages.
At the same time, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith recalled that the messages attributed to the Virgin must continue to be subject to discernment and evaluation by ecclesiastical authority.
Since 2022, the pastoral care of pilgrims has been entrusted to Archbishop Aldo Cavalli, appointed apostolic visitor by Pope Francis to accompany the intense religious activity that continues to take place in Medjugorje.