Our Lady of Međugorje

Our Lady of Međugorje
Statue often mistaken for the Gospa of Međugorje[1] (see Description in article)

Our Lady of Međugorje (also called Queen of Peace) is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary by those who believe that she appeared to six Herzegovinian Croat children in Međugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina (at the time in SFR Yugoslavia).[2] The visionaries often refer to the apparition as the "Gospa"[3] which is Croatian for "Lady".

On June 24, 1981, young Mirjana Dragicevic and Ivanka Ivanković reported seeing an apparition of the Virgin Mary in a village in what is now Bosnia-Herzegovina. The following day another vision was reported, this time also by four other young people: Marija Pavlović, Jakov Colo, Vicka Ivanković, and Ivan Dragicevic. For several years the six visionaries reported seeing daily apparitions from the Virgin Mary and Međugorje became crowded with pilgrims. It has been reported that Our Lady of Međugorje has been appearing daily to three of these visionaries ever since.

Contents

Reported messages and visions

In the nearly 30 years that she has purportedly been appearing to the six visionaries, they have been reporting receiving messages from the Virgin Mary asking for people to pray often, fast and do penance.[4]

Many phenomena have been reported at Međugorje, such as the sun spinning, dancing in the sky, turning colors, or being surrounded by objects such as hearts or crosses. Many have reported that they have been able to look at the sun during those times without any damage to their eyes. The tall cement cross erected on Mount Podbrdo (where many of the apparitions had taken place) has reportedly disappeared and reappeared or else glowed as if lit with lights, although there is no electricity on the mountain.[5] Not everyone reports seeing the same miracles at the same time. Miraculous healing has also been reported.[6]

Description of Our Lady

Franciscan Fr. Janko Bubalo questioned the visionaries and asked them to describe Mary's appearance. According to how they saw Our Lady, she is 18 to 20 years old, slender and around 165 cm tall. Her face is long and oval with black hair. Her eyes are blue with delicate eye lashes and thin black eyebrows. She has a nice, little nose and rosy cheeks. She has beautiful reddish thin lips and her smile is more like some indescribable gentleness. It’s visible as if somehow under her skin.

Her simple dress is bluish-grey and falls freely all the way down to the little whitish cloud on which she is standing. Her veil is pure white and covers her head and shoulders. It also reaches down to the little cloud. She has a crown of twelve golden stars on her head.

Finally he asked, “Is Our Lady really beautiful, as you have said?” Their answer was, “Well, really we haven't told you anything about that. Her beauty cannot be described. It is not our kind of beauty. It is something ethereal, something heavenly, something that we'll only see in Paradise and then only to a certain degree.”[7]

Official position of the Holy See

Main article: Status of Međugorje

The messages attributed to Our Lady of Međugorje have a very strong following among many Catholics.[citation needed] As is typical for all claims of supernatural phenomena, apparitions, and miracles the Catholic Church follows a standard criteria for evaluating apparitions that takes a significant time, research, and study before it issues an official approval or disapproval. The Roman Catholic Church has declared that it cannot be affirmed that the reported apparitions are supernatural in character.[8] On March 17, 2010, the Vatican announced it was beginning a formal investigation of the apparitions at Medugorje. Cardinal Camillo Ruini is to head the commission that will study the matter.[9]

A letter by Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on March 23, 1996, reaffirmed that official parish or diocesan pilgrimages to Međugorje understanding it "as a place of authentic Marian apparitions" are not permitted by the Catholic Church.[10] Individual Catholics are allowed to travel in pilgrimage anywhere, including Međugorje, and are entitled to spiritual care there.[11]

On July 28, 2009, the Pope granted Father Tomislav Vlašić own request for laicisation. Vlašić, who had been until 1984 the spiritual director of the visionaries of Međugorje, was under investigation for events that occurred after he had left Međugorje, including "dubious doctrine, the manipulation of consciences, suspect mysticism and disobedience towards legitimately issued orders".[12] He was also accused of sexual immorality with a nun, allegations which he had covered up.[12][13] On pain of excommunication, Vlašić is prohibited from discussing any religious points relating to or even mentioning Međugorje publicly.[12][14][15]

See also

References

  1. ^ Our Lady in Tihaljina statue at medjugorje.org online store. Accessed 2011-05-16.
  2. ^ A short history of Our Lady's apparitions in Medjugorje
  3. ^ "Questionable Games Surrounding the Great Sign" Ratko Perić, Bishop of Mostar-Duvno, Diocesan website. Accessed 2011-05-16.
  4. ^ http://www.medjugorje.com/medjugorje-messages/annual-messages.html
  5. ^ http://www.medjugorje.org/wcol7.htm
  6. ^ http://www.medjugorje.com/medjugorje/signs-and-miracles/540-testimonies-of-physical-healings.html
  7. ^ Description of Our Lady of Medjugorje
  8. ^ http://www.cbismo.com/index.php?mod=vijest&vijest=366
  9. ^ Winfield, Nicole (2010-03-17). "Vatican studies visions of Virgin Mary in Bosnia"". Assocated Press. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100317/ap_on_re_eu/eu_vatican_shrine. 
  10. ^ Bertone, Tarcisio (Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) (1996-03-23). "Official Declarations on Medjugorje". Vatican City. http://www.evangelizationstation.com/htm_html/Heresies%20&%20Falsehoods/Medjugorje/official_declarations_on_medjugo.htm.  Explains that official "pilgrimages to Medjugorje, understood as a place of authentic Marian apparitions, are not permitted to be organized either on the parish or on the diocesan level, because that would be in contradiction to what the Bishops of former Yugoslavia affirmed in their forementioned Declaration."
  11. ^ "Declaration of the Ex-Yugoslavia Bishops' Conference on Međugorje". medjugorje.ws. 1991-04-11. http://www.medjugorje.ws/en/articles/church/declaration-ex-yugoslavia-bishops-conference-medjugorje/. 
  12. ^ a b c Caldwell, Simon (2009-07-27). "Pope Benedict XVI unfrocks Medjugorje priest". Telegraph (UK). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/5913677/Pope-Benedict-XVI-unfrocks-Medjugorje-priest.html. Retrieved 2010-01-23. 
  13. ^ Danic, Pavao (Bishop of Mostar) (1990). "The Truth About Medjugorje.". newjerusalem.com. http://www.newjerusalem.com/bishop-truth.htm.  An article by the Bishop who was ordinary of the diocese from the time of the beginning of the alleged messages through 1993, giving many compelling reasons why he does not consider the messages to be authentic
  14. ^ Anonymous (undated). "Medjugorje – Making sense of the Vlasic matter". medjugorje.com. http://www.medjugorje.com/medjugorje-today/headlines/668-medjugorje-the-father-tomislav-vlasic-episode.html. 
  15. ^ "Ex-spiritual director to Medjugorje visionaries laicized". Florida Catholic. 2009-07-28. http://www.thefloridacatholic.org/cns/2009_articles/20090728_cns_spiritual_director.php. 

External links

Međugorje visionaries


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