Medjugorje and the perspective of the Church

By Msgr. 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 in Medjugorje, administered by the Franciscan Fathers OFM of the Herzegovina Province, within the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno in the former Yugoslavia (modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina).

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

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

On July 21 of the same year, Bishop Pavao Žanić, Bishop of Mostar-Duvno, met with the six "visionaries," who reported to him their recent experiences. The Ordinary was convinced that "the boys are not lying." He expressed this conviction again a few days later, as he administered 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 regarding the alleged apparition of Mary, expressing his "strongest doubts" about it.

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

On May 19, 1986, the diocesan Commission tasked with evaluating the alleged apparitions in Medjugorje issued its judgment: 11 members to 4 declared Non constat de supernaturalitate.

During the same year, the Pro-Nuncio in Belgrade expressed a negative opinion about the work of the diocesan commission. The then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith decided to entrust the Yugoslav Episcopal Conference with a new examination of the case.

The following year, precisely on April 9, the work of the Commission of the Yugoslav Episcopal Conference began, which would continue until April 1991.

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

"The bishops, from the very beginning, have been following the events of Medjugorje through the Bishop of the diocese (Mostar), the Bishop's Commission and the Commission of the Bishops Conference of Yugoslavia on Medjugorje. On the basis of the investigations, so far it cannot be affirmed that one is dealing with supernatural apparitions and revelations. However, the numerous gatherings of the faithful from different parts of the world, who come to Medjugorje, prompted both by motives of belief and various other motives, require the attention and pastoral care in the first place of the diocesan bishop and with him of the other bishops also, so that in Medjugorje and in everything connected with it a healthy devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary may be promoted in accordance with the teaching of the Church. For this purpose, the bishops will issue especially suitable liturgical-pastoral directives. Likewise, through their Commission they will continue to keep up with and investigate the entire event in Medjugorje.”

We now jump to 1994. It is October 28 of that year when Bishop Ratko Perić, the new Ordinary of Medjugorje, requested that Pope John Paul II establish a Commission for a definitive verdict on the "apparitions."

In July 1995, a visit by John Paul II to Medjugorje during his Apostolic Journey to Sarajevo was announced. In various private letters, the Pope expressed a positive view of Medjugorje and his desire to visit the place. Informed of this, Bishop Perić requested the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to prevent such a visit, which effectively never took place.

On March 2, 1998, at the request of the Bishop of Saint-Denis-de-La Reunion, the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith responded that private pilgrimages to Medjugorje were permitted, noting that Medjugorje was however not declared a place of authentic apparitions. It was also declared that Bishop Perić's position regarding the judgment Non constat de supernaturalitate was not that of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

In the following years, various consultations took place between the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the new Episcopal Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding a new examination of all the documentation. However, the Episcopal Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared that it was unable to undertake a new examination, nor did it deemed one appropriate.

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

Cardinal Camillo Ruini was appointed as the President of this Commission. In January 2014, after about six years of work, the international Commission issued its judgment. The conclusions of the Ruini Commission were not made public, due to an explicit request from the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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

In December 2015, upon 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 disposition by the Pope was made public, according to which "it is possible to organize pilgrimages to Medjugorje, provided that care is taken to avoid them being interpreted as an authentication of the events."

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

The full Note on Medjugorje can be found here.

* Secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith