Vatican gives green light to devotion at site where Virgin Mary is said to have appeared

The Vatican has given the green light for Catholics to continue flocking to a village in southern Bosnia where children have reported seeing visions of the Virgin Mary, offering its approval for devotion in one of the most contested aspects of Roman Catholic practice in recent years.

In a detailed analysis after nearly 15 years of study, the Vatican’s doctrine office stopped short of declaring that the reported apparitions in Medjugorje were authentic or of supernatural origin.

He also raised concerns about contradictions in some of the “messages” the so-called visionaries say they have received over the years.

But in accordance with new Vatican criteria in force this year, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has judged that the “spiritual fruits” resulting from the Medjugorje experience amply justify authorizing the faithful to organize pilgrimages there and permit public acts of devotion.

The decision essentially removes the doubts originally expressed about the alleged apparitions in Medjugorje by the former diocesan bishops of the region.

And it ignores current concerns about the economic interests that have transformed Medjugorje into a thriving destination for religious tourists.

But with the approval of Pope Francis, the doctrinal office decided that “the abundant and widespread fruits, so beautiful and so positive” justified its decision.

He said this “underlines that the Holy Spirit is working fruitfully for the good of the faithful in the midst of this spiritual phenomenon.”

In 1981, six children and adolescents reported having visions of the Virgin on a hill in the village of Medjugorje, located in the wine-growing region of southern Bosnia.

Some of these original “seers” claimed that the visions had been occurring regularly since then, even daily, and that Mary was sending them messages.

As a result, Medjugorje has become a major European pilgrimage destination for Christian believers, attracting millions of people over the years.

Last year alone, 1.7 million Eucharistic hosts were distributed at Masses, according to statistics posted on the shrine’s website, a rough estimate of the number of Catholics who visited it.

However, unlike the more well-known and established Catholic shrines of Fatima, Portugal, or Lourdes, France, the alleged apparitions of Medjugorje have never been declared authentic by the Vatican.

Over the years, local diocesan bishops in the region and some Vatican officials have raised doubts about the reliability and motivations of the “seers,” fearing that economic interests may have motivated their reports of continued visions.

Two experts commissioned by Pope Benedict XVI to study the Medjugorje phenomenon have concluded that it was a “demonic” phenomenon.

Even Francis expressed doubts about their messages in 2017, saying: “I prefer Our Lady to be a mother, our mother, and not a telegraph operator who sends a message every day at a certain time.”

Religious tourism has become an important part of the local economy, with an entire industry serving pilgrims: hotels, private accommodation, family farms, even sports complexes and campsites.

Their growth contributed to the financial well-being of the surrounding municipality after the Bosnian War in the 1990s devastated the economy.

In its assessment, the Vatican’s doctrinal office recalled that in May of this year it had announced that it no longer had the mission of authenticating alleged apparitions and other supposedly supernatural phenomena that have attracted Catholics for centuries, including statues that allegedly weep blood or stigmata that spontaneously appear on hands or feet.

The new criteria envisage six main outcomes, the most favourable being that the Church gives a doctrinal green light without commitment, a so-called “nihil obstat”, meaning that there is nothing in the event that is contrary to the faith, and therefore Catholics can express their devotion to it.

With Francis’ approval, the Vatican granted this “nihil obstat” to Medjugorje on Thursday.

In its analysis, the Vatican listed what it called the many spiritual benefits that have been associated with pilgrimages to the site, including people deciding to become priests or nuns, couples reconciling after marital problems, healings after prayer and new charities caring for orphans and drug addicts.

He gives no examples of negative experiences related to Medjugorje, nor any reference to the concerns raised by previous diocesan bishops of Mostar who had declared the apparitions to be false.

Nor did he mention that the priest most closely associated with Medjugorje and the six “visionaries” was defrocked by the Vatican in 2009 for, among other things, spreading false doctrines.

The Vatican seems to have wanted to distance the location from the people behind the alleged apparitions, emphasizing that these blessings did not occur following meetings with the alleged visionaries but rather “in the context of pilgrimages to the places associated with the original events.”

And in his 17-page document, he devoted nearly four pages to listing concerns about problems with some of the thousands of individual messages the alleged visionaries received, including instances where the message contradicted some aspect of Catholic doctrine.

This decision will certainly have an impact on Medjugorje, which is located in the municipality of Citluk, one of the smallest in Bosnia with about 18,000 inhabitants but economically well-off.

The municipality has said tourism is essential to its development, largely thanks to Medjugorje, and hosts various festivals and gatherings each year organized by Christian humanitarian organizations attracted to the place.

Municipal officials say 2024 could be a record year, as Christian pilgrims tend to avoid Israel because of the war and opt instead for Medjugorje.

“Medjugorje means a lot, all economic sectors count on Medjugorje,” said Ante Kozina, the director of the tourism association. “It is a generator of growth for the entire municipality.”