One year after the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith granted Medjugorje the status of “nihil obstat”, this one of the world’s most famous Marian sanctuaries is seeing an increased number of pilgrims.
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith granted Medjugorje the status of ‘nulla osta’ (nihil obstat) on September 19 last year, which means that church pilgrimages and devotions in that sanctuary are allowed and encouraged.
As the portal Međugorje info writes, since then Međugorje has recorded an increased number of pilgrims, especially those who come to this shrine for the first time.
The number of arrivals of pilgrims through major international agencies that included Medjugorje in the program of their European pilgrimage trips has also increased.
According to their data, short pilgrimages of 1 to 2 days are particularly noticeable, as part of the route of pilgrims from India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, Korea, Indonesia, Colombia, Guatemala, Brazil, Mexico…
The status “nihil obstat” (“there is no obstacle” or “nothing hinders”) is a church license that allows and recognizes devotions and pilgrimages in a certain place, as was the case with Medjugorje, with the recognition of positive spiritual fruits such as conversion and strengthening of faith, but without declaring the supernatural nature of the phenomenon itself.
