A great number of pilgrims from all over the world will come to Medjugorje this year to mark the 38th anniversary of Lady’s apparitions that the Catholic Church follows with great care.
Everything is ready for the anniversary celebration program and the pilgrim’s welcome, and in order for everything to go smoothly and without disturbing the public order and peace, the police will be present as well.
Our Lady of Medjugorje (also called Queen of Peace and Mother of the Redeemer) is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary by those who believe that she appeared in 1981 to six Herzegovinian children in Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina (at the time in SFR Yugoslavia).
There have also been continued reports of seeing the apparition and receiving messages from it during the years since. The visionaries often refer to the apparition as the “Gospa”, which is Croatian for lady.
On May 13, 2017, a papal response came when Pope Francis declared that the original visions reported by the children are worth studying in more depth, while the subsequent continued visions over the years are, in his view, of dubious value. He went on to say that there are people who go there, convert, find God and their lives change. He said that this is a spiritual and pastoral fact that cannot be denied.
