The Public Relations Office of the Holy See will hold a press conference today with a focus on the spiritual experiences of pilgrims in Medjugorje.
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, will address the public, Msgr. Armando Matteo, secretary of the doctrinal section of the same Dicastery, and Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication.
Although no additional details about the event have been released, the press conference is being held within the framework of the new “Norms for Procedures in Recognizing Alleged Supernatural Phenomena” published in May by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Since then, the Holy See has made decisions on various alleged Marian apparitions and devotions.
The alleged Marian apparitions in Medjugorje began on June 24, 1981. Six children are said to be the recipients of the Virgin’s messages, three of whom say they still receive messages daily.
In January 2014, the then Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith concluded a report requested by Pope Francis, who stated in November 2013 that the Virgin “is not a postmaster who would send messages every day”, without specifically mentioning Medjugorje.
Summarizing the content of the report, in 2017 Pope Francis indicated that the initial apparitions are something that “must be continued to be investigated”, while regarding the “assumed current apparitions, the report has its doubts”, Klix.ba writes.
On that occasion, the Holy Father pointed out that “people go there and convert”.
“This is not the result of magic, but a valid spiritual and pastoral fact that cannot be ignored,” he added.
Earlier in the same year, the pontiff appointed Bishop Henryk Hoser as “special envoy” in Medjugorje. When he died in 2021, he was replaced by Monsignor Aldo Cavalli.
Since May 2019, Pope Francis has officially approved the organization of pilgrimages to Medjugorje, warning that such pilgrimages should avoid “creating confusion or ambiguity in the doctrinal aspect.”
In recent years, Pope Francis has also sent messages to youth festivals held in Medjugorje.
The conference can be watched live on the YouTube channel here.
