On the Science of Medjugorje (part I)

On the occasion of 40 years of apparitions

The ongoing supernatural events in connection to Medjugorje have often been investigated by scientists. As with the recognition of a miracle needed for a saint’s beatification, it is important for the Church that any claims of the supernatural are officially declared by those of authority in the relevant field as not being explicable by natural causes. These declarations about 'Medjugorje' are the core of this post (including testimonies of various witnesses). First some context and history of the events are given, and afterwards the position of the Church and other remarkable fruits & signs related to Medjugorje are discussed.

Historical & political context

Bosnia-Hercegovina lies at the cross-roads between the east and the west, between christian Europe and the islamic Middle-east, and as such has been called the “powder keg of the world.” It was also in its capital Sarajevo where World War I started. Medjugorje is a little village consisting of 5 small hamlets (the streets were only named in 2014?!). Its name signifies “between the hills” and offers a good geography for a shrine. Many years earlier, a local farmer Mate Sego had already predicted that Medjugorje would become a holy place, visited by many foreigners, and that he would not live to see it. He died in 1978, three years before the village became world-famous. Previously, in 1933 the local people had expressed their strong faith by providentially putting a large concrete cross on the highest point of the surrounding area (and all by hand) to commemorate 19 centuries of Redemption. Afterwards, the severe hailstorms that had often plagued the local crops didn’t occur anymore. “Cross Mountain” is now one of the focal points of the Medjugorje events. 

Another early strong testimony of faith was given by the 34 Franciscans who were murdered by the communists in 1945 close to Medjugorje. After the supernatural events started on the 25th of June 1981, the communist government stationed military in Medjugorje and again tried to suppress the religious revival resulting from the events in all possible ways. The six visionaries, their families and friends and also acquaintances were threatened and harassed. Early on, the six young people were even locked in the morgue and in a room with mentally-ill people. Mirjana, who spent her summers in Medjugorje with family, was then abducted back to her parents in Sarajevo and later sent from the prestigious high school she was attending. Her passport was taken from her and she was often taken by the police for hearings. All to no avail. The apparitions continued and by many small miracles (e.g. the protection by her communist head teacher) Mirjana graduated and even entered university to study agriculture together with her future husband who was from Medjugorje. In the end the communist seemed to have given up their attempts and started to build hotels and shops to at least profit from the religious happenings. 

Ten years to the day of the start of the apparitions, Croatia and Slovenia declared their independence, which started off the Balkan war. At the height of the war Mirjana’s father & brother had a miraculous escape from war-torn Sarajevo thanks to a vision of the angel Gabriel by an Austrian man. She is still daily reciting St Anthony’s prayer in thanksgiving. Medjugorje, however, found itself in a ‘protective bubble’: various missiles fired into the village landed outside in the fields and multiple war planes could not drop their bombs because of a strange silver fog suddenly arising (as reported by Serbian newspapers). How the Serbian threat of the area around Medjugorje came to an end was also miraculous and was attributed to an already miraculous Divine Mercy painting. The painting had, namely, mediated the final miracle approved and accepted in Rome for Sister Faustina's canonisation: a paralysed man in Italy was venerating this painting when Jesus reportedly told him to “stand up and come forward,” which he did, leaving his wheelchair behind forever. 

Dragan, the commander responsible for defending Medjugorje, has reported how it happened. His unit had been battered and morale was low after years of fighting the larger, better-equipped Serbian army. Enemy forces were massing just east of the village for what appeared to be a final, major offensive. It was at this time that the miraculous image of Divine Mercy arrived from Rome. Upon seeing it, the villagers immediately felt inspired to publicly invoke God's mercy to save their town. Dragan objected, as doing so would expose the population to enemy air strikes. Undaunted, the citizens rallied behind the image, marching through the city in a solemn procession of prayer. The Croatian army, inspired by the faith of their fellow villagers, launched a daring counter-offensive the next day. The outcome was astonishing: the Serbs were on high ground, had tanks, artillery, and aircraft, and a river running in front of them, but the success was instant as the Croatian forces surprised the much larger Serbian army. 

The only explanation was divine intervention, more so because never again would Serbian forces threaten Medjugorje, which remained an “Oasis of Peace” throughout the war. The village of Surmanci (where the Serbs were defeated) now houses the miraculous image, to be venerated by future generations. The final peace treaty was signed on November 21st 1995, a Marian feast (the presentation of the blessed virgin). Two earlier peace treaties had been signed on a March 18: in 1992 a peace agreement that lasted only for 10 days was signed close to Fatima and exactly two years later the Bosnian muslims and Croats stopped their hostilities. Since 1983, March 18, besides being the birthday of visionary Mirjana, had been the day of her yearly apparition after her daily apparitions had stopped the Christmas before. 

Main events

Although June 25th 1981 is considered the starting date of the apparitions, already the day before (the feast of John the Baptist) four ordinary teenagers from Medjugorje saw a beautiful Lady with a baby in her arms on what is now known as 'Apparition Hill'. One of them at first didn’t believe her neighbour when she claimed to see Our Lady, she even left but was drawn back to the spot. The two others got scared and ran off. The next day many villagers were present when two other teenagers (Jakov and Marija) joined the four of the day before (Mirjana, Ivanka, Ivan and Vicka) to see the blessed virgin Mary. According to the villagers, the six moved with impossible speed up the rocky hill, ascending it in about two minutes instead of the normal 12. 

Since then the apparitions have continued on a daily basis at 6:40pm in Medjugorje (daylight saving time, 5:40pm in winter). The teenagers didn’t know then that there had been Marian apparitions before in other places and also expected them to last only for a short period of time. That short period has become 40 years and counting. Additionally, two other local teenagers (Jelena and Marijana) have had interior locutions from Our Lady for some time, but those have stopped. Three of the visionaries stopped having daily apparitions: Mirjana on Christmas day 1982, Ivanka on May 7 1985 and Jakov on September 12 1998 (while in the USA with Mirjana).

Instead, Mirjana receives a yearly apparition on her birthday, March 18 as mentioned before, Ivanka on the anniversary of the start of the apparitions, June 25, and Jakov on Christmas day. Since August 1987 (the feast of Our Lady Queen of Angels, and until March 2020) Mirjana additionally received apparitions on the 2nd of each month during which she prayed special prayers with Our Lady for ‘those who have not yet come to experience God’s love’ with which are meant ‘those who do not see God as their Father and the Church as their home’. At some point the prayers, which are continuous like a rosary, will be released to greatly help the conversion of the world. Every second of the month Mirjana was given a special message for the world just as Marija receives a special message the 25th of each month since January 1987. 

On all souls’ day (November 2) 1981, Jakov & Vicka were physically taken to Heaven, Purgatory and hell at the hand of Our Lady to convince others that those 'places' really exist. To Vicka the blessed Virgin has also entrusted her life-story, which is to be published when Our Lady tells her so. The visionaries have also been entrusted so-called secrets about future events in the world. It is actually when they receive the tenth and final one that their daily apparitions end. This is the case for three of them, the other three having received nine secrets. Mirjana has been given a heavenly parchment with the secrets written on them and the date on which they will occur (others when looking at the parchment see something like an ordinary letter or poetry or so). Mirjana also has the task to notify a priest of her choice about each of the secrets in due time. The priest, after fasting for 7 days, will then announce the secret to the world 3 days before it takes place. Very little is known about the secrets, only that prayer has lessened the severity of the seventh secret and that a permanent supernatural sign will be left on Apparition Hill after the second secret. 

All of the visionaries, naturally, considered entering the religious life (and were even pushed to do so), but eventually decided to start a family. Ivanka was the first to marry in 1986 and Vicka the last in 2002. Ivan married an American (and spends half of his time in the USA), likewise Marija married an Italian (and spends half of her time in Italy). 

Mirjana has lost an unborn son, because of cancer. She testified that this has helped her to have more compassion for other women going through similar situations. For many years Vicka suffered from a brain cyst and spinal pain, yet she always continued to smile and pray for healing for others. On September 25th 1988 (the date she had predicted in writing) she was suddenly healed.