No one expected it. No one had organized it. No one had planned it. And yet, beginning on June 25, 1981, the Queen of Peace descended upon the blessed land of Medjugorje thousands upon thousands of times. And that barren plain, in the stony heart of Herzegovina, has become a pilgrimage destination for millions of faithful over the past forty years. 
Until the summer of 1981, Medjugorje was one of the poorest and most forgotten areas of a country (the former Yugoslavia) that had professed atheism for decades but that, despite everything, especially among the Croatian population, had preserved a simple and strong faith, becoming the setting for one of the most extraordinary experiences of recent times...

The first apparition

The Virgin Mary manifested herself visibly to a group of six young people in order to deliver, through them, a message to humanity: a gentle but firm invitation to conversion through prayer and fasting. The first apparition took place on June 24, 1981, at 4 p.m., when two girls aged 15 and 16, Ivanka Ivankovic and Mirjana Dragicevic, while walking at the foot of a rocky hill called Podbrdo, saw a female figure on a small cloud. At around 6:30 p.m., they went back to the hill accompanied by Vicka Ivankovic, Ivanka's cousin. The three girls said they saw the mysterious figure again, this time holding a child in her arms, and immediately identified her as the Virgin.

Are the apparitions real? 

From this event began a story that has reached several million people, arousing approval, acceptance, and conversions, but also rejection and doubts. The Holy See has not yet issued a definitive judgment. The conclusions of the Commission led by Cardinal Ruini, commissioned by Benedict XVI to investigate the authenticity of the apparitions and active from 2010 to 2014, tend toward a finding of credibility regarding the apparitions during the first seven days and a suspension of judgment on everything that occurred in the following years. These conclusions have not been officially adopted by Pope Francis. 
However, he has shown his pastoral concern by appointing the Polish archbishop Henryk Hoser as apostolic visitor to the parish of Medjugorje, authorizing dioceses and parishes to organize pilgrimages, with the message he sent to the traditional Youth Festival last August, and last May by including the Medjugorje church in the prayer marathon among shrines promoted by Pope Francis himself to pray for an end to the pandemic.

Prayer

A place where people lived by cultivating tobacco and vineyards, and partly by raising livestock, has become a place that awakens sleeping hearts, a worldwide place of prayer. For many, Medjugorje has become an almost daily school of prayer. Thousands of people have begun to pray and have committed themselves to putting Our Lady’s messages into practice.

Peace

The principal purpose of the apparitions is peace, and like a common thread, it runs through everything Mary says and does. That is why she often speaks about the conditions for peace: conversion, prayer, fasting, belief, total surrender to God, and remaining with her on the path to holiness. She has also clearly indicated the means of attaining it: praying the Rosary, going to confession, reading Sacred Scripture, celebrating Holy Mass, and doing good.

The Eucharist

But the center, the beating heart of Medjugorje, is the Eucharist. Yes, the Eucharist celebrated in the Holy Mass every day. The Eucharist contemplated during the solemn evening adoration on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Yes, in Medjugorje everything converges in the mystery of Jesus’ Eucharistic presence: it is the Eucharistic Jesus who is the sun of Medjugorje; it is the Eucharistic Jesus who is the destination of every inner journey, of every journey of conversion at Mary’s school: the school of listening, the school of personal prayer, the school of inner silence, the training ground of fasting and climbing Apparition Hill and Cross Mountain. 
From the Eucharist, Jesus radiates his presence, as the sun radiates light and warmth…

Holy Mass 

The Queen of Peace, a caring Mother and Teacher, has spoken from the beginning of Medjugorje’s spiritual journey about this necessary meeting between hearts and Jesus: «My children, if you have to choose between the apparition and Holy Mass, always choose Holy Mass, because during Holy Mass my Son is with you» (Message reported by Mirjana). And on November 18, 1984, the Gospa said to the prayer group: «If possible, attend Mass every day. But not as mere spectators; rather, as people who, at the moment of Jesus’ sacrifice on the altar, are ready to unite themselves with him to become one and the same sacrifice with him for the salvation of the world. Before Mass, prepare yourselves through prayer, and after Mass, thank Jesus by remaining with him in silence for a while». And again: «Dear children, God desires to make you holy; therefore, through me, he invites you to complete surrender. May Holy Mass be life for you!» (Message of April 25, 1988); «Holy Mass, the most sublime and powerful act of your prayer, should be the center of your spiritual life» (Message of August 2, 2008).

The confessional of the world 

Jesus is therefore at the center, and the way to reach him is conversion, repentance for the sins committed, and sacramental confession. Thus, for forty years, Medjugorje has been the sanctuary of confession, the sanctuary of confessionals, the sanctuary of priests who hear confessions everywhere, in the rain and in the sun, because the only important thing is to hear the priest pronounce the only words capable of liberating, healing, and renewing: «I absolve you from your sins». 
On this 40th anniversary of the apparitions in Medjugorje, Mary tells us that she is beside us, beside each of her children, to help us on our journey; that her motherly presence changes our lives, turning sadness into joy and worries into plans and solutions. Mary tells us that each of our little worlds and the whole world can be better if we allow her to make us a new creation.

Happy anniversary to everyone!