Pilgrimage to Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina

 

Our group left on October 3 and returned October 11.

Medjugorje is a small town in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is an unofficial place of Catholic pilgrimage since the Virgin Mary allegedly appeared to six young people (called visionaries) in 1981. The apparitions continue to this day. Since the alleged apparitions began, over 40 million people of all faiths from all over the world have visited this tiny village of Medjugorje.

Our group consisted of 15 pilgrims and two priests. In Medjugorje, we walked up Apparition Hill where a marble statute of the Virgin Mary is located to commemorate the site of the first apparition. This marble statue was a gift from the Korean people.

We also climbed a much steeper hill called Cross Mountain to see the 30' concrete cross that the villagers built in 1934 to commemorate the 1900 year anniversary of Jesus' death. Stations of the Cross are placed along the climb where we stopped to pray.

Other activities included attending Mass, Adoration and the Rosary at St. James Church which has an outdoor altar capable of seating 17,000 people.

We toured Mother's Village, an orphanage built to provide homes for the many young children orphaned as a result of the war in the 1990's.

We toured Cenacolo community, a community established to help drug-addicted teens. It is not so much a drug rehab center as a school of life with prayer at its heart. Young people are put through an intensive spiritual boot camp where they learn to accept and live a simple lifestyle and to rediscover the gifts of hard work, friendship and faith.

Our last day was spent in Dubrovnik, Croatia, a beautiful city on the Adriatic Sea. We toured the "Old Town" which is encircled with massive stone walls completed in the 16th century. We attended Mass in the historic St. Blaise Church built in 1715 and viewed the body of martyred St. Silvan, a full figure 4th century incorruptible saint that lies in a glass coffin in the Church.

Highlights of the trip including seeing the faith of the thousands of people, listening to talks from the visionaries and climbing Apparition Hill and Cross Mountain and praying for all those from home that we carried with us in prayer.