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From June 24, 1981.
Medjugorje became one the most
famous parishes in the world.
On that
day in the afternoon, some youth
from Bijakovići, from
the hamlet called Podbrdo, saw – as they
said – an
unusual figure: a Woman
with a child,
giving them signs with her hand to come
nearer.
Scared, children ran home and told what they had seen. The answer the adults was to be expected, «Do not play with these things, would Our Lady appear
to you?»
Stirred and attracted, they went the next day at the same time to the same
place (around 5:30 pm). The event happened again: according to their witness, they saw first a strong light, and then Our Lady, with Whom they prayed.
The apparitions continued
daily, and people started
to gather
and to pray: first the parishioners, then those from the vicinity, then from the whole world.
The persecution the
visionaries, their parents and relatives, parishioners and priests, started at the same time as the apparitions. Children were taken away for judicial interrogations
and psychiatric examinations, which always established
that they were healthy.
The pastor Medjugorje at that time was Fr. Jozo Zovko. A month and a half after
the beginning the events, he was arrested and
condemned by a communist tribunal to three years and a half prison, just because he was preaching the Gospel. Two other priests experienced a similar destiny.
From 1981 to this day, the ordinary parish
Medjugorje has become a place gathering millions pilgrims
from all over the world: many them testify that they
have found faith and peace precisely in this
parish.
Because its fruits, Medjugorje is compared today with two famous places
Our Lady ’s apparitions in the 19 th and the 20 th century: Lourdes and Fatima.
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