For believers, the Bosnian town of Medjugorje is as sacred as Lourdes or Fatima, a place where the Virgin Mary appeared to children that decades on has become a huge pilgrimage site.
And ahead of Pope Francis' visit to the capital Sarajevo on Saturday, the Catholics who flock to this small town hope the Vatican may finally recognise its controversial shrine, as it does the "official" ones in France and Portugal.
Pilgrims, praying aloud, climb the steep rocky hill in Bosnia's south where the Madonna is said to have "appeared" to six adolescents in 1981 -- and continues to "appear" to one of them daily.
Though he considers it a gift, 50-year-old Ivan Dragicevic, a teenager when the first "vision" occurred, says he has carried a "heavy responsibility for 34 years".
"Believe me, it is not easy, it is not simple to be with the Virgin everyday, to speak with her everyday," he said. "After each meeting with her, I find it difficult to return to the reality of this world."
But even if the pope says nothing during his visit, Dragicevic's and other believers' faith in the Medjugorje "miracle" will remain unshaken.
- ' A work of God' -
"We don't need to rush anything," Father Marinko Sakota, chaplain at St. James, the parish church in Medjugorje, told AFP. "Here we feel that this is a work of God, that God wants it. When the place is recognised, well, it does not depend on us, it is not part of our duty."
Each year about one million people visit Medjugorje, some 25 kilometres (16 miles) southwest of Mostar and not far from the Croatian border -- compared to four to six million who visit Lourdes. Even Bosnia's 1990s war did not stop pilgrims from coming.
For locals, the religious tourism has been like manna from heaven, bringing prosperity in a poor Balkan country where Catholics make up 10 percent of its population of 3.8 million.
Guest houses and small hotels have cropped up over the years and numerous small shops do a busy trade in souvenirs, including home-made brandy in bottles marked with the Virgin, plaster statues of Mary, icons and rosary beads.
Near St. James, a pilgrim prays on his knees before a stone statue of the Virgin, as the large square behind the church packs with faithful from all over the world ahead of evening prayers.
Wearing a white shirt and speaking calmly, Dragicevic describes to gathered pilgrims the first meeting -- on June 24, 1981 -- with the one who called herself the "Queen of Peace".
"The Virgin has a grey dress, a white veil, blue eyes, pinkish cheeks, black hair. She is floating on a cloud and has a crown of stars," he said.
The six witnesses, all of whom have had repeated "appearances", are backed by local Franciscan priests, including Father Sakota, but the local clergy's involvement has been a thorn in the side of Bosnian Catholic church officials.
Bishops have criticised the Franciscan priests who manage the Medjugorje parish and the "authenticity" of the Virgin's visitation has divided Bosnian Catholics.
A wary Vatican finally sent a commission in 2010 to examine the reported sightings and though they concluded their report in January 2014, nothing has been officially announced.
In his dark brown robe, rope belt and sandals, Sakota says the Medjugorje events are a continuation of Marian visions recognised by the Vatican, and that Mary conveyed all that in a message to one of the six witnesses.
"The Virgin said, 'What I began in Fatima and Lourdes, I will complete in Medjugorje'."
- 'Not a post office' -
The tens of thousands of believers who pour into Medjugorje share his view.
"Look at all these people, some who arrived sick left healed, that's the true recognition," said Daria Vidovic, a Croatian living in Austria who came with her daughter-in-law and four-month-old granddaughter Klaudia.
Regine Hofbauer, a pensioner from Altotting near Munich, has visited Medjugorje every year for the past decade.
"I would like the pope to officially recognise the appearances. The Medjugorje Virgin helped me 10 years ago to find my way back to the Church," the woman in her 60s whispered emotionally.
In a large park behind the church, dozens of people queue near a modern statue of a giant Jesus, arms outstretched mimicking the Crucifixion. Handkerchiefs in hand, the faithful dab the "tears of Christ", water that drips at the level of his right knee, before pressing them to their face and eyes. Some embrace the metal statue, erected in 1998 though it is not know when it started to "cry".
Local media has reported the testimony of a woman who claimed that the "tears" healed her daughter of an eye disease.
Pending any official conclusion, Pope Francis in November 2013 issued what could be interpreted as an invitation to caution about events in Medjugorje.
"The Virgin is not a post office chief who would send messages everyday," he said.
For believers, the Bosnian town of Medjugorje is as sacred as Lourdes or Fatima, a place where the Virgin Mary appeared to children that decades on has become a huge pilgrimage site.
And ahead of Pope Francis’ visit to the capital Sarajevo on Saturday, the Catholics who flock to this small town hope the Vatican may finally recognise its controversial shrine, as it does the “official” ones in France and Portugal.
Pilgrims, praying aloud, climb the steep rocky hill in Bosnia’s south where the Madonna is said to have “appeared” to six adolescents in 1981 — and continues to “appear” to one of them daily.
Though he considers it a gift, 50-year-old Ivan Dragicevic, a teenager when the first “vision” occurred, says he has carried a “heavy responsibility for 34 years”.
“Believe me, it is not easy, it is not simple to be with the Virgin everyday, to speak with her everyday,” he said. “After each meeting with her, I find it difficult to return to the reality of this world.”
But even if the pope says nothing during his visit, Dragicevic’s and other believers’ faith in the Medjugorje “miracle” will remain unshaken.
– ‘ A work of God’ –
“We don’t need to rush anything,” Father Marinko Sakota, chaplain at St. James, the parish church in Medjugorje, told AFP. “Here we feel that this is a work of God, that God wants it. When the place is recognised, well, it does not depend on us, it is not part of our duty.”
Each year about one million people visit Medjugorje, some 25 kilometres (16 miles) southwest of Mostar and not far from the Croatian border — compared to four to six million who visit Lourdes. Even Bosnia’s 1990s war did not stop pilgrims from coming.
For locals, the religious tourism has been like manna from heaven, bringing prosperity in a poor Balkan country where Catholics make up 10 percent of its population of 3.8 million.
Guest houses and small hotels have cropped up over the years and numerous small shops do a busy trade in souvenirs, including home-made brandy in bottles marked with the Virgin, plaster statues of Mary, icons and rosary beads.
Near St. James, a pilgrim prays on his knees before a stone statue of the Virgin, as the large square behind the church packs with faithful from all over the world ahead of evening prayers.
Wearing a white shirt and speaking calmly, Dragicevic describes to gathered pilgrims the first meeting — on June 24, 1981 — with the one who called herself the “Queen of Peace”.
“The Virgin has a grey dress, a white veil, blue eyes, pinkish cheeks, black hair. She is floating on a cloud and has a crown of stars,” he said.
The six witnesses, all of whom have had repeated “appearances”, are backed by local Franciscan priests, including Father Sakota, but the local clergy’s involvement has been a thorn in the side of Bosnian Catholic church officials.
Bishops have criticised the Franciscan priests who manage the Medjugorje parish and the “authenticity” of the Virgin’s visitation has divided Bosnian Catholics.
A wary Vatican finally sent a commission in 2010 to examine the reported sightings and though they concluded their report in January 2014, nothing has been officially announced.
In his dark brown robe, rope belt and sandals, Sakota says the Medjugorje events are a continuation of Marian visions recognised by the Vatican, and that Mary conveyed all that in a message to one of the six witnesses.
“The Virgin said, ‘What I began in Fatima and Lourdes, I will complete in Medjugorje’.”
– ‘Not a post office’ –
The tens of thousands of believers who pour into Medjugorje share his view.
“Look at all these people, some who arrived sick left healed, that’s the true recognition,” said Daria Vidovic, a Croatian living in Austria who came with her daughter-in-law and four-month-old granddaughter Klaudia.
Regine Hofbauer, a pensioner from Altotting near Munich, has visited Medjugorje every year for the past decade.
“I would like the pope to officially recognise the appearances. The Medjugorje Virgin helped me 10 years ago to find my way back to the Church,” the woman in her 60s whispered emotionally.
In a large park behind the church, dozens of people queue near a modern statue of a giant Jesus, arms outstretched mimicking the Crucifixion. Handkerchiefs in hand, the faithful dab the “tears of Christ”, water that drips at the level of his right knee, before pressing them to their face and eyes. Some embrace the metal statue, erected in 1998 though it is not know when it started to “cry”.
Local media has reported the testimony of a woman who claimed that the “tears” healed her daughter of an eye disease.
Pending any official conclusion, Pope Francis in November 2013 issued what could be interpreted as an invitation to caution about events in Medjugorje.
“The Virgin is not a post office chief who would send messages everyday,” he said.
