Authorities in Bosnia launched an investigation following overnight damage at a shrine in the village of Medjugorje, a significant destination for Roman Catholic pilgrims in the wine-producing region of southern Bosnia. The Virgin Mary statue at the site had its face and hands painted black, with an inscription reading “Devil in a skirt” left on the pedestal. A banner found nearby displayed the names of individuals associated with reported visions and contained a message in Polish stating “They are fraudsters, I have proof.”
Medjugorje has been at the center of Catholic devotion since 1981, when six children and teenagers reported seeing visions of the Virgin Mary on a hillside. Some of those original visionaries have claimed the apparitions have continued on a regular, sometimes daily basis, and that they receive messages from Mary through these encounters.
The site’s status underwent a significant shift earlier this year when the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a ruling permitting Catholics to undertake organized pilgrimages and participate in public devotional activities at Medjugorje. The Vatican’s doctrine office did not declare that the reported apparitions were authentic or of supernatural origin and noted concerns about inconsistencies in the messages the alleged visionaries have reported receiving over the decades. However, the decision emphasized that the “spiritual fruits” arising from the Medjugorje experience were sufficient justification for permitting such devotional practices in line with updated Vatican criteria.
The 2024 ruling departed from longstanding skepticism about the alleged apparitions expressed by regional diocesan bishops and Vatican experts over many years. The decision also came despite concerns raised about the economic dimensions of Medjugorje’s development as a religious tourism destination.
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