Une Minute avec Marie
Faire connaître et aimer Marie
In July 2010, I went to Medjugorje (Bosnia-Herzegovina) at the spur of the moment, while vacationing in the Balkans. My plan was to meet up with a pilgrimage there. With the look of a tourist and a deep tan, sunglasses and a camera, I finally reached my destination after a long drive through Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia.
Welcome to Medjugorje, with its 40 million pilgrims in 30 years, in a country that still shows scars from the war in the Balkans. My head was full of the arguments from several books I had read before the trip about the alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary. I was of two minds on the topic of this Bosnian “Lourdes.” With the only difference being that the healing baths have been replaced by confessionals, the fervor there seemed to be pretty much the same. People pray the Rosary, climb the hill of apparitions, hold adoration and praise services, etc. And of course, conversions happen!
Although I was already a practicing Catholic, I had only planned to go on a 4-day retreat. The Blessed Virgin had something different in mind: I too was going to convert! I am actually writing these words from the seminary I just entered, after hearing the call of my vocation in Medjugorje. Was it the international fervor? The evening with the effusion of the Holy Spirit? Or simply praying at that shrine—fasting, Confession, receiving the Eucharist, reading the Gospel and praying the Rosary? In any case, that’s where I felt the call to become a priest, and I know it came from Our Lady!
Whether or not there are really Marian apparitions in Medjugorje today, I cannot say for sure. However, I do know that she is there and she gives us countless graces. Don’t hesitate to go there and see for yourself!
Testimonial given by Francis