"Medjugorje? You should go there, because it's a place of grace" (I)

Italian Archbishop Aldo Cavalli was appointed Apostolic Visitor to the parish of Medjugorje (1) by Pope Francis. This Bosnian-Herzegovinian town has become one of the most visited Marian sites in the world over the last forty years. Below is an interview he gave to Vatican News (excerpt):

For some years now, you've been living in the parish of Medjugorje and meeting pilgrims. What has been your experience?

When I went, It was my first time at Medjugorje. But I'm Italian and, like many people from my country, I knew people who had been there. I always noticed, when they came back from Medjugorje, that they tended to be more involved on a spiritual and a human level: in the Church, in catechesis, and in doing good. Much more than before. 

I've been here for three years now: it's a normal place, with nothing special, but through grace it is now a spiritual place where people come from all over the world. They come here and start praying. They enter into communion with the Lord Jesus, and the Virgin Mary accompanies them. It's a simple prayer.

They want to change their lives, to live better than before; they want to solve or deal with the problems they have. This change is called conversion, and it takes place in particular in the sacrament of penance. This is what normally happens in Medjugorje.

What strikes you when you look at the many pilgrims?

They're young and old. They come without any sponsorship. They all come for one purpose: to meet the Lord and the Virgin Mary. Not for sightseeing or for tourism - there's nothing special to see. But in this place, young people and adults begin to pray. Soon after I arrived, three years ago in February, I was standing in the outside pews behind the church when a Latino family came in, with a 15-year-old boy who was a rebel, a real rebel.... After five minutes, he went to confession, and his parents were amazed. 

It's a place of grace that the Lord has chosen for himself. The Pope's authorization means “go, go, go!  You should go there because it's a place of grace, where you meet the Lord and where the Lord meets you”.

www.vaticannews.va

Međugorje is a town in Bosnia-Herzegovina that has become a Marian shrine and Catholic pilgrimage site since the Virgin Mary first appeared on the “hill of apparitions” in 1981. These apparitions continue to this day, particularly every 25th of the month.