Interviews about Medjugorje

Apart from the many Catholics who visit Medjugorje to venerate the Queen of Peace, of late there have also been an increasing number of non-Catholic Christians who visit Medjugorje to pray to Our Lady with trust and to ask for Her motherly intercession before God. A recent visit was paid by Anglican minister, Robert Llewelyn. Despite his age, he is spritely, and deeply spiritual. Peace and joy irradiate from his every word.

Fr. Carmelo, you spent two years in Medjugorje. How did you get this opportunity, and what does it mean for you now?

It was definitely a call by Our Lady, and it was through a small article precisely in the Echo of Mary which said there wasn’t an Italian priest in Medjugorje to look after the Italian pilgrims. I took this as a personal call, and I asked Our Lady to provide a ticket to get there and a place to stay as a sign that it really was for me. Not long after this, whilst having dinner with friends, one of them said he had an extra ticket to go to Medjugorje and that he wanted to give it to someone. Then, at Medjugorje I asked Fr. Slavko about it and he confirmed that Our Lady had called me to stay there so I could better comprehend God’s plans.

Jim Caviezel became the world famous actor with leading role in Mel Gibson’s movie “Passion”. Who is that actor that has so impressively become one with character of Jesus? Personally, he claims that if it wasn’t for Medjugorje, he wouldn’t have ever even accepted that role. Namely, in Medjugorje he had experienced certain dimension of faith that was unknown to him up to that point. In February he came to Medjugorje for the sixth time as pilgrim, and he visited Vienna after that trip. While he was in Vienna he had interview with Christian Stelzer for magazine “Oase des Friedens”, and interview translated in Croatian can be found in new edition of “Glasnik mira” from Medjugorje.

The smile of his mother as she was dying (she was run over by a train) helped this man (a sculptor) regain his faith and now inspires his works.

An atheist in front of this crucifix said, "For as long as I stood in front of it, I felt the desire to embrace it."

Peppino Sacchi, sculptor from Bolzano, was interviewed by Fr. Slavko in October 1990.

(Translated from the German-language Catholic newspaper Die Tagespost.)

For years there has been discussion of the phenomenon of the alleged "Marian apparitions" that took their origin in Medjugorje: Does the Mother of God really appear to the seers who originated in Medjugorje? Or are the experiences parapsychological fruits of the seers' unconscious? Are they a deceptive manipulation or even a trick of evil forces? According to reports, there are plans at the Vatican to have the Medjugorje phenomenon conclusively investigated by a commission. Regina Einig asked the chairman of the German Society for Mariology, professor of dogmatics and patristics at Lugano, Manfred Hauke, about the subject.

Msgr. Leo Maasburg, National director of MISSIO Austria, was in Medjugorje in April 2009. During many years, he accompanied Mother Teresa on her journeys and at the occasion of the opening of new houses on different continents. He was preaching retreats for her sisters all over the world. When Mother Teresa opened her first houses in Moscow and in Armenia in 1988, Father Leo was spiritual counsellor of the sisters during several months, and thus the first „official” Catholic priest in the Soviet Union at that time. Afterwards, together with an Italian businessperson, he launched the largest Catholic Radio Family „Radio Maria”, which is present on all the continents today.

In the context of the beatification Mother Teresa, he was the only member of the team, who does not belong to Mother Teresa’s Congregation.

Bruno Volpe spoke with Mons. Giovanni Battista Pichierri, Bishop of Trani, in Puglia, who declared, “I think that the prudent position of the Church on the topic is just and legitimate. The visionaries continue to speak, therefore, it is necessary to wait. But if the faithful are coming in such a great numbers, there must be a positive reason for it”.

By Vedrana Vidović

The 22nd International Mariological and Marian Congress ended on September 8th in Lourdes, by a solemn Eucharistic celebration in the Basilica of the Holy Rosary. Holy Mass was presided by the Cardinal Poupard, special representative of the Holy Father, who also presided the Congress.

Mons. Eduardo Horacio García, Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires, was in Medjugorje with a group of pilgrims from Argentina in the beginning of October 2008. Mons. García is born in 1956, and he is a bishop for five years now. Marija Stegnar, an Argentinean Croat who is regularly bringing groups to Medjugorje for many years now, accompanied this pilgrimage.

Published in Večernji list, 14. 09. 2008. Interview by Žarko Ivković

The media published in recent days a sensational news: that the Vatican began to square the accounts with the phenomenon called Medjugorje, and that the Pope himself called Medjugorje a fraud. In the background of this false information was the case of Fr. Tomislav Vlašić, punished by the Vatican for “spreading of doubtful doctrines, manipulation of consciences, doubtful mysticism, disobedience and fault against the sixth commandment (fornication)”. As this is a priest who used to serve in Medjugorje, the authenticity of Our Lady’s apparitions in Medjugorje was once again under suspicion.

What says about this Dr. Fr. Ivan Sesar, Provincial of the Herzegovinian Franciscan Province and former Pastor of Medjugorje?

Christianity before being a doctrine is a personal relationship with God

Father Livio Fanzaga is a priest and a religious, member of the Congregation of the Scolopian Fathers, a Religious Order founded in the 17th century by S. Giuseppe Calasanzio (1557-1648) and customarily dedicated to the apostolate and education of poor children and young people.

Prof. Dr. Mark Miravalle, professor of Theology and Mariology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville (USA) is a permanent deacon, a married man and a father of 8 children. Shortly after the beginning of the apparitions, while he was writing his doctorate in Rome, he came to Medjugorje to investigate the events.

Alois Epner (76) is a retired teacher from Upper Austria. He was born in Croatia, but in 1944, the Epner family had to flee the country to escape from the communists. Although he never forgot his childhood in his native Croatia, he found a new home in Upper Austria. He visited Medjugorje for the first time in 1984, and since then he returns on a regular basis. When he speaks about his experiences, his eyes fill with tears.

Fr. Jose Rodriguez Carballo, Minister General of the Franciscan Order, visited Medjugorje on October 8th, 2007. He was in Herzegovina from October 7 to 10, visiting the friars of the Herzegovinian Franciscan Province of the Assumption of Mary. Dragan Soldo spoke with him for Radio Mir Medjugorje.

Fr. Ljubo, with this interview I’d like to sum up your experience at Medjugorje over these past seven years. Let’s start from the beginning. How did you feel when you were told you’d be coming here?

I was a young priest - ordained four years previously. The parish priest then was Fr. Pervan, and when I was told I’d be coming here as a spiritual assistant it frightened me a little. Being newly ordained it came as a challenge. I’d thus far come to Medjugorje as a pilgrim, and it was here that I decided to become a monk; after that I came here a few times also to help with the confessions. It is totally different to come here every now and again, and to live here. To live here is like an immersion; you live Mary’s presence in your heart.

On August 24, 2002, Jelena Vasilj got married to Massimiliano Valente in St James Church, Medjugorje.   It was indeed a very prayerful and joyful wedding!   Visionary, Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti, was Jelena's Maid of Honor. Rarely do we see such beautiful and striking newly weds!   A week before the wedding, they visited our home and shared at length about their values as a christian couple.  Let's remember that Jelena had been taught by Our Lady herself for many years, through inner locutions, under the wings of Fr. Tomislav Vlasic, and she was chosen by Our Lady to lead a prayer group until she started her studies in the US in 1991. I'll start reporting here some of Jelena's answers to my questions.

Tatiana Matejaš-Cameron (also known as Tajči) is a singer who gave a concert and a testimony on the Youth Festival "Mladifest" in Medjugorje, 2006. This was the first time that Tajči has performed in the former Yugoslavia region since leaving Croatia in the nineties. Tatiana no longer sings pop music, but only spiritual songs. During the last years, Tatiana has given hundreds of concerts all over the USA, where she found her way to God and where she settled and founded her family. See also her official website, www.idobelieve.com)

Fr. Rainer Herteis, born in 1975, received his priestly ordination on May 6, 2006, in the Diocese Eichstätt (Germany). The story of his life and of his vocation are closely connected with Medjugorje. In June 2007, he was in Medjugorje. Lidija Paris spoke with him.

Fr. Herteis, tell us how you became a priest?

I was born with reduced vision. Already in the kindergarten, the doctors determined an illness of the retina, which is medically incurable. A metabolic disturbance, which led to it that, when I was 25, I could see only very little light. As the doctors were giving me very little hope to see again, I met a woman who told me: I am going to pray for you. I was about 15 when she prayed for me for the first time. I felt a very strong warmth, and I concluded that it could come only from God. This was for me the first experience that God was a living God who can hear our prayers, a God who loves us, and who is there for us.

In May 2007, a group of pilgrims came to Medjugorje from Hong Kong and Macao. The group was accompanied by a priest, and led by Michelle Yau Ivy (Hong Kong) and S. Claire-Marie (Macao). Lidija Paris spoke with them.

Can you tell us about the beginnings of the pilgrimages from Hong Kong to Medjugorje?

Michelle Yau Ivy: Everything started in December 2001, with my first trip here. I was coming just for fun with a group of friends from Hong Kong. I did not expect anything. I just wanted to come with friends. After this trip, I received a great blessing. When I returned, my husband asked to learn to pray the Rosary and became truly devoted to this. I was very amazed. Soon after, he asked to learn the catechism, and five months later, he was baptized, on the feast of Our Lady of Assumption. He is working now for the monks, in the monastery “Our Lady of Joy” in Hong Kong! For me, this is a fruit of Medjugorje. Then, I was thinking to come back, so I decided to bring a group here. I know that people wanted to come, but they were very afraid. I tried to organize a trip. There was a rumor in Hong Kong that this was a very cold place without electricity and without water, where people eat just bread, so they thought that they should bring along as much food as they can! This is what we have done on the first trip!

Mons. Bernardo Cazzaro, Servant of Mary, Archbishop Emeritus of Puerto Montt (Chile) spent the major part of his life as a missionary in Chile. At the end of its active episcopal service, he returned to Italy in order to help as a spiritual councillor and confessor in the Marian shrine Monte Berico.

In May 2007, during a pilgrimage to Medjugorje with a group from Vittorio Veneto, in an interview with Lidija Paris he expressed his impressions on Medjugorje.

Vicka, will you please describe what the feeling of a person is that has been meeting with the Mother of God every day now for fifteen years?

This feeling cannot possibly be put in words, for there are no words to describe it. It is something special, a special peace, satisfaction, a joy that cannot be experienced with any man, but only with Our Lady.

Medjugorje, January 10, 1983

Tomislav Vlasic: Mirjana, we have not seen each other for some time, and I would like you to tell me about the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and especially with the events that are connected to you.

Mirjana Dragicevic: I have seen the Blessed Virgin Mary for eighteen months now, and feel I know Her very well. I feel she loves me with Her Motherly love, and so I have been able to ask Her about anything I would like to know. I've asked her to explain some things about Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell that were not clear to me. For example, I asked Her how God can be so unmerciful as to throw people into Hell, to suffer forever. I thought: If a person commits a crime and goes to jail, he stays there for a while and then is forgiven - but to Hell, forever? She told me that souls who go to Hell have ceased thinking favorably of God - have cursed Him, more and more. So they've already become a part of Hell, and choose not to be delivered from it.

The village is quiet during these winter months. For many pension owners and the visionaries, less pilgrims means more time spent with family around the wood-burning stove. This past month a woman from China stayed in Medjugorje, with my community. She mentioned that she thought it must be easy for the visionaries to discern what God wants of them. "When you see Our Lady every day", she said, "you know how to follow the right path. But for us, how are we to know the will of God in our lives and how can we be sure not to be mistaken?" I took a chance that Vicka would have some "winter time" to spend with us and would share some insights of hers. She welcomed my friend very kindly. Because she radiates such a heavenly joy and love, one may think she can give a magic recipe for peace! Well, she did draw a clear line to happiness, but indeed nothing magic!

26.01.2002 – On Saturday, January 26th, 2002, in the parish church of St. James in Medjugorje, the wedding of Vicka Ivankovic from Medjugorje and Mario Mijatovic, a native from Sarajevo, was celebrated.

The marriage that was blessed by Fr. Branko Radoš, pastor of Medjugorje, the Holy Mass at which concelebrated Fr. Jozo Zovko and Fr. Ivan Landeka along with more than 20 other priests from all over the world, the wedding that attracted hundreds of friends from all over the world and more then 30 photographers and journalists, means for Vicka - the always smiling parishioner who still today has daily apparitions of Our Lady - that with her henceforth stands a man with whom she is eternally bound in love, and who will be a sure support at the service of Our Lady’s messages and the faithful, who day and night come seeking light on their Christian path.

Medjugorje, February, 1983

Svetozar Kraljevic: Ivanka, you and Mirjana were taking a walk together that day. Why were you walking together?

Ivanka Ivankovic: We regularly walked together in that area. We had been at my house; then we decided to take our walk.

For ten years now, the statue of Gospa in the town of Civitavecchia is weeping tears of blood

An interview with Mons. Girolamo Grillo from Civitavecchia – “The tree can be recognised by its fruits”, quotes Bishop Girolamo Grillo the words of Jesus from the Gospel, when somebody asks him about Gospa weeping tears of blood in the town of Civitavecchia. A little statue of Our Lady bought in Medjugorje more than ten years ago started to weep tears of blood about ten years ago, in the village of Pantano, near the town of Civitavecchia, 60 km from Rome.

- How would you summarise the messages of Medjugorje? What is distinguishing these messages from those in Lourdes or Fatima?

Bishop Hnilica – In all three places, Our Lady is inviting us to repentance, forgiveness and prayer. In this aspect of the message, these three apparitions are similar. However, the difference in Medjugorje is that the apparitions are lasting for 23 years now. The intensity of the continuation of the supernatural is neither declining nor diminishing during all these years, and the result is an even greater number of intellectuals that are converted here.

How did the Festival first begin? What was its aim?

This festival began 17 years ago when Fr. Slavko began to help a group of young people understand Medjugorje, also through the help of songs personal testimonies. I wasn’t here then, so I can’t tell you more about that. It was certainly a group of young people who had been touched by Medjugorje and by Our Lady’s presence and by her messages. So, gradually, this festival, this international meeting grew.

How do you see the spirituality of Medjugorje - if there is a spirituality of Medjugorje at all?

I have been asking the question of myself and others if there is a distinct spirituality of Medjugorje. I do not think there is. I think it is more a call to deepen the spirituality that we already have. A new understanding of what we all received as children, in school and home; it is a reawakening of that, it is a renewal of that kind of uncomplicated faith, unembarrassed faith. As for the apparitions of Mary, at first you feel - if she is the Mother of God - her messages should be more theologically substantial. In fact they are deceptively simple. And I say to myself: I have been through theology courses, maybe this is the time for me to get back to the simple faith that we all have, and we grew up with. Time to look again at what Our Lady is saying, read the messages again, re-read them, and read between the lines, between the words.

Jelena, you have been absent from the pages of Echo for some time. What has been happening in your life lately? Who is Jelena today?

We’re expecting our third child, but the pregnancy hasn’t been going according to previsions, and I’ve been confined to total rest. But I’ve seen how this condition of immobility regards my body only, while my spirit has been able to broaden out continually. So this has been a time of grace for me, because love has two sides to it. There is the joy and the enthusiasm of giving, even though this is accompanied by the cross, but it is when the cross is accepted, that our joy is even deeper. Then, everything is okay. It seems as though life should be always downhill to be true – or that’s how we imagine it. However, I am coming to understand ever more how suffering is our true life. So I can say that right now I am living this “true life.”