BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Medjugorie

Medjugorie is a town located in the Herzegovina, close to the border with Croatia and, since 1981, has been a well-known site of Catholic pilgrimage following reports of apparitions of the Virgin Mary to six local children.

The Apparition Hill, Podbrdo, is the name of the “mountain” where Our Lady first appeared to the visionaries of Medjugorje. After the apparitions began, it became known as Apparition Mountain. It is a steep and rock-strewn path that ascends to the actual location where Our Lady appears.

Cross Mountain is a mount above Medjugorie where a concrete cross was built in 1934 in remembrance of the 1900 years since the death of Jesus. The cross bar embeds the relics received from Rome. At the foot of the cross, Holy Mass is celebrated on the first Sunday after the Feast of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Cenakolo is an organisation founded by Sister Elvira Petrozzi in 1983. A member of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity in Italy, Sister Elvira felt a strong desire to reach out to young people who had taken a wrong path such as drug addiction. The aim of the Community is to renew the family; to help families meet Jesus Christ; and to bring support, love, healing and faith. You will be touched by hearing their miraculous testimonies of faith.

Majčino selo - “The Mother’s Village” - is a big family which brings together several communities and associations: The Children’s Village – social care and accommodation for children and youth kindergarten; the Community of Mother Krispina – for young women in trouble, single mothers, expectant women, and women and children who are in danger; the Community of the Merciful Father for people suffering with different forms of drug abuse; and Medjugorie Mir – a charity helping materially, socially and spiritually to those who are marginalised in Herzegovina and Bosnia, whether individuals or families. It was founded in 1993, during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in response to the need for protection and care for the children who suffered  the loss of their homes and parental care during and after the war. It belongs to the Community of the Herzegovinian Franciscans in Mostar. It started working officially in 1996. The Mother’s Village was built and maintained by pilgrims and donors from all over the world.