Many of my friends have gone to Medjugorje, where Our Lady is supposed to have appeared, and they speak very highly of it. But I understand that the Vatican has not been very positive about it. What is the Vatican’s position?
It is true that formerly the Vatican had adopted a sceptical position on the supposed apparitions, but on 19 September 2024, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, issued a long statement which, without declaring the alleged apparitions to be of supernatural origin, noted the many spiritual fruits which have followed them. The Note, titled “‘The Queen of Peace’: Note about the spiritual experience connected with Medjugorje”, was approved by Pope Francis, who ordered its publication.
It makes reference to the Dicastery’s earlier Norms for Proceeding in the Discernment of Alleged Supernatural Phenomena, of 17 May 2024.
The Note grants a “Nihil obstat” to the Medjugorje events. Following the May 2024 norms, this means: “Without expressing any certainty about the supernatural authenticity of the phenomenon itself, many signs of the action of the Holy Spirit are acknowledged ‘in the midst’ of a given spiritual experience, and no aspects that are particularly critical or risky have been detected, at least so far.”
As a result, the faithful “are authorised to give it their adherence in a prudent manner”. The Note was welcomed especially by the over 40 million people who have been to Medjugorje since the first apparition in 1981 and have experienced spiritual fruits themselves.
Since the document does not enter into the question of the supernatural origin of the apparitions, it makes clear that when it speaks of apparitions, messages or visionaries, these are to be understood as “alleged”. I will follow this criterion here.
The Note mentions among the spiritual fruits of Medjugorje “the promotion of a healthy practice of a life of faith, in accordance with the tradition of the Church, abundant conversions, a frequent return to the sacraments (particularly, the Eucharist and reconciliation), many vocations to priestly, religious, and married life, a deepening of the life of faith, a more intense practice of prayer, many reconciliations between spouses, and the renewal of marriage and family life.”
A large part of the document consists of quotations from the messages themselves, with comments on them. It says that “Queen of Peace” is the “most original title in the alleged messages,” although Our Lady most frequently refers to herself as “Mother.” The predominant themes of the messages are calls for conversion, peace, reconciliation, and a return to the sacraments, along with a “constant call to abandon a worldly lifestyle and excessive attachment to worldly goods.” In addition, “One of the prevailing characteristics of the spirituality that emerges from the messages is that of trust in God through a total trust in Mary, in order to become instruments of peace in the world.”
The spirituality of the messages is also one of communion with the Pope and with the whole Church, and it is “joyful, celebratory, and includes a call to live the joy of following Christ.” The centrality of the Mass is emphasised: “May the Mass be the centre of your lives!” and “Receiving Holy Communion is greater than being a visionary.”
At the same time, the Note acknowledges that a few elements in the messages are misleading and are to be ignored.
Among them are those in which Mary gives reprimands and threats, gives instructions to the parish about how to live aspects of the liturgical seasons, relentless insistence on listening to her messages, and messages that give orders about specific dates, places, and practical decisions unlikely to be of supernatural origin. At the same time, Our Lady insists on finding the most important truths not in her messages but in the Gospel. She also refers to “my plan of salvation”, when it is God’s plan of salvation. But she keeps drawing the faithful back to Christ.
The note acknowledges “the abundant and widespread fruits, which are so beautiful and positive”, which show “that the Holy Spirit is acting fruitfully for the good of the faithful.” “For this reason, all are invited to appreciate and share the pastoral value of this spiritual proposal.”
