Vatican Finds First Seven Days of Medjugorje Apparitions were “real” and Supernatural in Nature”…. What Really Happened Those First Days
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First Medjugorje apparitions ‘were real’, Vatican…The commission established by Pope Benedict XVI to study the alleged apparitions of Mary at Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, reportedly voted overwhelmingly to recognise as supernatural the first seven appearances of Mary in 1981. Catholic Herald
This summary of First Seven Days comes from Italian publication Papaboys 3.o
Beginning of the apparitions (1981
On 24.6.1981 at 6.00 pm, six young people from the parish of Medjugorje, Ivanka Ivankovic, Mirjana Dragicevic, Vicka Ivankovic, Ivan Dragicevic, Ivan Ivankovic and Milka Pavlovic, saw on the hill Crnica, in the place called Podbrdo, an apparition, a white figure with a child in her arms. Surprised and frightened, they did not approach her.
The following day at the same time, on 25.6.1981, four of them, Ivanka Ivankovic, Mirjana Dragicevic, Vicka Ivankovic and Ivan Dragicevic, felt strongly attracted to the place where, the day before, they saw what they recognized as the Madonna.
Marija Pavlovic and Jakov Colo have joined them. The group of visionaries of Medjugorje was thus formed. They prayed with Our Lady and talked with her. Since that day, they have had daily appearances, together or separately.
Milka Pavlovic and Ivan Ivankovic have never seen the Virgin again.
Brief history of the first days
On June 24, 1981 at about 18.00 the following guys: Ivanka Ivankovic, Mirjana Dragicevic, Vicka Ivankovic, Ivan Dragicevic, Ivan Ivankovic and Milka Pavlovic saw, in an area called Podbrdo (on Mount Crnica), a young and beautiful woman with a baby in my arms. That time he did not tell them anything, but he only motioned them with his hand to approach. But these, astonished and frightened, did not approach at all, although they immediately thought it was the Madonna.
The second day:
On the second day, June 25, 1981, the boys, all agreed, at the same time went again to the place where the Madonna appeared to them the day before, hoping to see you again. Suddenly a light flashed. Together with it the boys also saw the Madonna, but without the child in her arms. She was indescribably beautiful, radiant and smiling. With his hands he gestured them to approach. The boys took courage and approached her. Immediately they fell on their knees and began to recite the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory to the Father, and Our Lady prayed with them, with the exception of the “Ave Maria”. After the prayer, he started talking to the boys. Ivanka immediately asked her about her mother who had died two months before. Mirjana asked the Virgin a sign to make it clear that the boys did not lie and were not crazy, as some claimed.
At the end the Madonna took leave of the boys with the words: ‘Goodbye, my angels!’ To the children’s question, that is, if he would appear again the following day, he answered with an affirmative nod.
According to the testimony of the boys the whole scene had been indescribable. That day on the spot where the boys had seen the Virgin the day before were not present Ivan Ivankovic and Milka Pavlovic. In their place were Marija Pavlovic and Jakov Colo. From then on the six boys, according to their testimony, the Virgin appears regularly. Milka Pavlovic and Ivan Ivankovic who were together with the other seers on the first day, have not seen her since although they later joined the others hoping to see you again.
The third day:
On June 26, 1981, the boys could hardly wait until 6.00 pm, the hour when the Virgin had appeared before them. They went again to the same place to meet you. They were very happy, but that happiness was a little mixed with fear due to the uncertainty that still prevailed over all this.
But despite all the boys felt an inner strength that attracted them to the Virgin.
When the boys were still on their way, a light flashed rapidly three times. For them and for the others who followed them was the sign that made us understand where Our Lady was. This time something more appeared than in the previous days, but in the meantime the Virgin had suddenly disappeared.
But when the boys began to pray again it reappeared and it was wonderful, serene, happy and smiling.
Leaving the house, on the advice of some elderly women, a man from the group who had gone with the boys to the apparitions had brought with him some holy water so that the children could use it to sprinkle the apparition and in this way put themselves at the shelter from satan. Once in the company of the Virgin, Vicka took the water and began to sprinkle, saying: ‘If you are the Madonna stay with us, if you are not, go away!’.
Hearing this the Virgin smiled and stayed with the boys.
Then Mirjana asked her what her name was and she replied: ‘I am the Blessed Virgin Mary.’
That same day, once the boys left Podbrdo, the Virgin appeared again, but only to Marija and said: ‘Peace, peace, peace and only peace!’ The cross was behind her. And with tears in his eyes he repeated twice: ‘Peace must reign between God and men and in the midst of men!’ This point is located about halfway up the road leading to the site of the apparitions.
The fourth day:
On June 27, 1981, the Virgin appeared to the boys three times. Several questions were addressed to her, which she answered. Regarding the priests he said: ‘May the priests firmly believe and protect the faith of the people!’
Again Mirjana and Jakov asked her to leave a mark because it had begun to imply that the boys were crazy or drugged.The Virgin replied to them: ‘Do not be afraid of anything!’
Before saying goodbye, when asked if she would come again, the Virgin nodded affirmatively. As they descended from Podbrdo, the Virgin appeared to them again and took leave of the boys with the words: ‘Goodbye, my angels! Go in peace! “
The fifth day:
On June 28, 1981, as soon as it was soon, countless people came from all over the world.
At midday there were fifteen thousand people. That same day the parish priest Fra Jozo Zovko questioned the boys about what they had seen in the previous days.
At the usual hour the Virgin appeared again. The boys prayed with you and again asked you some things.
For example, Vicka asked her: ‘My Madonna, what do you want from us?’ and again ‘My Madonna, what do you want from our priests?’ and she replied, ‘Let the people pray and believe truly!’ and, concerning the priests, he replied that they really had to believe and also help others in this sense.
That day the Virgin came and left several times. On one occasion the boys asked her why she did not show up in the parish church where everyone could see her, but she answered:
‘Blessed are those who without seeing will believe’.
Although the day was muggy and people were asking a lot of questions, the boys felt like they were in paradise.
The sixth day:
On June 29, 1981, the boys were taken to Mostar for a medical examination and after the exams they were declared healthy. The responsible doctor declared the following: ‘The crazy guys are not the guys, but who brought them here’.
That day on the mountain of apparitions the crowd was more numerous than ever. When the boys came to the usual place and began to pray, the Virgin appeared to them immediately. On that occasion she invited everyone to believe: ‘May the people truly believe and fear nothing!’
That same day the doctor who had followed the boys and observed them at the time of the apparition felt the desire to touch the Madonna and when, at the request of the boys, with his hand touched his shoulders he felt like a shiver that crossed it . And she who was not a believer recognized later and said: ‘There is something miraculous here!’
That same day Our Lady miraculously healed a child, Danijel Setka, whom her parents had led there, asking that he be healed. She promised, on condition that parents prayed, fasted and really believed. At that point, the child healed.
The seventh day:
On June 30, 1981, two girls proposed to the boys to go with the car for a walk; in fact, their goal was to go far from the place of the apparitions and to hold them until the time of the apparitions would have passed. However, although the boys were far from Podbrdo, at the usual time of the apparitions, as if feeling an inner push, they asked to get out of the car.They went down and prayed and the Virgin from the Hill of the apparitions, far away many kilometers, came to meet them and recited with them seven Our Father … So the deception of those girls did not succeed. Immediately after the police began to prohibit the access of the boys and the crowd to Podbrdo, the place of the apparitions. To the boys, and later not even to the crowd, he was more allowed to go to that place. But the Virgin continued to appear to them in secret places, in their homes, in the countryside.
The reassured boys spoke openly with the Virgin and willingly listened to her advice, admonitions and messages. All this continued until January 15, 1982.
Meanwhile, the parish priest had begun to call pilgrims to church to participate in the Rosary and the celebration of the Eucharist. Even the boys came and recited the Rosary. Here, too, the Madonna appeared to them sometimes. The same parish priest Fra Jozo Zovko once, while reciting the rosary, saw the Virgin and interrupted the prayer and spontaneously began to sing ‘Bella sei, bella, Vergine Maria’. The whole church understood that something unusual was happening. He later declared that on that occasion he had really seen Our Lady. And he who until then had not only had doubts, but had been opposed to the rumors about the apparitions, became their proponent and continued to bear witness to the point of being imprisoned.
From 15 January 1982 the boys saw the Madonna in an area near the church and this was granted to them by the parish priest because of the recent difficulties and dangers and the Virgin had already previously consented.
From April 1985, at the request of the diocesan bishop, the boys abandoned this space which was the site of the apparitions and in exchange for a small room in the parish house.
For all this period of time, since the beginning of the apparitions to date, only five days the boys have not seen Our Lady.
The Virgin has not always appeared in the same place, the same people or the same groups, and her apparitions have not always had the same duration. Sometimes it only took a couple of minutes, sometimes hours. In addition, the Virgin has not always appeared when the boys wanted it. Once the boys prayed and waited, but the Virgin did not appear at that hour, nor later, in an unexpected way. Sometimes it appeared to some and not to others. If he had not previously promised to appear at a certain time, no one was able to predict if or when it would appear. It was not only manifested to the seers, but also to other people of any age, culture, race or interest. All this makes us understand that the apparitions are not controlled by man, who do not depend on time, place, desire or prayers of the seers and the people, but only by the will of who appears.