(ZENIT News / Rome, 23.06.2024).- Commemorated on June 25, 2024, will be the 43rd anniversary of the alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Medjugorje. Today, June 24, the novena ends that the Virgin Mary requested Marija, one of the visionaries, to be prayed.
According to Marija, last June 15 the Virgin asked her for a special novena of prayers for world peace. The novena would begin on June 16 and end on June 24. Included was a call for people to climb mount Podbrdo, hill of the first apparitions. Thousands of people have responded to this call.
As several specialists have noted, that request was unheard of in the decades of the apparitions, given that the Virgin has requested specifically on this occasion, that the faithful climb the hill every night at 10:00 pm to pray the Rosary, while awaiting an extraordinary apparition around 11:30 pm. During these days, Marija will only have this nightly apparition, instead of the usual evening vision.
This novena recalls the Virgin’s call in 1991, when She requested nine days of prayer and fasting to fulfil all the secrets of Fatima. In that message, the Virgin warned about the forces that seek to obstruct peace and stressed the need for prayer and sacrifice. However, on that occasion the novena was not associated with extraordinary apparitions.
The current novena is not limited to current conflicts, such as the war in Ukraine and the tensions in Gaza. The Virgin is referring to a more profound peace, the same as that which she mentioned in Her first message to Marija in 1981: “Peace, Peace, Peace. Reconcile with God and with men.” This call highlights the importance of faith, prayer, fasting and Confession.
There are those that allude to the possibility that soon the ten secrets of Medjugorje will be revealed. Visionary Marija has mentioned that God seeks to transform the world through these events. Hence the Virgin is urging us to dedicate ourselves fully to prayer, conscious that these days can mark the beginning of significant events for our faith.
Although the Virgin’s alleged apparitions are not officially recognized by the Church, the Pope has Monsignor Aldo Cavalli as his personal delegate there, who has not discredited this novena.
