Apparition
Apparitions Reported at Medjugorje (Our Lady, Queen of Peace)
Marian apparition granted nihil obstat · Medjugorje, Diocese of Mostar-Duvno, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1981
Beginning on 24 June 1981 six young people of the parish of Medjugorje reported apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Queen of Peace. On 19 September 2024 the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith granted a nihil obstat to the spiritual experience connected with Medjugorje, recognising abundant fruits of conversion, prayer and reconciliation and authorising public devotion — while deliberately not pronouncing on the supernatural character of the reported apparitions themselves.
Background
The nihil obstat is the most favourable of the six conclusions set out in the 2024 DDF Norms for discerning alleged supernatural phenomena, and it is not a declaration of supernatural origin: the Note states that the faithful may give their prudent adherence to the spiritual proposal of Medjugorje, while the Church makes no judgement on the personal lives of the reported visionaries and does not affirm that the messages come from the Blessed Virgin. The Note distinguishes carefully between the abundant good fruits of the place — confessions, vocations, reconciliations, works of charity — and the individual reported messages, some of which it cautions must be read within the whole of Christian revelation. Belief in the events remains entirely free.
Location
Medjugorje, Diocese of Mostar-Duvno
Country
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Approved status
Nihil obstat
Year of apparition
1981
Visionaries
- Ivan Dragičević
- Ivanka Ivanković-Elez
- Jakov Čolo
- Marija Pavlović-Lunetti
- Mirjana Dragičević-Soldo
- Vicka Ivanković-Mijatović
Message highlights
The reported messages centre on peace — with God, within oneself and among peoples — under the title Queen of Peace.
They repeatedly urge conversion of heart, daily prayer, fasting, Scripture, confession and the Eucharist.
Subject
marian
Decision year
2024
Content subtype
approved_apparition
Decision authority
Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, in the Note 'The Queen of Peace', approved by Pope Francis