Medugorje
Encyclopedia
Međugorje or Medjugorje (ˈmɛdʑuɡɔːrjɛ) is a town located in western Bosnia and Herzegovina
, in the Herzegovina
region around 25 km southwest of Mostar
and close to the border of Croatia
. Since 1981, it has become a popular site of religious pilgrimage due to reports of apparitions of the Virgin Mary
to six local Catholics.
The name Međugorje literally means "an area between mountains". At an altitude of 200 metres above sea level it has a mild Mediterranean climate. The town consists of an ethnically-homogeneous Croat
population of over 4,000. The Roman Catholic parish
(local administrative and religious area) consists of five neighbouring villages, Međugorje, Bijakovići, Vionica, Miletina and Šurmanci.
Following reports of apparitions, successive bishops of Mostar ruled the claims groundless. In March 2010, in view of continued public interest, the Holy See
announced that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
was forming an investigative commission, composed of bishops, theologians, and other experts, under the leadership of Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's former Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome
.
by those who believe that she has been appearing since 24 June 1981 to six children in Međugorje (then part of socialist Yugoslavia
).
The visionary Marija Lunetti (Pavlović) claims to receive messages fom the Virgin Mary on the twenty-fifth of every month, while Mirjana Soldo (Dragičević) reports receiving messages on the second of the month.
The messages reputed to Our Lady of Međugorje have a strong following among Catholics worldwide. Međugorje has become one of the most popular pilgrimage sites for Catholics in the world and has turned into Europe's third most important religious place, where each year more than 1 million people visit. It has been estimated that 30 million pilgrims have come to Međugorje since the reputed apparitions began in 1981. Many have reported visual phenomena including the sun spinning in the sky or changing colors and figures such as hearts and crosses around the sun. Some visitors have suffered eye damage while seeking to experience such phenomena.
The phenomenon is not officially approved by the Catholic Church. Msgr. Ratko Perić, bishop of Mostar - and the local ordinary - has opined that, "The numerous absurd messages, lies, falsehoods and disobedience associated from the beginning with the events and "apparitions" of Medjugorje, all refute every claim of authenticity." In March 2010, the Holy See
announced that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
was forming an investigative commission, composed of bishops, theologians, and other experts, under the leadership of Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's former Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome
. The Commission is expected to report any findings to the Congregation, which has responsibility for any possible judgment on the case.
When local tennis player Ivan Dodig recently beat Rafael Nadal, number 2 in the world, a Croatian newspaper quoted on August 13, 2011 Međugorje visionary Vicka Ivanković-Mijatović to say that Dodig’s success was “another message of Međugorje”. One day later Vicka’s comment caused Bishop Ratko Perić of Mostar to break his self-imposed public silence on Međugorje with an article on the official diocesan website.
valley, the Serbian Orthodox Žitomislić Monastery
has stood since 1566. Gravestones erected in the Middle Ages have remained to this day in the Catholic cemetery Groblje Srebrenica in the hamlet of Miletina as well as in the hamlet of Vionica. In the area of the cemetery in Miletina, structures from the Roman era stood, whose ruins have not yet been fully excavated.
and the Adriatic
coast of Dalmatia
was built, with a station in the hamlet of Šurmanci, through which the village
gained access to rail transport.
The Catholic parish of Sveti Jakov ("Saint James") was erected in 1892 by the Bishop of Mostar Paškal Buconjić. The twelve-meter tall crucifix
on the mountain called Križevac (Cross Mountain), completing the parish's Stations of the Cross
(križni put), was completed in 1934.
, the Žitomislić Monastery was plundered
by the Ustasha, and its refectory
was burned down.
On June 21, 1941, members of the Ustasha committed a massacre in the hamlet of Šurmanci against 559 Serb civilians, which led Mostar bishop Alojzije Mišić
to write a letter of protest to the Archbishop
of Zagreb
Aloysius Stepinac
. The Communist government
of Yugoslavia
had the pit containing the bodies sealed with a concrete slab; hence they were only exhumed and reburied at the cemetery of Prebilovci in the neighboring town of Čapljina
in 1989.
on Crnica hill in the Bijakovići hamlet, and shortly thereafter confrontations with Yugoslav state authorities began. Pilgrims' donations were seized
by the police
and access to what was called the Apparition Hill was largely blocked.
In October 1981, Jozo Zovko, then the pastor of the town, was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment
with forced labor for allegedly participating in a nationalistic
plot
. After Amnesty International
, among others, appealed for his release and a judicial appeal
was made, the sentence was reduced in the Yugoslav Federal Court in Belgrade
to one and a half years, and the priest was released from prison in 1983.
In the last years before the breakup of Yugoslavia, the travel of pilgrims was no longer hindered by the state.
Međugorje remained in the hands of the Croatian Defence Council
and in 1993 became part of the internationally unrecognized Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia
. By the Dayton Agreement
in 1995, Međugorje was incorporated into the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
, populated mostly by Bosniaks
and Croats
. It lies within the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton
, one of ten autonomous regions established so that no ethnic group could dominate the Federation.
In 1992 the town was the launching point for ethnic cleansing
on the part of the Croatian Defence Council, which led to the complete destruction of the Serbian Orthodox Žitomislić Monastery. The property of the Franciscan order in Bijakovići below Podbrdo ("Apparition Hill") was used during the war years as a testing ground for grenade launcher
s by the militia
of a local weapons dealer.
On April 2, 1995, at the high point of conflict within the local diocese, Bishop Ratko Perić
was kidnapped
by Croatian militiamen, beaten, and taken to a chapel
run by one of the Franciscans associated with Međugorje, where he was held hostage
for ten hours. At the initiative of the mayor of Mostar he was freed without bloodshed, with the help of the United Nations Protection Force
.
Ante Jelavić
to create a Croatian entity were unsuccessful, and Međugorje remained part of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The town and its environs boomed economically after the war. Over a thousand hotel
and hostel beds are available for religious tourism
. With approximately one million visitors annually, the municipality of Međugorje has the most overnight stays in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Mostar International Airport
, located approximately 20 km to the northeast, which was closed in 1991, reopened for civil aviation in 1998 and has made air travel to region easier since then. The road
network was expanded after the Bosnian War. In addition the hamlet of Šurmanci in the lower Neretva valley has a train station
on the route from Ploče
to Sarajevo
.
On April 6, 2001 demonstrations occurred in the region, with some violence, after the NATO-led Stabilisation Force
had closed and searched the local branches of the Hercegovačka banka ("Herzegovina Bank"), through which a large part of the currency transactions in Herzegovina, including international donations intended for Međugorje, were carried out, on suspicion of white-collar crime
. The Franciscan Province
responsible for the parish was a shareholder of the bank.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, in the Herzegovina
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
region around 25 km southwest of Mostar
Mostar
Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...
and close to the border of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. Since 1981, it has become a popular site of religious pilgrimage due to reports of apparitions of the Virgin Mary
Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic)
Roman Catholic veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary is based on Holy Scripture: In the fullness of time, God sent his son, born of a virgin. The mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God through Mary thus signifies her honour as Mother of God...
to six local Catholics.
The name Međugorje literally means "an area between mountains". At an altitude of 200 metres above sea level it has a mild Mediterranean climate. The town consists of an ethnically-homogeneous Croat
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
population of over 4,000. The Roman Catholic parish
Župa
A Župa is a Slavic term, used historically among the Southern and Western branches of the Slavs, originally denoting various territorial and other sub-units, usually a small administrative division, especially a gathering of several villages...
(local administrative and religious area) consists of five neighbouring villages, Međugorje, Bijakovići, Vionica, Miletina and Šurmanci.
Following reports of apparitions, successive bishops of Mostar ruled the claims groundless. In March 2010, in view of continued public interest, the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
announced that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition , and after 1904 called the Supreme...
was forming an investigative commission, composed of bishops, theologians, and other experts, under the leadership of Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's former Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome
Cardinal Vicar
Cardinal Vicar is a title commonly given to the vicar general of the diocese of Rome for the portion of the diocese within Italy. The official title, as given in the Annuario Pontificio , is "Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome"...
.
Reported apparitions
"Our Lady of Međugorje" is the title given to the Blessed Virgin MaryBlessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic)
Roman Catholic veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary is based on Holy Scripture: In the fullness of time, God sent his son, born of a virgin. The mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God through Mary thus signifies her honour as Mother of God...
by those who believe that she has been appearing since 24 June 1981 to six children in Međugorje (then part of socialist Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
).
The visionary Marija Lunetti (Pavlović) claims to receive messages fom the Virgin Mary on the twenty-fifth of every month, while Mirjana Soldo (Dragičević) reports receiving messages on the second of the month.
The messages reputed to Our Lady of Međugorje have a strong following among Catholics worldwide. Međugorje has become one of the most popular pilgrimage sites for Catholics in the world and has turned into Europe's third most important religious place, where each year more than 1 million people visit. It has been estimated that 30 million pilgrims have come to Međugorje since the reputed apparitions began in 1981. Many have reported visual phenomena including the sun spinning in the sky or changing colors and figures such as hearts and crosses around the sun. Some visitors have suffered eye damage while seeking to experience such phenomena.
The phenomenon is not officially approved by the Catholic Church. Msgr. Ratko Perić, bishop of Mostar - and the local ordinary - has opined that, "The numerous absurd messages, lies, falsehoods and disobedience associated from the beginning with the events and "apparitions" of Medjugorje, all refute every claim of authenticity." In March 2010, the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
announced that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition , and after 1904 called the Supreme...
was forming an investigative commission, composed of bishops, theologians, and other experts, under the leadership of Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's former Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome
Cardinal Vicar
Cardinal Vicar is a title commonly given to the vicar general of the diocese of Rome for the portion of the diocese within Italy. The official title, as given in the Annuario Pontificio , is "Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome"...
. The Commission is expected to report any findings to the Congregation, which has responsibility for any possible judgment on the case.
When local tennis player Ivan Dodig recently beat Rafael Nadal, number 2 in the world, a Croatian newspaper quoted on August 13, 2011 Međugorje visionary Vicka Ivanković-Mijatović to say that Dodig’s success was “another message of Međugorje”. One day later Vicka’s comment caused Bishop Ratko Perić of Mostar to break his self-imposed public silence on Međugorje with an article on the official diocesan website.
Early history
To the east of Međugorje in the NeretvaNeretva
Neretva is the largest river of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. It has been harnessed and controlled to a large extent by four HE power-plants with large dams and their storage lakes, but it is still recognized for its natural beauty, diversity of its landscape and visual...
valley, the Serbian Orthodox Žitomislić Monastery
Žitomislic Monastery
Žitomislić is а monastery of the Serb Orthodox Church located near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its church is dedicated to the Annunciation of the Mother of God....
has stood since 1566. Gravestones erected in the Middle Ages have remained to this day in the Catholic cemetery Groblje Srebrenica in the hamlet of Miletina as well as in the hamlet of Vionica. In the area of the cemetery in Miletina, structures from the Roman era stood, whose ruins have not yet been fully excavated.
19th and early 20th century
In 1882 the railroad line between MostarMostar
Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...
and the Adriatic
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
coast of Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
was built, with a station in the hamlet of Šurmanci, through which the village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
gained access to rail transport.
The Catholic parish of Sveti Jakov ("Saint James") was erected in 1892 by the Bishop of Mostar Paškal Buconjić. The twelve-meter tall crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
on the mountain called Križevac (Cross Mountain), completing the parish's Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St...
(križni put), was completed in 1934.
Second World War
In 1941, when Međugorje belonged to the Independent State of CroatiaIndependent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
, the Žitomislić Monastery was plundered
Looting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
by the Ustasha, and its refectory
Refectory
A refectory is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries...
was burned down.
On June 21, 1941, members of the Ustasha committed a massacre in the hamlet of Šurmanci against 559 Serb civilians, which led Mostar bishop Alojzije Mišić
Alojzije Mišic
Alojzije Mišić was the Bishop of Mostar-Duvno and Apostolic Administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan from 1912 to 1942....
to write a letter of protest to the Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
Aloysius Stepinac
Aloysius Stepinac
Aloysius Viktor Stepinac , also known as Blessed Aloysius Stepinac, was a Croatian Catholic cardinal and Archbishop of Zagreb from 1937 to 1960. In 1998 he was declared a martyr and beatified by Pope John Paul II....
. The Communist government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
had the pit containing the bodies sealed with a concrete slab; hence they were only exhumed and reburied at the cemetery of Prebilovci in the neighboring town of Čapljina
Capljina
Čapljina is a town and municipality of the same name in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Čapljina is located on the border with Croatia a mere from the Adriatic Sea....
in 1989.
Development of the pilgrimage site
On June 24, 1981, reports began of Marian apparitionsMarian apparitions
A Marian apparition is an event in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed to have supernaturally appeared to one or more people. They are often given names based on the town in which they were reported, or on the sobriquet which was given to Mary on the occasion of the apparition...
on Crnica hill in the Bijakovići hamlet, and shortly thereafter confrontations with Yugoslav state authorities began. Pilgrims' donations were seized
Search and seizure
Search and seizure is a legal procedure used in many civil law and common law legal systems whereby police or other authorities and their agents, who suspect that a crime has been committed, do a search of a person's property and confiscate any relevant evidence to the crime.Some countries have...
by the police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
and access to what was called the Apparition Hill was largely blocked.
In October 1981, Jozo Zovko, then the pastor of the town, was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment
Imprisonment
Imprisonment is a legal term.The book Termes de la Ley contains the following definition:This passage was approved by Atkin and Duke LJJ in Meering v Grahame White Aviation Co....
with forced labor for allegedly participating in a nationalistic
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
plot
Conspiracy (political)
In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination....
. After Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, among others, appealed for his release and a judicial appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
was made, the sentence was reduced in the Yugoslav Federal Court in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
to one and a half years, and the priest was released from prison in 1983.
In the last years before the breakup of Yugoslavia, the travel of pilgrims was no longer hindered by the state.
Međugorje during the Bosnian War
During the Bosnian WarBosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
Međugorje remained in the hands of the Croatian Defence Council
Croatian Defence Council
The Croatian Defence Council was a military formation of the self-proclaimed Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia during the Bosnian War.-History:...
and in 1993 became part of the internationally unrecognized Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia
Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia
The Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia was an unrecognised entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina that existed between 1991 and 1994 during the Bosnian war. It was proclaimed on November 18, 1991 under the name Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia, and claimed to be a separate or distinct "political,...
. By the Dayton Agreement
Dayton Agreement
The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement, Dayton Accords, Paris Protocol or Dayton-Paris Agreement, is the peace agreement reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio in November 1995, and formally signed in Paris on...
in 1995, Međugorje was incorporated into the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two political entities that compose the sovereign country of Bosnia and Herzegovina . The two entities are delineated by the Inter-Entity Boundary Line...
, populated mostly by Bosniaks
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
and Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
. It lies within the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton
Herzegovina-Neretva Canton
The Herzegovina-Neretva Canton is one of the 10 cantons of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The canton mainly comprises the Neretva river valley area and parts of Herzegovina west of Mostar, its administrative center.-Municipalities:...
, one of ten autonomous regions established so that no ethnic group could dominate the Federation.
In 1992 the town was the launching point for ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
on the part of the Croatian Defence Council, which led to the complete destruction of the Serbian Orthodox Žitomislić Monastery. The property of the Franciscan order in Bijakovići below Podbrdo ("Apparition Hill") was used during the war years as a testing ground for grenade launcher
Grenade launcher
A grenade launcher or grenade discharger is a weapon that launches a grenade with more accuracy, higher velocity, and to greater distances than a soldier could throw it by hand....
s by the militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
of a local weapons dealer.
On April 2, 1995, at the high point of conflict within the local diocese, Bishop Ratko Perić
Ratko Peric
Mons. Ratko Perić is the current Bishop of Mostar-Duvno and Apostolic Administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan.Ratko Perić was born in the village of Tuk in the Rovišće municipality, near Bjelovar in Croatia. After studies in Zagreb and Rome, he was ordained priest on 29 June 1969 in Prisoje...
was kidnapped
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
by Croatian militiamen, beaten, and taken to a chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
run by one of the Franciscans associated with Međugorje, where he was held hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
for ten hours. At the initiative of the mayor of Mostar he was freed without bloodshed, with the help of the United Nations Protection Force
United Nations Protection Force
The United Nations Protection Force ', was the first United Nations peacekeeping force in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav wars. It existed between the beginning of UN involvement in February 1992, and its restructuring into other forces in March 1995...
.
Development after the war
After the ending of the Bosnian War, peace came to the area: UN peace troops were stationed in western Herzegovina. Efforts by the politicianPolitician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
Ante Jelavić
Ante Jelavic
Ante Jelavić is a Croat politician and former Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.Jelavić was born in 1963 in Podprolog, Vrgorac, Croatia, then Yugoslavia, and was elected to the post as a candidate of the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina.Ante Jelavić served as...
to create a Croatian entity were unsuccessful, and Međugorje remained part of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The town and its environs boomed economically after the war. Over a thousand hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
and hostel beds are available for religious tourism
Religious tourism
Religious tourism, also commonly referred to as faith tourism, is a form of tourism, whereby people of faith travel individually or in groups for pilgrimage, missionary, or leisure purposes. The world's largest form of mass religious tourism takes place at the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca,...
. With approximately one million visitors annually, the municipality of Međugorje has the most overnight stays in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Mostar International Airport
Mostar International Airport
Mostar International Airport is an airport near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, situated in the village of Ortiješ, south southeast of Mostar's railway station...
, located approximately 20 km to the northeast, which was closed in 1991, reopened for civil aviation in 1998 and has made air travel to region easier since then. The road
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
network was expanded after the Bosnian War. In addition the hamlet of Šurmanci in the lower Neretva valley has a train station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
on the route from Ploče
Ploce
Ploče is a town and a notable seaport in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia.The total population of Ploče is 10,102 , in the following settlements:* Baćina, population 564* Banja, population 176* Komin, population 1,222...
to Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
.
On April 6, 2001 demonstrations occurred in the region, with some violence, after the NATO-led Stabilisation Force
SFOR
The Stabilisation Force was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina which was tasked with upholding the Dayton Agreement. It replaced the previous force IFOR...
had closed and searched the local branches of the Hercegovačka banka ("Herzegovina Bank"), through which a large part of the currency transactions in Herzegovina, including international donations intended for Međugorje, were carried out, on suspicion of white-collar crime
White-collar crime
Within the field of criminology, white-collar crime has been defined by Edwin Sutherland as "a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation" . Sutherland was a proponent of Symbolic Interactionism, and believed that criminal behavior was...
. The Franciscan Province
Franciscan Province of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Franciscan Province of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a province of the Franciscan order of the Catholic Church in Herzegovina...
responsible for the parish was a shareholder of the bank.
Famous people
- Marin ČilićMarin CilicMarin Čilić , is a Croatian professional tennis player. His career high ATP ranking is no. 9, achieved on 22 February 2010, following his best-ever performance at a Grand Slam, reaching the semi-finals in the 2010 Australian Open...
- Croatian tennis player - Ivan DodigIvan DodigIvan Dodig is a Croatian tennis player. His career-high rank ATP singles ranking is No. 32 and his best doubles rank is No. 129.-2010:...
- Croatian tennis player
See also
- Marian apparitionsMarian apparitionsA Marian apparition is an event in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed to have supernaturally appeared to one or more people. They are often given names based on the town in which they were reported, or on the sobriquet which was given to Mary on the occasion of the apparition...
- Visions of Jesus and MaryVisions of Jesus and MarySince the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Calvary until today, a number of people have claimed to have had visions of Christ and personal conversations with him. Some people make similar claims regarding the Blessed Virgin Mary. Discussions about the authenticity of these visions have often invited...
- Roman Catholic Marian churchesRoman Catholic Marian churchesThroughout history, Roman Catholics have built churches to venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today, a large number of Roman Catholic churches dedicated to the Blessed Virgin exist on all continents...
- Shrines to the Virgin MaryShrines to the Virgin MaryIn the culture and practice of some Christian Churches - mainly, but not solely, the Roman Catholic Church - a Shrine to the Virgin Mary is a shrine marking an apparition or other miracle ascribed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or a site on which is centered a historically strong Marian devotion...