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The solemn vows in Medjugorje

On Sunday, September 14, 2014, four brothers of Herzegovina Franciscan Province: Fr. Augustin Cordas, Fr. Ivan Maric, Fr. Alen Pajic and Fr. Ivan Penavic gave their solemn life vows. The solemn Holy Mass began with the procession and it was celebrated by the Provincial of Herzegovina Franciscan Province, Dr. Fr. Miljenko Steko at the White Dome of St. James’ church with 87 priests concelebrating. The singing of young seminarians conducted by Fr. Stanko Mabic made it even more beautiful. The Provincial expressed his joy because these solemn vows are being given in Medjugorje, place of Our Lady, in Her vicinity which was the choice of brothers who gave vows. He especially emphasised the Feast of Exaltation of the Holy Cross that was celebrated on Sunday: “What does this Feast here in Medjugorje, parish with Cross Mountain say to us?

Pilgrim from Italy, Giorgio Dal Molin: „I was in Medjugorje around 200 times”

Many pilgrims are arriving on daily basis to Medjugorje and in the beginning of September, according to the Information Office register, there were groups from Italy, Austria, Germany, Ireland, the United States, France, Poland, Netherlands, Spain, Slovakia, Latvia, Japan, Hungary, Lebanon, Argentina, Czech Republic and Malta. Among many pilgrims from Italy, we had chance to speak to Giorgio Dal Molin from Italy, who came to Medjugorje around 200 times so far. “In the beginning, I used to come as a pilgrim and now I bring groups of pilgrims here. I heard about Medjugorje in 1988, after I was moved with everything that was happening here, I decided to go through that spiritual experience. My first pilgrimage was all about the curiosity. I came from Italy so I would come and see what was happening in a place that was important for the Church and the whole world. I was very surprised by the faith that I found here and it was the faith that was reflected in pilgrims, but above all in parishioners. I was able to deepen my spiritual journey here. I used to come to Medjugorje as a pilgrim until the beginning of the war and afterwards, I became a pilgrim that mostly helped people here who were in difficulties at that time”, said Giorgio who emphasised that he was mostly moved by the inner feeling that all pilgrims experience during the time of prayer on the hills in Medjugorje.

Holy Mass on Cross Mountain

Medjugorje parish celebrates the Feast of Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the first Sunday after the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady. That celebration will take place on Sunday, September 14. The solemn Holy Mass will be on Cross Mountain at 11 a.m., and other Holy Masses in Croatian language will take place in the parish church at 6, 7, 8 a.m. and 12 and 7 p.m. The Cross on Cross Mountain was built in the Year of Jubilee of Christ’s Death – 1933, and until June 24, 1981 it was a place of prayer of parishioners and faithful from other parishes. The night before this celebration, the theatre performance will be held at 8 p.m. at the foot of Cross Mountain titled “How Cross Mountain came to be”. The play will be given by Croatian National Theatre from Mostar.

Change in time of the evening prayer programme

Change in time of the evening prayer programme takes place in Medjugorje on the first Monday after the celebration of the feast of Exaltation of the Holy Cross. That change will start from September 15, 2014 and Rosary will be at 5 p.m., Holy Mass at 6 p.m., Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Wednesdays and Saturdays will be from 9 to 10 .m. Rosary on Apparition Hill on Sundays will be at 2 p.m., and Way of the Cross on Fridays at the same time. Croatian Holy Mass at 1 p.m. will only be celebrated on Saturdays.

Statistics for August, 2014

Number of Holy Communions: 364 500

Number of priests that concelebrated at Holy Masses: 7652 (246 per day)

THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL PILGRIMMAGE FOR THE DISABLED PERSONS “IN MARY''S SCHOOL” 2014

Coordinator: Fr. Marinko Sakota P.P. OFM

The third international pilgrimage to Medjugorje for the disabled persons will be held from the 23- 26 October 2014. The main organisers will be the Association “Susret” from Citluk in the cooperation with the Parish Office and “Mothers Village”. The participants will be gathering on Thursday afternoon, October 23, 2014. The Parishioners of Medjugorje are offering free accommodation and food for the weekend. The programme for the pilgrims from Friday evening to Sunday will include workshops, talks and prayer meetings. On Saturday morning all participants will make a visit to Apparition Hill.

Bookings for the disabled persons participating in the pilgrimage will take place from September 1-30, 2014 at the email address: gospina.skola@gmail.com.
WHEN BOOKING, we would kindly like to ask you to send us the exact information about the disabled person, there company and to state if parents would be travelling with them, as well as to tell us how many days they would stay in Medjugorje as well as your contact details.

Chess players from Ruscica near Slavonski Brod in Croatia came to Medjugorje

The members of chess club „Posavac“  from suburb area Ruščica, near Slavonski Brod, came to Medjugorje for the eleventh time. The chess players that came with members of their families took part in the evening prayer programme and they climbed Apparition Hill and Cross Mountain. Mato Opačak,the president of the club, said in his interview on radio station Mir Medjugorje that they come every year after the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This time, ten pilgrims came for the first time to Medjugorje. They were thrilled and told us that they will return the next year as well. Besides pilgrims from Croatia, at the end of August we registered groups from Italy, Austria, France, Ireland, the United States, Spain, Hungary, Ukraine, Germany, Canada, Lebanon, Malta and Poland.

Young pilgrim Sean Hickey from Ireland: „I experienced great conversion in Medjugorje”

Sean Hickey, 26 years old young man came from Killkeny in Ireland. This summer when he arrived for the Youth Festival was his eighth time. He said that he experienced great conversion during his first visit: „We decided to establish a prayer group in Killkeny and  we brought several hundred young people from Killkeny. We meet every Friday and we pray Rosary and finish with the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The influence of Medjugorje at the young people is amazing, their lives are changing as well as lives of the people around them and in that way the whole society in Ireland is changing. I am saying this out of my own experience, how I was able to move, change and convert and how I received a guft of personal relationship with Jesus and Gospa. In the same way I look at tue other young people and how they are growing in their relationship to God. Young people in Ireland are distracted with various contents and it is hard to motivate and moge them to these wonderful realities.

The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary celebrated in Medjugorje

The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was celebrated in Medjugorje with the large number of pilgrims from abroad and especially from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. All pilgrims, especially the young ones were arriving to Medjugorje throughout the whole night in their feet, confessed and took part in Holy Masses  that were celebrated from 6 a.m. in Croatian language. Holy Masses in Croatian language in the morning were then celebrated at 7,8,9 and 11 a.m. and the central Holy Mass was at 7 p.m. Fr. Ivan Dugandzic was the main celebrant and around 70 priests concelebrated at that Holy Mass celebrated at the White Dome of St. James' church.  (photos)

The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on Friday, August 15. Holy Masses in Croatian language will be celebrated in the church of St. James at 6,7,8,9 a.m and at 7 p.m. The evening prayer programme will begin at 6 p.m. with the prayer of Rosary and Holy Masses in other languages will be celebrated throughout the morning. In these days, prior to this great Feast, the Information Office registered groups from Austria, Germany, Ireland, the United States, France, Italy, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, China, Poland and Spain.

The experiences of participants of the 25th Youth Festival in Medjugorje

It happens very often that whole families arrive to Medjugorje for the Youth Festival, young children and their parents and we had chance to meet family Nikolic, Croats from Zurich. Their message was: Come to Medjugorje. Ljiljana is a mother of four children and has been coming to Medjugorje for several years now. She told us briefly: “I am not here at the Festival for the first time and every year I bring my children. We try to pass on Medjugorje on our families, friends, even at the working place.” Her husband told us that they have been coming here for 20 years now.

The 25th Youth festival in Medjugorje finished with Holy Mass on Cross Mountain

The 25^th International Youth Festival that began on Thursday, July 31, 2014 finished on Wednesday, August 6 with Holy Mass of Thanksgiving celebrated by Fr. Marinko Sakota, the parish priest of Medjugorje parish. The Youth Festival was held under the theme: “Behold, your Mother”. Dozens of thousands of young people from more than 60 countries gathered in Medjugorje this year. (foto); (video)

The last day of the testimonies at the 25th Youth Festival in Medjugorje

Salvador Iñiguez Morales from Mexico spoke on the last day in the morning part of the lectures. When he was only 10 years old, his granny spoke to him about Medjugorje and he tried to live Gospa’s messages ever since. His works in medical care in geriatrics and for a long period of time, he has “double life”. (foto); (video)

A young pilgrim Joelle Modard: „Message of Medjugorje is very strong and encouraging''’

Joelle Modard, 21 years old young girl from Switzerland participated in the Youth Festival and this is her 13^th time in Medjugorje. “As a little girl, I used to come here with my parents and I come also in the times when the Festival is not held. Medjugorje is miraculous, I find my peace here and I have many precious memories regarding Medjugorje”, said Joelle about her experience and emphasised that every time she discovers something new. “It is such a powerful confirmation for my life. The spiritual life of the youth in Switzerland is very poor, in every parish there are only one or two young person active in the spiritual life and that is why we decided to have encounters with the youth from our region who are asking for and seeking God’s presence. We are organising the spiritual events because it is better to be in the communion, rather than alone in the parish. Medjugorje is here to show to the youth and to those older ones as well that the faith is still alive. Personally, it helps me live my faith upon my return home. Message of Medjugorje is very strong and encouraging; it invites people to love and to communion. It is nice to see so many people from all over the world. It was very moving to see so many nations coming here to seek for the grace and peace for them and their countries.”

The Youth Festival programme on Monday, August 4

Medjugorje is all about the youth in the last few days as the 25^th International Youth Festival is being held with the theme: “Behold your Mother”. Young people from more than 60 countries are participating. The morning programme of the Youth Festival on Monday began with the Morning Prayer and continued with catechesis of Fr. Ante Vuckovic. The testimony of Mirjana Dragićević-Soldo followed and she invited all young people to be the apostles and witnesses of God’s love, to pray for the priests and to live in God’s communion with other brothers and sisters. A young couple, Matija and Željka Milošić spoke afterwards and two of them are married nearly for two years. In that period they had opportunity to experience the fruits of their decisions to live pre-marital chastity that they began in the beginning of their relationship. They established the movement “Youth of Mary’s heart” and decided to witness about the graces and fruits of that decision. (foto)