Medjugorje is a farming village 25 kilometres south-west of Mostar where six children reported seeing an apparition of the Virgin Mary on 24 June 1981 – an event the Vatican still hasn't officially confirmed, even as more than 40 million pilgrims have visited since.
Six children, one hillside, 1981
The reported apparitions began when six local children – then aged between 10 and 17 – said they saw a figure of the Virgin Mary on Podbrdo, a rocky hillside just outside the village. What followed was decades of continued reported visions and messages, turning a place with no prior pilgrimage history into one of the largest Marian devotional sites in the world. The six visionaries, now middle-aged, still describe ongoing contact according to their own accounts, and Medjugorje's economy has been rebuilt almost entirely around the pilgrims who keep arriving.
Where the Vatican actually stands
The Catholic Church's position has moved in stages, and it's more cautious than the crowds might suggest. Official pilgrimages were authorised by the Holy See in May 2019, letting dioceses and parishes organise trips without the informal, semi-tolerated status pilgrimages had before then. In September 2024, the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith went further, granting a "nihil obstat" – recognising the site's "abundant spiritual fruits" and permitting devotion there – while stating explicitly that this does not amount to declaring the reported apparitions authentic. Cardinal Fernández, who oversaw the decision, said Pope Francis was asked directly whether he wanted to move toward full authentication and answered "not at all." In practice, this means the Church tolerates and even supports pilgrimage to Medjugorje while stopping short of confirming the event that caused it.
What's actually there
St. James Church, the twin-spired parish church at the centre of the village, was consecrated in 1969 – predating the apparitions entirely – and now anchors a daily schedule of multilingual Mass, confession and evening prayer for the pilgrims who fill the surrounding guesthouses. Podbrdo (Apparition Hill), the site of the first reported sighting, is a short but genuinely rocky and uneven climb from the village centre, marked by a bronze statue of the Virgin Mary at the top; some pilgrims climb it barefoot as an act of devotion. Križevac (Cross Mountain), a steeper hike to a 8.5-metre concrete cross erected in 1933, is the other main walk, with views back over the village and surrounding vineyards from the top.
Visiting from Mostar
Most visitors combine Medjugorje with another half of the day spent elsewhere in Herzegovina – Blagaj Tekija and Počitelj both sit roughly along the same route south of Mostar. A guided day trip to Medjugorje typically includes free time at St. James Church and the option to walk Apparition Hill, and works equally well for pilgrims and for visitors simply curious about the place.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
About 25 kilometres south-west, a 30-40 minute drive – close enough that most visitors treat it as a half-day trip rather than an overnight stay, though pilgrims often stay several nights.
Image: gnuckx via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)