Medjugorje visions
Since 1981 six Herzegovinian Croat young people in Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, have reported visions of the Virgin Mary, the 'Gospa' or Queen of Peace.
1981 CE · 43.19, 17.68 · status: disputed
The account
Medjugorje became a mass pilgrimage destination. Pope Francis lifted the ban on organized pilgrimages in 2019, and on 19 September 2024 the Vatican granted the 'spiritual event' a nihil obstat, allowing devotion without ruling on whether the apparitions are real.
The sceptical view
The Church has deliberately not authenticated the visions, which have continued for decades, unlike most approved apparitions.
The researched reading
Decades of visions by six people and millions of pilgrims. Psychology, devotion and a pilgrimage economy explain it, and the Church itself has not authenticated it.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Perception, memory or mind | 40% | Six visionaries reporting daily apparitions for decades fits learned, ritualised experience; 1980s medical studies showed they were not faking their trance-like states, but showed nothing beyond altered attention. |
| A cultural story | 30% | The visions became a vast pilgrimage industry with strong Franciscan and national dimensions, which rewards continuation. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 15% | Bishop Žanić and later commissions found contradictions; ongoing messages and money raise doubts, though deliberate fraud has not been shown. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 10% | The Vatican allowed devotion in 2024 without ruling the apparitions authentic, and nothing measurable distinguishes them from religious experience. |
| A known natural phenomenon | 5% | Sun-spinning seen by pilgrims is explained by staring near the sun. |
Official position: The Vatican granted the "spiritual event" a nihil obstat in 2024, allowing devotion without declaring the apparitions supernatural.