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Medjugorje, until a few decades ago was a remote country of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the former Yugoslavia, located near the city of Mostar. Since 1981 the village has become the place of the most famous apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in recent decades, and since then it has become one of the most famous and well-known Christian pilgrimage sites in the world.
On June 24, 1981, Our Lady appeared to six boys for the first time (Ivan, Ivanka, Jakov, Mirjana, Marija, and Vicka). In those days there was a communist regime in Yugoslavia. The apparitions to the six boys continued on a regular basis and they still continue to have visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the first apparition, Our Lady told the boys that she had been sent by God to Earth to convert humanity to the love and word of God.
The village today has developed considerably to accommodate the millions of pilgrims who visit it every year. The church of Saint James is the center of religious activities in this Bosnian town. In recent decades the town has expanded considerably. Numerous activities related to religious tourism have arisen around the church, there are hotels, shops, restaurants, souvenir stalls.
Those who visit Medjugorje usually make an ascent along a buttress of Mount Crnica, the Podubro. This mountain is now called hill of apparitions, because, on June 24, 1981, it is here that the first apparition of Medjugorje took place. Another pilgrimage destination is Mount Križevac on whose top there is a large white cross.
Medjugorje has become one of the main Christian pilgrimage centers in Europe in recent years. This small village in Bosnia and Herzegovina attracts faithful and pilgrims from all over the world whose number is comparable with historic Chrysitian pilgrimage centers such as Lourdes in France and Fatima in Portugal.
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