Monsignor Jan Sobilo, the Ukrainian bishop of Polish origin, was also present, accompanying the visionary Marija Pavlović-Lunetti. He has visited Medjugorje on several occasions and in 2022 participated in the Medjugorje Youth Festival “Mladifest”, promoting the campaign “Your Rosary for Ukraine,” which has continued to take place at every Mladifest since then.
When Marija arrived, she was filled with joy upon seeing the Ukrainian bishop and gave him a warm embrace. When the apparition began, Monsignor Sobilo, in the presence of the Mother of God, removed his zucchetto (skullcap), and at the end, he blessed all those who had been praying on the hill. Today’s apparition lasted seven minutes.
“Today, during the time of the apparition, Our Blessed Mother was looking at us, and I presented all of us to her — all our intentions, everything we carry in our hearts, and also the people who couldn’t come and are not physically here but are spiritually present with us in prayer. Our Blessed Mother prayed over us for a long time and looked at us. I especially asked her to intercede before her Son Jesus for peace in our hearts, peace in our families, and peace in the whole world. Our Blessed Mother again prayed for a long time for peace. She blessed all of us with the sign of the cross and then ascended to Heaven,” the visionary told us after the apparition, which began at 4:59 AM and ended at 5:06 AM Medjugorje Time.
The Prayer of Saint Francis for peace was once again recited in Croatian and English, asking God for the grace to be instruments of His peace:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
As every day, and before beginning the descent while praying the Glorious Mysteries, a new and beautiful crown of flowers was placed on the statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace, and in this way, the fifth day of the Novena for Peace concluded, alongside Our Blessed Mother on Apparition Hill in Medjugorje.
