The 44th Anniversary of the Apparitions of the Queen of Peace is a little different from previous years, perhaps because we, the pilgrims and parishioners, began it on the hill alongside the Gospa during the apparition. In the early morning hours and praying together, thousands of us gathered after midnight—some even slept next to the statue of Our Blessed Mother—in order to be as close as possible to the One who, in these days, has been coming to encourage us to pray for peace in the world. Also, to say THANK YOU! for her presence among us, and through her, to thank the Most Holy Trinity for allowing her to accompany us, teach us, and guide us all these years.
This morning, in addition to Monsignor Jan Sobilo, the Ukrainian bishop, and many priests and religious, Monsignor Tomasz Bernard Peta was present with the visionary Marija Pavlović-Lunetti. He is the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Holy Mary in the city of Astana, Kazakhstan, and also the president of the Bishops’ Conference of that country.
“During the apparition, when Our Blessed Mother came, I entrusted to her all of us who are here and everything we carry in our hearts. Our Blessed Mother prayed over us, and I asked her to intercede before her Son Jesus for peace—peace in our hearts, peace in our families, and peace in the whole world. Our Blessed Mother prayed over us and blessed us all. I asked Our Blessed Mother if she had a message for us. She smiled, extended her arms, and began to pray in her mother tongue, Aramaic, and at the end, she said:
‘Dear children, be bearers of peace.
Satan is strong and wants war and unrest—he wants hatred.
That is why I call you to be my children, children of my heart.’
She prayed over us, made the Sign of the Cross, and went back to Heaven,” said the visionary about the encounter with the Gospa, which began at 4:57 AM and lasted just over seven minutes.
Afterward, Marija added: “Now, after the blessing from Our Blessed Mother, let us receive the blessing of the priests,” and invited the bishops and all the priests to bless us together. We then prayed a decade of the Rosary for priestly vocations, singing the ten Hail Marys in Croatian, culminating with our beloved Medjugorje hymn: ‘Gospa Majka moja’ (“Our Lady, My Mother”).
No one wanted to come down from the Hill of Apparitions, and we could use Peter’s words from the Gospel: “It is good for us to be here,” only instead of three tents, we would need thousands. Gradually, with hearts overflowing with joy—the kind that comes from God—we began to descend toward the Blue Cross, praying the Glorious Mysteries and thanking God for this time of grace He is allowing us to live.
HAPPY 44th ANNIVERSARY!
