The small, rural and close-knit town of Medjugorje had never done anything to draw attention to itself. Situated in the mountainous region then known as south-western Yugoslavia and now known as Bosnia-Hercegovina, it's population was and is mostly Croatian Catholics.
June 24, 1984 found several teenagers walking along a dirt road towards one of the mountains now known as Apparition Hill. Ivanka Ivankovic was the first to see the apparition of the Blessed Mother and excitedly asked her companion, Mirjana Dragicevic to look and see Gospa also. And Mirjana did. Together with Ivan Dragicevic, Vicka Ivankovic, Milka Pavlovic and Ivan Ivankovic they all experienced the joy of the first apparition of Gospa.
This experience also severely frightened them as well, for they had no doubt who it was they were seeing. They ran back to the village and their homes immediately following the apparition.
The next day, a few bravely returned to see if another apparition would take place. This time, Milka Pavlovic and Ivan Ivankovic did not return, but instead Ivanka, Mirjana, Ivan (Dragicevic) and Vicka returned with two other curious friends, Jakov Colo and Marija Pavlovic. They did once again witness an apparition of Gospa. While others joined them after this time, they are the only six to have continuously received daily apparitions from Gospa until the time they have received all ten secrets.
The Blessed Mother has chosen each of them, not because they were more prayerful or pious than any other, but because she wished them to relay her messages to the world. Over the years, there have been hundreds of messages from Gospa. They all repeat the same primary themes of prayer, fasting, reconciliation (confession), Holy Communion and reading of the Scriptures. All invite us to a deeper faith and conversion to God.
During the course of time, The Blessed Mother has made known to each of the Visionaries secrets of a time yet to come. There is no indication from the Visionaries whether these secrets foretell wonderful or tragic happenings. And that's the way Gospa wishes it should be. As Mirjana has said, "Secrets are secrets." Each Visionary will receive a total of 10 secrets and upon hearing the tenth, they will no longer receive daily apparitions from Gospa, rather, they will see her annually. Mirjana, the first to receive ten secrets sees her annually on her birthday, March 18th. Ivanka receives her yearly apparition on June 24th, the anniversary of the first apparition. Jakov receives his annual apparition on December 25th. Vicka, Ivan and Marija are still receiving daily apparitions.
There are many sites that can further relate the happenings of Medjugorje better than we can and we'll happily point you to them on our Favorite Links page. Our purpose here is to give you a simple background of the area, the people, the messages and the gifts of Medjugorje.
Listed below is basic information about all six of the Visionaries and who they are
today. We've been cautioned more than once and we'll pass the caution to you: the
Visionaries are not the stories of Medjugorje but rather the chosen messengers that relay
the messages of the Gospa to the world. They are prayerful, unique individuals trying to
live their lives under the watchful eye of the world as privately and devoutly as
possible. Most of them spend a great deal of their time traveling to spread the messages
of Gospa. Often, they're not given the respect of being human and given the right to make
mistakes. So, on behalf of so many, we'd like to express our own personal gratitude for
the courage and fortitude they gracefully embody as they do their very best to relay and
live the Messages of Gospa.
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DOB: September 3, 1964 Married/Children: Vicka married Mario Mijatovic at St. James Church in Medjugorje on January 26, 2002. Two children, a daughter and son. Vicka has 7 brothers and sisters. Family grows grapes and tobacco. Lives: Vicka lived in her parent's home in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Hercegovina until her marriage, her residence with her husband is in Krehin Gradac near Medjugorje. Date of First Apparition: June 24, 1981 Age at First Apparition: 16 How many secrets: Nine Date of current apparitions: Daily Priest chosen to relay the secrets: Not yet announced Special Mission: Prays for the sick |
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