The Archive of Notes contains dated notes that no longer appear on the frontpage of Medjugorje Today. Notes are written on minor issues, and on topics that have to do with Medjugorje without being related to the apparitions. Local politics, matters of traffic and infrastructure, rescue missions, significant weather forecasts and weather coverage, accidents, jubilees, openings, sports and noteworthy visits are examples of issues typically covered in note form.
Modern school and sports hall
are on their way to Medjugorje
FEB 4 (Medjugorje Today) – Medjugorje will get a new school building with room for 600 pupils, and a sports hall attached. The new school building will be built with all facilities and according to the latest European and pedagogical standards.
With the city council of Citluk having already adopted a decision to build, drafting the necessary documentation has now begun, school director Veselko Pehar tells the local news portal Brotnjo Online.
The elementary school in Medjugorje (photo) currently has 430 pupils, a number that has grown in recent years, along with the rest of the town. The attached indoor sports hall will be the first of its kind in Medjugorje.
Garbage problem may be solved
with new environment project
FEB 3 (Medjugorje Today) – Garbage thrown by the wayside and rarely emptied containers could soon belong to the past in Medjugorje. On Tuesday, local mayor Ivo Jerkic of Citluk signed a contract that will establish so-called green islands in the municipality.
“This project will include the setting up of the Green Island at selected locations in the urban area of the municipality and local communities of Citluk, education and media promotion to raise the awareness of selective waste collection, and the establishment of an integrated waste management system” the operator, Tuzla-based Eco Life, tells the local news portal Brotnjo Online.
“The aim of this project is strengthening the social awareness of responsible waste management and raising the general environmental standards in the Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina, as well as informing the public about the importance of collecting, selecting and re-using of waste in the environmentally most useful and most acceptable way” the company further announces.
Pope Francis’ visit to Bosnia
will not include Medjugorje
FEB 2 (Medjugorje Today) – Pope Francis is not going to visit Medjugorje, but will stay in Sarajevo during his one-day visit to Bosnia and Hercegovina on June 6, it can be deduced from a press conference today.
“The Pope had a great desire to meet with the people of Sarajevo and of course with everyone in Bosnia and Hercegovina”, Archbishop Luigi Pezzuto, the Apostolic Nuncio to Bosnia and Hercegovina, said, according to the Croatian daily Vecernji List.
The schedule will be packed and this alone will serve to keep the Pope in Sarajevo. Local Cardinal Vinko Puljic told that Pope Francis will meet with the bishops of the country, and with local authorities. The Cardinal said he will also “consider the possibility of organizing some other meetings”.
“But one day is not much, and so it will not be easy to arrange a large scale program in one day” Cardinal Puljic told at the press conference.
Pope Francis has presented two purposes of the visit: encouraging the diminishing Catholic community, and participating in building peace among the three peoples of a country still torn by the war in 1992-95.
“The Pope had a great desire to meet with the people of Sarajevo and of course with everyone in Bosnia and Hercegovina”, Archbishop Luigi Pezzuto, the Apostolic Nuncio to Bosnia and Hercegovina, said, according to the Croatian daily Vecernji List.
The schedule will be packed and this alone will serve to keep the Pope in Sarajevo. Local Cardinal Vinko Puljic told that Pope Francis will meet with the bishops of the country, and with local authorities. The Cardinal said he will also “consider the possibility of organizing some other meetings”.
“But one day is not much, and so it will not be easy to arrange a large scale program in one day” Cardinal Puljic told at the press conference.
Pope Francis has presented two purposes of the visit: encouraging the diminishing Catholic community, and participating in building peace among the three peoples of a country still torn by the war in 1992-95.
Pope Francis to Sarajevo in June,
no indications about Medjugorje
FEB 1 (Medjugorje Today) – Pope Francis will visit Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Hercegovina, on June 6, he announced after the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square this Sunday (photo). The Pope said he hoped the visit will “give rise to the development of good and contribute to the consolidation of brotherhood and peace.”
Scheduled as a one-day visit, the Pope’s time in Bosnia and Hercegovina seems unlikely to also come to include a visit to Medjugorje. To most observers, a visit here would require the Pope to first confer shrine status on Medjugorje, mentioned by several well-informed sources as one likely outcome of the Pope’s upcoming verdict on Medjugorje.
More details of Pope Francis’ visit to Bosnia and Hercegovina are likely to emerge on February 2 when Archbishop Luigi Pezzuto, the Apostolic Nuncio to the country, appears at a press conference alongside Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo.
Italian footballer testifies to
rebirth through Medjugorje
JAN 31 (Medjugorje Today) – Cristian Ledesma from the Rome-based League A club Lazio has joined the ranks of Italian footballers devoted to Medjugorje where he visits as a pilgrim with his wife.
“We have started an important journey of faith. Many small and large circumstances brought us to Medjugorje where we were “born again” in faith. We are very devoted to the Virgin Mary” Cristian Ledesma tells the football website TuttoMercadoWeb.
32 year old Argentine-born Ledesma has played one national game for Italy, and appeared in almost 400 League A matches for Lecce and Lazio since 2001.
Vicka calls to prayer for the Pope
that Francis may gain strength
JAN 29 (Medjugorje Today) – Visionary Vicka Ivankovic-Mijatovic encourages prayer for Pope Francis and says different Popes are chosen to mirror different times and needs.
“All times are different. The late Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis are for three different times. The Lord sends persons as signs who are for that time. Pope Francis is really good and special, and we need many prayers for him. If we pray, he will have more strength and grace, and will be able to go ahead” Vicka tells the local news portal Glas Brotnja.
Personal reasons cause Marija
to postpone Latin America tour
JAN 25 (Medjugorje Today) – Visionary Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti has postponed her visit to four countries in Latin America, due to personal reasons, the regional Medjugorje Center informs. The tour was scheduled for January 31 through February 7 and would have brought Marija to Nicaragua, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. New dates will be announced later.
“We apologize to all those who have prepared the encounters with hard work and enthusiasm, and to all those who wished to participate in these prayer meetings. We pray for our dear Mother to join us in these times of disappointment” the organizers tell.
Multi-purpose firefighter van
makes Medjugorje area safer
JAN 26 (Medjugorje Today) – Fighting fires, pulling injured passengers out of cars after traffic accidents, and pumping water from submerged houses are some of the abilities of the multi-purpose firefighter truck delivered today to the municipality of Citluk.
“The Fire Department is a fundamental force in the fight against the dangers that threaten us daily: fires, floods, and landslides. This is the beginning of modernizing the fire equipment in our county” Eugen Cubela, director of Civil Protection and Fire Fighting, said according to local news portal Glas Brotnja.
Marija defends Pope Francis
during prayer meeting in Italy
JAN 20 (Medjugorje Today) – Addressing an audience of about 10,000 people in Assigo, Italy, on Sunday, Medjugorje visionary Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti urged the audience to stop criticizing Pope Francis.
“Even this Pope, so much and much and much and much and much criticized, what did he do, poor man? Even we who say we are Christians criticize him who started from the poorest. It is not right that we Christians live like his. So I tell you “let us wake up, let us wake up!” Maria said, according to Radio Maria.
Bi-weekly trips to Medjugorje
bring new life to Italian airport
JAN 21 (Medjugorje Today) – Medjugorje pilgrims revive the airport in Foggia, Italy, from April when a new bi-weekly route to Mostar begins, regional newspaper Il Resto del Gargano reports. The route will be operated with 63-seat planes by BH Airlines, on Mondays and Fridays until October. It will be the first regular route to depart from Foggia in four years.
Lightning storm and heavy rain
caused antenna pole to crash
JAN 19 (Medjugorje Today) – Power to the transmitters of Radio Mir Medjugorje was interrupted on January 18 when strong lightning storms followed by large amounts of rain shut down the antenna pole on Mount Kukavac outside of Medjugorje. Local news portal Brotnjo Online learns that the problems were due to a fire in the power station, and that a number of telecom operators were also affected. Initial reports speak of considerable material damage.
Large amounts of rain expected
throughout the week to come
JAN 18 (Medjugorje Today) – Raincoats, rubber boots and other equipment will come handy next week in Medjugorje. On Sunday, the Hercegovina region saw between 40 and 80 liters of rain per square meter, locally up to 100 liters. Between 20 and 50 liters per square meter are expected on Monday, and the rainy weather is forecast to continue throughout the week.
Cardinal chairs congress when
Marija has vision in Nicaragua
JAN 17 (Medjugorje Today) – Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes Solorzano of Managua will preside over the fifth Latin American Congress of Mary Queen of Peace during which Medjugorje visionary Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti will have a public apparition on January 31.
Beginning three days earlier, the purpose of the conference is to “plan together our Marian apostolate facing the challenges of modern secularism, the signs of the times and the realities of our countries” coordinator Melba Armengol tells the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa.
“Nicaragua is definitely blessed with this conference. We will be spiritually enriched and that is a blessing from God and His mother Mary. We are happy and immensely blessed because we will hear the messages from the Virgin through so many testimonies and especially through the person to whom Our Lady entrusted her messages” Melba Armengol says. People from more than 20 countries will participate in the congress.
NOTE: Later in January, Marija postponed her Latin America tour.
Locals’ favorite football team
relax in Medjugorje during camp
JAN 17 (Medjugorje Today) – Many local citizens of Medjugorje celebrated Mass alongside players from their favorite football team on January 16. The Croatian League 1 side Hajduk Split is currently on training camp in Hercegovina. During a break on Friday, the team went to Medjugorje where the players climbed Apparition Hill in the afternoon and later went to Mass, Hajduk Split informs on Facebook.
With Medjugorje as focal point
highway investment is booming
JAN 16 (Medjugorje Today) – In the past three years, the Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina has been investing four times more in highways than during the past 11 years since 2000 taken together, public highway director Ensad Karic informs, according to the Croatian daily Vecernji List.
Better and faster access to Medjugorje is a central focal point of the Federation’s highway strategy, marked in September last year when the new road from Medjugorje to the Croatian border was opened. Work on the new highway from Medjugorje to Pocitelj is scheduled to begin this year.
In the past three years, the Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina has invested about one billion dollar in highways, making the public highway unit the Federation’s biggest investor. At one point, 200 companies and 5,000 workers were employed, Ensad Karic tells Vecernji List.
Medjugorje statue disappeared
in act of theft or vandalism
JAN 13 (Medjugorje Today) – A statue of Our Lady of Medjugorje has disappeared from a niche outside a house belonging to a member of the municipal administration in the hamlet of Colonno in northern Italy, the Como-based newspaper La Provincia reports.
It is unclear if the disappearance is a matter of theft or vandalism.
Football teams prepare season
with Medjugorje training camp
JAN 12 (Medjugorje Today) – Like previous years, Medjugorje is visited by local and regional top football teams preparing for the season to be resumed.
Bosnian Premier League team Zeljeznicar go to Medjugorje on January 14, Zrinjski Mostar will follow on January 20. Croatian Premier League teams NK Zadar and Cibalia arrive on January 17 and 28.
Site of recognized apparitions
hosts Medjugorje day in March
JAN 9 (Medjugorje Today) – A Medjugorje prayer day will take place on March 14 at the Marian shrine of Banneux, Beligum, where the local visionary Mariette Beco had eight recognized apparitions of the Virgin Mary between January and March 1933.
Medjugorje will be represented by Fr. Ivan Landeka who served as parish priest in Medjugorje 1991-2000.
In May 1942 the local Bishop Kerkhofs of Liege approved the veneration of the Virgin Mary as Our Lady of the Poor, the title under which she had appeared at Banneux. In 1947, approval of the apparitions came from the Vatican. The approval was declared definite in 1949.
Slightly less pilgrims in 2014,
Medjugorje stays on high level
JAN 6 (Medjugorje Today) – The number of Holy Communions distributed in Medjugorje dropped by 73,500 in 2014, to a total of 1,803.300, according to official parish statistics. With no statistics of the number of visiting pilgrims, the number of distributed Communions has long been the yardstick most commonly used.
The 2014 result is close to the 1,814.900 from 2012 and generally shows Medjugorje having stagnated on a level that had never been achieved before 2011.
The number of concelebrations by priests also slightly declined to 37,498, down from 38,655 in 2013.
Pilgrims kept from Medjugorje
because airplanes did not exist
JAN 6 (Medjugorje Today) – A group of Medjugorje pilgrims from Sardinia, Italy, meet an airline company with claims of compensations. Their airplanes turned out to be non-existent, the regional newspaper L’Unione de Sarda reports.
The company in question, Cagliari-based PeopleFly, is already under investigation by ENAC, the Italian civil aviation authority.
Medjugorje friendly Archbishop
will be named a Cardinal soon
JAN 4 (Medjugorje Today) – Medjugorje will get one more good friend close to the Pope on February 14 when new cardinals are to be elevated. Italian Archbishop Edoardo Menichelli of Ancona-Osimo is among the 20 picked by Pope Francis.
Archbishop Menichelli welcomed and spoke to the participants in a Medjugorje prayer meeting in January 2011. In October last year he permitted the meeting when the Third Regional Congress of the Disciples of the Divine Mercy in Ancona had a handful of Medjugorje-related speakers on the poster.
Ancona sees many Medjugorje pilgrims passing through, due to the city’s daily ferry connections to Split, Croatia.
Knee-injured Spanish pilgrim
evacuated from Cross Mountain
JAN 3 (Medjugorje Today) – A 51 years old pilgrim from Tenerife, Spain, was searched for, found, and evacuated from Cross Mountain this afternoon, by 10 members of the local Mountain Rescue Service. He was found with a knee injury, local news portal Medjugorje Info reports.
The rescue workers further searched all the tracks on Cross Mountain, looking in vain for an Italian who had been reported missing. He is believed to be identical with the Spanish pilgrim which would make the report of the Italian a matter of incorrect informations passed on to the rescue workers from pilgrims on the mountain.
Thousands of pilgrims entered 2015
during Mass in Medjugorje
JAN 1 (Medjugorje Today) – Thousands of pilgrims were in Medjugorje on New Years Eve, the local news portal Medjugorje Info reports. St. James Church was full when midnight Mass was celebrated, with a homily given by parish priest Fr. Marinko Sakota.
Except for the days around New Year, wintertime is quiet in Medjugorje, a time when few pilgrims are in town.