Season Greetings and God Bless Everyone (*)
Quotes from Pope John Paul II on Medjugorie … Not everything is in full due to the charater limit.
The Archbishiop Kwangju said to the Pope: "In Korea, in the town of Nadju, Our Lady cries… " The Pope answered “THERE ARE BISHOPS, LIKE IN YUGOSLAVIA FOR EXAMPLE WHO ARE AGAINST THIS…, BUT IT’S IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT THE GREAT NUMBER OF CONVERSIONS… ALL THIS IS UNDERLINED IN THE GOSPEL, ALL THESE FACTS HAVE TO BE SERIOUSLY INVESTIGATED.” (L Homme Nouveau, 3 February 1991.)
Mons. Maurillo Kreiger, former bishop of Florianopolis (Brazil), visited Medjugorie four times. His first visit was in 1986. He writes as follows: "In 1988, I was with eight other bishops and thirty three priests on spiritual retreat in the Vatican. The Holy Father knew that many of us were going to Medjugorie afterwards. After a private mass with the Pope, before leaving Rome, he said, without having been asked anything, “PRAY FOR ME IN MEDJUGORJE”. On another occasion, I told the Pope “I am going to Medjugorje for the fourth time”. He concentrated his thoughts and said, “MEDJUGORJE, MEDJUGORJE, IT’S THE SPIRITUAL HEART OF THE WORLD”. On the same day I spoke with other Brazilian bishops and the Pope at lunch time and I asked him: “Your holiness, can I tell the visionaries that you send your blessing?” He answered: “YES YES” and embraced me.
Italian priest Fr Gianni Sgreva - The Holy Father listened to me, drew close to me and right in my ear said to me, reminding me not to forget: “DON’T YOU BE CONCERNED ABOUT MEDJUGORJE, BECAUSE I’M THINKING ABOUT MEDJUGORJE AND I PRAY FOR ITS SUCCESS EVERYDAY. YOU BE CONCERNED WITH THE VOCATIONS AND PRAY FOR ME EVERY DAY”
Aug 1, 1989 address by the Pope to a group of Italian physicians dedicated to defending unborn life and to making scintific and medical studies on the apparition, as reported by Bishop Paul Hnilica, SJ, Auxiliary Bishop of Rome: “TODAY’S WORLD HAS LOST ITS SENSE OF THE SUPERNATURAL, BUT MANY ARE SEARCHING FOR IT - AND FIND IT IN MEDJUGORJE, THROUGH PRAYER, PENANCE AND FASTING.”
June 1986 response to a group of twelve Italian bishops seeking pastoral advice on people making pilgrimages to Medjugorje. “LET THE PEOPLE GO TO MEDJUGORJE IF THEY CONVERT, PRAY, CONFESS, DO PENANCE AND FAST.”
The Pope said to Fr Jozo Zovko on the 20th July 1992: “BUSY YOURSELF WITH MEDJUGORJE, LOOK AFTER MEDJUGORJE, DON’T TIRE. PERSERVE, BE STRONG, I AM WITH YOU. WATCH OVER, FOLLOW MEDJUGORJE.”
In a private conversation with visionary Mirjana Soldo the Pope said: “IF I WERE NOT POPE I WOULD ALREADY BE IN MEDJUGORJE CONFESSING.” (1987)
On March 22nd, 1995 “ARE YOU NOT VICKA FROM MEDJUGORJE?” he asked her. Vicka then offered him a rosary saying: “I guess you have many rosaries already, but this one is special as it was blessed by Gospa during an apparition.” The Pope said to her: “PRAY TO THE MADONNA FOR ME, I PRAY FOR YOU.” He prayed over her a long time & blessed her.
The Archbishop of Paraguay, Mons. Felipe Santiago Bentez, in November of 1994 asked of the Holy Father, the Pope if he was right to give approval to the faithful gathering in the spirit of Medjugorje, especially with the priests of Medjugorje. The Holy Father answered: “APPROVE ALL THAT IS RELATED TO MEDJUGORJE”.
Pope John Paul II, in response to a question asked by the Archbishop of Asuncion, La Paz, Bolivia. - Feb. 1995 “AUTHORIZE EVERYTHING THAT REGARDS MEDJUGORJE”
On April 6th, 1995 a Croatian Delegation made an official visit to the Holy Father. The Delegation included the President Tudjman, the Vice President Radic and Cardinal Kuharic from Zagreb. The Pope read his official statement and afterwards, as he often does, he spontaneously added a few words of his own. “I WANT TO GO TO SPLIT, TO MARIA BISTRICA AND TO MEDJUGORJE!”
On April 2, 1986 reported by Fr. Ivan Dugandzic, OFM, during a meeting with the Holy Father. The Holy Father told him that he follows the events continously. “YOU CAN TELL EVERYONE THAT EACH DAY I PRAY FOR A HAPPY CONCLUSION TO THESE EVENTS.”
“MEDJUGORJE IS A GREAT CENTRE OF SPIRITUALITY!” - The Holy Father’s comment during a February 1990 conversation, as reported by Bishop Murilo Krieger, Auxiliary Bishop of Florianopolis, Brazil, made prior to His Grace’s fourth Medjugorje pilgrimage. The Holy Father assented to Bishop Krieger’s request and gave his papal blessing to the visionaries (National Catholic Register, April 29, 1990)
“IF I WASNT THE POPE, I’D BE IN MEDJUGORJE ALREADY!” - Reported April 21, 1998 by Bishop Paul Hnilica, SJ, Auxiliary Bishop of Rome, after having been admonished by the Holy Father for not stopping in Medjugorje on his return trip to Rome from a meeting in Moscow on behalf of the Pope.
medjugorje.org/pope.htm
In Jesus Name Thy Will Be Done, Amen and Amen (*)