Bosnian authorities investigate desecration and fire damage at Medjugorje Virgin Mary shrine

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Authorities in Bosnia on Tuesday investigated the desecration of a Virgin Mary statue and a shrine damaged by fire overnight in a southern Bosnian village, a popular destination for Roman Catholic pilgrims.

Two years ago, the Vatican gave the green light for Catholics to continue flocking to Medjugorje, where children reported seeing visions of the Virgin Mary, offering its approval for devotion at one of the most contested sites of Roman Catholic practice in recent years.

The pictures from the site in local media showed the statue of Our Lady had her face and hands painted black, with an inscription in English on the pedestal that read “Devil in a skirt.”

In 1981, six children and teenagers reported seeing visions of the Madonna on a hill in Medjugorje, located in the wine-making region of southern Bosnia. Some of those original “seers” have claimed the visions have occurred regularly since then, even daily, and that Mary sends them messages.

Near the site, a banner was found displayed on a fence with the names of the seers and a message written in Polish that said: “They are fraudsters, I have proof.”

The Vatican’s doctrine office didn’t declare that the reported apparitions in Medjugorje were authentic or of supernatural origin and flagged concerns about contradictions the alleged visionaries said they have received in the messages over the years.

But in line with new Vatican criteria, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith ruled that the positive “spiritual fruits” stemming from the Medjugorje experience more than justified allowing the faithful to organize pilgrimages there and permit public acts of devotion.

The 2024 decision overruled years of doubts about the veracity of the alleged apparitions by the region’s past diocesan bishops and Vatican experts. And it ignored concerns about the economic interests that have turned Medjugorje into a thriving destination for religious tourists.