Please be prepared to walk. Unlike in other destinations, transfers are not included for all your daily activities.

In order to get to Church, Visionary's House, Podbrdo, Krizevac you will have a choice:  to walk approximately 15 minutes, or to take a taxi at a cost of $6. per ride (regardless of destination within Medjugorje). Of course, it's advisable that you join others, and that $6. taxi ride  be split up within the party/ number of people traveling (maximum 4 people per each ride).

Just like in any other destination, be wary of any person approaching you offering unofficial taxi services. If you do not have an airport transfer included and you need transportation, make your way to the taxi line area, or to the regular taxi line outside the terminal (if at the airport); choose only those vehicles with a meter and a taxi sign. We recommend you pre-negotiate the fare, as taxi drivers in some countries may attempt to overcharge unwary travelers.

Local Customs:  A different way of life may take you by surprise, but if you travel with an open mind and respect local customs and culture, you should find it easier to adapt to and enjoy your new surroundings.

Standards of living may not be quite what you are used to, but there are compensations – a closer sense of reality and a more authentic feeling of locale. Due to cultural differences you may not be greeted quite as cheerfully as back home; smiling is generally reserved for intimate friends! So be especially wary of people presenting themselves as “instant friends” and do not accept offer of food or drink from strangers.

 
Today, Medjugorje is a part of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Because of the terrible war, the infrastructure of Medjugorje is still underdeveloped. This however, didn't stop pilgrims from coming here, even during the cruelest clashes of the war. Many of them brought aid, thus helping the people to remain where they were.

Until June 24, 1981, Medjugorje lived like all other villages of this region: people worked on their land, planted tobacco and vineyards, produced wine and vegetables to acquire just enough for a modest life for their families. Because of social circumstances, many went out into the world: over the ocean and to Western European countries, as well as into towns in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.
 
In 1981, when the apparitions started, the life of the parish changed: Our Lady chose for her witnesses and co-workers not only the six visionaries, but the entire parish and its pilgrims. This was expressly told in the following message: “I have chosen this parish in a special way and I wish to lead it.” (March 1st, 1984)
 
On June 24th, 1981, at about 6 pm, six young people - Ivanka Ivanković, Mirjana Dragićević, Vicka Ivanković, Ivan Dragićević, Ivan Ivanković and Milka Pavlović, saw on the hill called Crnica, several hundred meters above the place called Podbrdo, a young woman with a child in her arms, who gave them a sign with her hand to come nearer. Surprised and scared, they did not approach her.
 
The next day, June 25th, 1981, at the same time, four of them: Ivanka Ivanković, Mirjana Dragićević, Vicka Ivanković and Ivan Dragićević, felt strongly drawn towards the place where they had seen the person the day before which, they had recognised as Our Lady. Marija avlović and Jakov Čolo joined them. The group of Medjugorje visionaries was formed. They prayed and spoke with Our Lady. This is why June 25th is celebrated as the Anniversary of the apparitions. According to the testimony of the visionaries, from that day onwards, they had daily apparitions, together or separately, wherever they were. Milka Pavlović and Ivan Ivanković never saw Our Lady again.
 
The third day of the apparitions, June 26th, 1981, Our Lady gave the call to peace for the first time with the words: “Peace, peace, peace – and only peace! Peace must reign between God and man and between men!” Attracted by Our Lady’s apparitions and messages, people – first the parishioners and then from other villages and from all over the world – started to gather and pray.
 
The persecution of the visionaries, of their parents and relatives, of the parishioners and priests, and even of the pilgrims began immediately after the beginning of the apparitions. The visionaries were taken for police investigations and psychiatrical examinations, but it was always stated that they were healthy. The same conclusion brought about further examinations done in the following years.  For additional information on the scientific research please visit: http://212.39.96.6/eistrazivanjavidioci.htm
 
Fr, Jozo Zovko, pastor of Medjugorje at that time, was arrested a month and a half after the first apparition. Although innocent, he was condemned by a communist court to three years and a half of prison.
 
Thanks to Our Lady’s apparitions, Medjugorje – a simple village parish – became a place of gathering for a multitude of pilgrims from the whole world (in the first 20 years, more then 20 million), and one of the biggest prayer centers in the world, comparable to Lourdes and Fatima. Innumerable witnesses say that, precisely in this place, they have found faith and peace.
 
According to the unanimous witness of the visionaries, Our Lady gives them messages to be transmitted to the parish and to the world. They mainly address PEACE, FAITH, CONVERSION, PRAYER AND FASTING. The parishioners and the pilgrims have to become witnesses of Our Lady’s apparitions and messages first, and then, together with the visionaries, join her in the realisation of the plan of the conversion of the world and its reconciliation with God.
 
At the end of 1982, Our Lady addressed herself through inner locutions (locutio cordis) to two ten years old girls, Jelena and Marijana Vasilj. Through their prayer group, she gave - from 1983 to 1987 - counsel to the prayer movement that was created from the very beginning of the apparitions.
 
Our Lady's messages given in Medjugorje constitute a specific school of peace, of prayer and of love.

What to see in Medjugorje...

	St. James’ Parish Church   The construction of the old parish church was completed in 1897, soon after the creation of the parish (1892). It was a spacious and beautiful construction for its time. Built on unstable ground, it soon started to develop fissures. Immediately after the end of the First World War, the parishioners began to think about building a new church. Construction lasted from 1934 until January 19, 1969, when it was consecrated. St James Church is today the focus and the centre of both sacramental and prayer life, not only for the parishioners, but also for pilgrims.
	The Exterior Altar   Because of new needs, which surfaced with the coming of numerous pilgrims, the church and its surroundings have been rearranged ever since 1981. The exterior altar built in 1989, and the surrounding prayer area (with about 5000 seats), are a place of gathering in the summer time and for big feasts, when numerous thousands of pilgrims gather in Medjugorje.
	Apparition Hill The place of the first apparitions of Our Lady, several hundreds meters above the Bijakovići hamlet called Podbrdo, is today called Apparition Hill.  A steep path leads from the houses to the very place of the apparitions, along which – in 1989 – bronze reliefs were placed representing the joyful and the sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary (the work of Prof. Carmelo Puzzolo).  On the way towards the place of the apparitions, a large wooden cross was erected, signalling the place where – through Marija Pavlović, on the third day of the apparitions – Our Lady gave the call to peace for the first time.  At the very place of the apparitions, in honour of the 20th anniversary of the apparitions, a statue of the Queen of Peace was placed, sculpted according to the model of the statue, which you can find in front of the parish church (the work of Dino Felici).  For the pilgrims, an encounter with Apparition Hill is encounter with Our Lady through personal prayer and prayer of the rosary.  In June 2002, bronze reliefs representing the glorious mysteries of the Rosary (the work of Prof. Carmelo Puzzolo) were placed on the path descending towards the Blue Cross.  At the foot of Apparition Hill is the Blue Cross, placed there in 1985. At this place, Ivan the visionary’s prayer group gathers regularly, ever since July 4th, 1982.
	Cross Mountain (Krizevac) Cross Mountain is a mount above Medjugorje (520 m) where on March 15, 1934, the parishioners constructed a concrete cross 8.56 m high, built in remembrance of the 1900 years since the death of Jesus. On the cross is written: “To Jesus Christ, Redeemer of the human race, as a sign of their faith, love and hope, in remembrance of the 1900 years since the death of Jesus”.   Relics received from Rome for the occasion are embedded in the cross bar itself.  Since then, the custom was established of celebrating Holy Mass at the foot of the cross in commemoration of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, on the 1st Sunday after the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  According to the visionaries, in the message of August 30, 1984, Our Lady said: “The cross was also in God's plan when you built it.”   With Our Lady’s apparitions, the faithful started to pray the Way of the Cross on Cross Mountain. In the beginning, the stations were marked with simple wooden crosses, and in 1988, bronze reliefs (the work of Carmelo Puzzolo) were placed there. On each one of them, with the exception of the Garden of Gethsemane, Our Lady is situated.   For the pilgrims, Cross Mountain is a call to meet Jesus in His Passion and to discover His love.  On the first death anniversary of Fr. Slavko Barbarić (November 24, 2001), on the place where he gave his soul into the hands of the Lord, a memorial was erected: Fr. Slavko’s relief in bronze encrusted in stone. Between two stations of the cross, it will remain as a sign and a memorial of a man who said what he thought and who did what he said, following the Gospel and the messages of the Mother of the Word Incarnate, the Queen of Peace.
	The Adoration Chapel   The Adoration Chapel was built in 1991, to offer a place for silent adoration of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar to the pilgrims. Due to the lack of prayer space at the Shrine, Holy Masses in different languages are celebrated there during the morning, but it is open for personal prayer during the afternoon.   In the year 2000, reliefs of five priests, natives of the parish, martyrs for the faith, killed by the communists at the very end of the World War II, were placed in the adoration chapel.
	Statue of the Queen of Peace   The marble statue of the Queen of Peace, which became a symbol of the Shrine (the work of Dino Felici from Italy) was put up in 1987 at the square in front of the church. It is a focal point of prayer and meetings for pilgrims and parishioners – day and night. It is probably the most photographed feature of Medjugorje. Our Lady is positioned beckoning with her left hand, while the right hand rests on her heart. But from a kneeling viewpoint, her position can be interpreted as a presentation of her Son, Jesus, crucified on the Cross. Pilgrim groups from various countries often gather around the statue, singing and giving praise in their national tongue. When many hundreds gather to show their devotion, it is a beautiful occasion, and Our Lady can only be delighted with the harmony of voices from around the world, raised in prayer and song.
	Confessionals   Thanks to Our Lady’s apparitions, Medjugorje became a place of reconciliation, which is especially experienced in the sacrament of Holy Confession. Twenty-five confessionals, built in 1990 and restored in 2001, can be found near the church; it is there that the faithful have daily occasion to experience God’s forgiveness.
	Prayer Area Around the Statue of the Risen Saviour   The Statue of the Risen Christ was a part of the Medjugorje expansion project begun by the the late Father Slavo (March 11, 1946 - Nov. 24, 2000.) While, the project was not started until after his untimely death, it has progress as per his vision. During the expansion project, the Risen Christ Statue was erected. Made mostly of bronze and copper the statue is quite unique and beautiful. Most pilgrims would stop by the statue to admire it and pray.  It is located at southwest of the church, on the way towards the cemetery, a bronze statue of the Risen Saviour (the work of Slovenian sculptor Andrej Ajdič) was put up for Easter 1998. For Easter 2002, a space was arranged around the statue for personal and group prayer of the Stations of the Cross for those who cannot climb Cross Mountain.
	Visit to Fr. Jozo   Fr. Jozo was the pastor of St. James in Medugorje when the apparitions began in 1981. In the beginning, Fr. Jozo did not believe in the apparitions. He wondered why the people went to the hill to pray when they did not come to the church. Eventually he saved the children from the hands of the Communists while he was praying in the church and heard a voice say "save the children". From that point on he became the protector of the children and the apparitions. Fr. Jozo was a central figure since the early days and remains so today. Visit Father Jozo's parish and attend his highly inspirational talk, and receive his powerful healing blessing. Father Jozo is considered by many to be one of the highlights of any pilgrimage to Medjugorje. Of course, visit is contingent upon his schedule.
	Community Cenacolo   The Community Cenacolo is a Christian association that welcomes lost, unsatisfied, delusional, and desperate young people who want to find themselves again, to find joy in life, and to find meaning for their lives. It was founded in July 1983 from the insight of a woman, Sister Elvira Petrozzi, who wanted to give her life to God through helping drug addicts and lost youth. Her main headquarters are located in Saluzzo, Italy. The Community teaches the essentials of life that before we had always refused to learn and no one ever taught us. For us it was normal to confuse pleasure with joy. In our life we have always pursued the immediate pleasure; we never thought that joy could be born in sufferings. For additional information please visit: www.campo-della-vita.org

The Pilgrims’ Gatherings in Medjugorje:
 
1. Prayer Areas:  There are three main areas where the pilgrims gather in Medjugorje...
 Apparition Hill This is how the area of Podbrdo, above the village of Bijakovici is now referred to. This is where the visionaries claim to have first seen Our Lady. This happened at the end of June back in 1981. Since then pilgrims gather there to pray the rosary. By day and by night, groups can be seen making their way to the place of the first apparition. Up until 1989, there was nothing to be seen there except boulders and rustic crosses which some of the many visitors had left. Today, on the ascent, images in cast bronze, (work of the well-known Florentine artist Carmelo Puzzolo) recall the joyful sorrowful and glorious mysteries of the rosary.
 
Krizevac is the hill above Medjugorje. Here, in 1934, the people of the village of Medjugorje erected an eight-meter high concrete cross in commemoration of the 1900th anniversary of Jesus' death. In this place, both groups and individuals of the faithful pay homage in the way of the Cross, praying as they go from station to station. In the first years the stations were marked by wooden crosses. Since 1988, however, bronze images depicting the various stations have been placed at each cross, again the work of the Italian sculptor Carmelo Puzzolo. Cross Mountain (Krizevac) has become the "Calvary" of the shrine where pilgrims remember the passion of Christ.
 
The Parish Church and surrounding area is the area where the Mass and sacramental life in general is celebrated. The old Parish Church, built at the end of the last century, was destroyed during an earth tremor. The new Church was completed in 1969. The church as well as the Parish is consecrated to St. James, (the older) apostle and patron of pilgrims. In 1991, twenty new confessionals were added and an outdoor altar was erected for larger gatherings (when weather permits). Within the Church grounds, there is also a building which houses "the adoration chapel" and seminar rooms for chur