{"id":22149,"date":"2024-11-11T10:46:41","date_gmt":"2024-11-11T18:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=22149"},"modified":"2024-11-11T12:09:21","modified_gmt":"2024-11-11T20:09:21","slug":"how-updated-vatican-rules-on-validating-supernatural-appearances-of-mary-will-affect-the-famed-pilgrimage-site-of-medjugorje","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/how-updated-vatican-rules-on-validating-supernatural-appearances-of-mary-will-affect-the-famed-pilgrimage-site-of-medjugorje\/","title":{"rendered":"How updated Vatican rules on validating supernatural appearances of Mary will affect the famed pilgrimage site of Medjugorje"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/11\/Bitel_Conversation_Top-768x432.png\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/11\/Bitel_Conversation_Top-1920x1080.png 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/11\/Bitel_Conversation_Top-1280x720.png 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/11\/Bitel_Conversation_Top-768x432.png 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"A crowd gathers around a statue of the Virgin Mary in front of a church with twin bell towers.\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  People pray at a shrine to the Virgin Mary in Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons\/ Elisabetta.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=arts-and-culture\">Arts and Culture<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>How updated Vatican rules on validating supernatural appearances of Mary will affect the famed pilgrimage site of Medjugorje<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  The Vatican has said that the pilgrimage to Medjugorje, a small town in Bosnia-Herzegovina, can yield \u2018spiritual benefits\u2019 but refrained from calling the apparitions genuinely supernatural.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communications@dornsife.usc.edu\">Lisa Bitel<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">November 11, 2024<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 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     >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>For over 40 years, six people from Medjugorje, a small town in Bosnia-Herzegovina, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/259393\/medjugorje-what-catholics-should-know-about-the-alleged-marian-apparitions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">have claimed to see and speak with the Virgin Mary<\/a>. For almost as long, hordes of pilgrims have traveled to visit sites of the virgin\u2019s alleged appearance and to observe the seers\u2019 daily trances.<\/p>\n<p>The Vatican has never approved the pilgrimage or issued any official judgment of the visionaries \u2014 until now.<\/p>\n<p>Scholars have shown that Christians have claimed to see the virgin in dreams and visions since the fourth century. I have studied modern <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/profile\/lisa-bitel\/\">Marian apparitions<\/a> for about 15 years and wrote <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cornellpress.cornell.edu\/book\/9780801448546\/our-lady-of-the-rock\/#bookTabs=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a book<\/a> about an American apparition.<\/p>\n<p>Reports of Virgin Mary sightings escalated after 1800. Church leaders have rarely authenticated such claims, however, with the exception of some famous events at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lourdes-france.org\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lourdes, France<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fatima.pt\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">F\u00e1tima, Portugal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Of the roughly <a href=\"https:\/\/udayton.edu\/imri\/mary\/a\/apparitions-statistics-modern.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">500 apparitions<\/a> reported between 1900 and 2000, the Catholic Church declared <a href=\"https:\/\/udayton.edu\/imri\/mary\/a\/apparitions-approved.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">only 10<\/a> to be genuinely supernatural, based on the church\u2019s exacting requirements for authenticity.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, though, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/roman_curia\/congregations\/cfaith\/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith<\/a> \u2014 formerly the Inquisition and now the Vatican office responsible for protecting and promoting Catholicism \u2014 issued new norms for the discernment of alleged <a href=\"https:\/\/press.vatican.va\/content\/salastampa\/en\/bollettino\/pubblico\/2024\/05\/17\/240517h.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">supernatural events<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, the dicastery has declared that despite its previous skepticism, the pilgrimage to Medjugorje can still yield \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2024\/09\/19\/vatican-greenlights-devotion-to-marian-shrine-at-medjugorje\/?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">spiritual fruits<\/a>.\u201d The decision does not mean, however, that the dicastery believes the apparitions to be genuinely supernatural \u2014 only the pope can make that decision.<\/p>\n<p>Still, both the ruling and the way it came about are important changes in the history of apparitions.<\/p>\n<h2>Apparitions at Medjugorje<\/h2>\n<p>In 1981, Medjugorje was a small farm town of about 14,000 people in the former Yugoslavia. On June 24 that year, six children, aged 11 to 16, told their families that they had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.medjugorje.org\/overview.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">seen the Gospa \u2014 Serbo-Croatian for the \u201cLady<\/a>\u201d \u2014 on the hill of Podbrdo near Medjugorje.<\/p>\n<p>Forty-three years later, two of the original witnesses still claim to see and speak to the Gospa daily, while three of the others allegedly meet her yearly, and one announced that she no longer sees the virgin. The two who see the Gospa daily, Ivan Dragicevic and Vicka Ivankovic-Mijatovic, continue to share the virgin\u2019s daily messages with pilgrims.<\/p>\n<p>Church authorities have argued about the Medjugorje apparitions since they began. They sent psychiatrists and physicians to <a href=\"https:\/\/medjugorje.com\/specific-tests-administered-to-the-medjugorje-visionaries-and-their-results\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">examine the seers<\/a>, tested the children\u2019s grasp of the catechism and observed their behavior. Meanwhile, more people came to watch the daily visions, even when Yugoslavia was fractured into new nations by the three-year-long <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ushmm.org\/genocide-prevention\/countries\/bosnia-herzegovina\/1992-1995\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bosnian war<\/a> starting in 1992.<\/p>\n<p>The Gospa has allegedly imparted about 40,000 messages to the seers, which have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.medjugorje.org\/olmpage.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">shared on various websites<\/a> devoted to the Medjugorje pilgrimage. The sheer number of repetitive messages alarmed church authorities. In 2017, Pope Francis warned that Mary was \u201cnot a Madonna who is the head of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/world\/pope-says-doubts-medjugorje-apparitions-are-authentic-idUSKCN18A0DY\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">telegraph office<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The messages claim that Mary wants a return to faith, conversion to deeper forms of Catholicism, ordination of more priests and reconciliation among individuals, families and nations. According to seers, the virgin also chided Catholics for not <a href=\"https:\/\/www.medjugorje.org\/concordance\/c524.htm#TELEVISION\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">paying attention<\/a> to her messages at Medugorje.<\/p>\n<h2>Church guidelines for discernment<\/h2>\n<p>The church has always set <a href=\"https:\/\/udayton.edu\/imri\/mary\/a\/apparitions-approval-process.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">guidelines for discerning<\/a> the truth of visions. A seer must be healthy and their visions must not contradict Catholic doctrine.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, the seer must not seek profit or fame from their experiences or use visionary claims as a pretext for exploitation. They must not spread \u201ca sectarian mentality\u201d that would subvert church authority.<\/p>\n<p>Until now, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/roman_curia\/congregations\/cfaith\/documents\/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19780225_norme-apparizioni_en.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">local bishops investigated reports<\/a> of supernatural phenomena in their dioceses, then either declared them safe for Catholics or shut them down. Sometimes a complex case led bishops to seek private help from the dicastery.<\/p>\n<p>The process varied across dioceses and could take years to complete \u2014 43 in the case of Medjugorje. If the church finds nothing troubling about the proclaimed visionary, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholic.com\/qa\/do-catholics-have-to-believe-in-approved-apparitions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Catholics are allowed but not required<\/a> to believe in the vision.<\/p>\n<h2>New norms<\/h2>\n<p>The dicastery\u2019s revised norms of discernment may be a response to increasing Catholic claims to supernatural experience. Global media not only spread but <a href=\"https:\/\/shs.cairn.info\/journal-ethnologie-francaise-2003-4-page-641?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">encourages reports<\/a> of visions and apparitions.<\/p>\n<p>The newly revised norms make three important changes to the process.<\/p>\n<p>First, the new norms put the decision about supernatural phenomena in the hands of the dicastery. It streamlines the process and prevents local politics or any single bishop\u2019s opinions from clouding final assessment of the declared apparition.<\/p>\n<p>Second, the dicastery has reduced assessment of visions to one of <a href=\"https:\/\/press.vatican.va\/content\/salastampa\/en\/bollettino\/pubblico\/2024\/05\/17\/240517h.html#:%7E:text=possible%20final%20prudential%20decisions%2C\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">six outcomes<\/a>. The least positive decision is that there\u2019s nothing supernatural going on.<\/p>\n<p>The most positive ruling \u2014 short of the pope\u2019s official declaration that the phenomenon is unarguably supernatural \u2014 is \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/press.vatican.va\/content\/salastampa\/en\/bollettino\/pubblico\/2024\/05\/17\/240517h.html#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nihil obstat<\/a>,\u201d meaning \u201cnothing hinders.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This means the event presents \u201cmany signs of the action of the Holy Spirit,\u201d and that the visionary shows no serious flaws that would prevent Catholics from supporting the phenomenon.<\/p>\n<p>The third is that the apparition can be genuine even if the alleged seers have made <a href=\"https:\/\/press.vatican.va\/content\/salastampa\/en\/bollettino\/pubblico\/2024\/05\/17\/240517h.html#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">minor errors of interpretation or behavior<\/a>. It recognizes that visionaries sometimes cannot properly articulate what they see, or they may misinterpret the virgin \u2014 for instance, suggesting Mary is angry with those who ignore her warnings. Seers need not be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/roman_curia\/congregations\/cfaith\/documents\/rc_ddf_doc_20240919_nota-esperienza-medjugorje_en.html#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">perfect Catholics, either<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Belief in the Virgin of Medjugorje<\/h2>\n<p>Despite personal criticisms of the seers, such as accusations that they have <a href=\"https:\/\/express.24sata.hr\/top-news\/vidjelice-iz-me-ugorja-imaju-milijune-hoteli-vile-auti-22384\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">profited from their fame<\/a>, the dicastery found that apparitions at Medjugorje have led to profound \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vaticannews.va\/en\/vatican-city\/news\/2024-09\/pope-francis-ddf-note-nulla-osta-approval-medjugorje-devotion.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">positive fruits<\/a>\u201d for thousands of people.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2024\/09\/19\/vatican-greenlights-devotion-to-marian-shrine-at-medjugorje\/?utm_source=RNS+Updates&amp;utm_campaign=ef0dbaae03-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_09_20_12_28&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_c5356cb657-ef0dbaae03-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D#:%7E:text=study%20by%20the%20sociologist%20Luca%20Presenti\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">One survey<\/a> at the vision site found that 48.8% of visitors to Medjugorje said their lives were changed by the experience; 30.4% believed their lives were \u201cvery much\u201d changed; and 14.5% said they were \u201cradically\u201d changed.<\/p>\n<p>Granted, pilgrims are often predisposed to spiritual growth, yet the majority of visitors to Medjugorje claimed deepened faith. Some were moved to seek ordination or able to conquer what they considered sinful habits; some others reconciled with family members, were healed of illness or disability, or witnessed small miracles.<\/p>\n<p>Still, the dicastery suggests that pilgrims should visit and pray at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/roman_curia\/congregations\/cfaith\/documents\/rc_ddf_doc_20240919_nota-esperienza-medjugorje_en.html#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">places associated<\/a> with the \u201coriginal events\u201d at Medjugorje, such as the hill of Podbrdo, rather than watching the seers in trance.<\/p>\n<p>A Vatican commission in 2010 had decided that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncregister.com\/news\/the-conclusions-of-the-ruini-report-on-medjugorje\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">first seven apparitions<\/a> and related messages were supernatural, but the commission was not convinced about the rest.<\/p>\n<h2>Why now?<\/h2>\n<p>Changes in the norms for discernment have come at a moment when church leaders claim to be listening to ordinary believers. Pope Francis recently concluded a three-year <a href=\"https:\/\/www.synod.va\/en.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Synod on Synodality<\/a> that brought parish priests, lay people and even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/259551\/theologian-participating-in-synod-on-synodality-heralds-heterodox-views\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dissenting theologians<\/a> together with church leaders in Rome to ponder solutions.<\/p>\n<p>Long-term <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncronline.org\/opinion\/guest-voices\/synod-synodality-needs-set-its-own-agenda\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">issues important to the laity<\/a>, such as inclusion of LGBTQ+ Catholics and women\u2019s ordination, were discussed but left unresolved. Yet the synod achieved some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/260115\/synod-final-document-key-changes-for-catholic-churchs-future\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">structural reforms<\/a> aimed at including the ideas and opinions of regular Catholics. Early in the deliberations, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.synod.va\/content\/dam\/synod\/assembly2024\/press16_09\/penitentialcelebration\/ENG_Celebrazione_penitenziale.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">synod itself warned<\/a> against the \u201csin \u2026 of lack of listening, communion, and participation of all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the dicastery is paying attention to the experience of pilgrims.<\/p>\n<p>No matter what the supposed visionaries do or say or whether the virgin appears there or not, many visitors say going to Medjugorje makes them <a href=\"https:\/\/dsdoconnor.com\/thoughts-on-medjugorje-after-my-pilgrimage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">better Catholics<\/a>. Over 43 years, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ewtnvatican.com\/articles\/vatican-approves-devotion-at-medjugorje-while-not-pronouncing-on-authenticity-of-alleged-messages-3387\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">millions of pilgrims have believed<\/a> in the apparitions at Medjugorje.<\/p>\n<p>It appears that, given the dicastery\u2019s recent ruling of \u201cNihil obstat,\u201d nothing prevents Catholics from devotion to Our Lady of Medjugorje, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vatican.va\/roman_curia\/congregations\/cfaith\/documents\/rc_ddf_doc_20240919_nota-esperienza-medjugorje_en.html#The_Queen_of_Peace\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Queen of Peace<\/a>.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/239804\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/lisa-bitel-418308\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lisa Bitel<\/a>, Dean\u2019s Professor of Religion and Professor of <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/religion\/\">Religion<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/hist\/\">History<\/a>, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/usc-dornsife-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences-2669\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-updated-vatican-rules-on-validating-supernatural-appearances-of-mary-will-affect-the-famed-pilgrimage-site-of-medjugorje-239804\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Related Articles\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/is-ai-really-writing-ancient-authors-would-have-said-no\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Is AI really \u2018writing\u2019? From a priestess to philosophers, ancient authors would have said\u00a0\u2018no\u2019<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/high-school-yearbooks-focus-on-student-fun-but-obscure-pain\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >High school yearbooks focus on the fun students had, obscuring the pain people also\u00a0experienced<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/us-and-iran-how-decades-of-mistrust-led-to-open-warfare\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >US and Iran: A brief history of how decades of mistrust and bad blood led to open\u00a0warfare<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Vatican has said that the pilgrimage to Medjugorje, a small town in Bosnia-Herzegovina, can yield \u2018spiritual benefits\u2019 but refrained from calling the apparitions genuinely supernatural.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":22153,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[87,83],"class_list":["post-22149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-culture","tag-expert-viewpoint","tag-the-conversation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How updated Vatican rules on validating supernatural appearances of Mary will affect the famed pilgrimage site of Medjugorje<\/title>\n<meta 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