Pastor of Medjugorje’s parish church to skeptics: ‘Come and see’

 

Madrid, Spain, Feb 11, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Father Zvonimir Pavicic, OFM, the pastor of the parish church at the Marian shrine of Medjugorje, welcomed the recent Vatican recognition of the spiritual phenomenon there as a call to make this recognition more widely known. To skeptics, he says: “We never argue about Medjugorje, but I tell everyone: Come and see.”

The Franciscan was in Spain last week for the 15th Ibero-American Congress on the Queen of Peace organized by the Medjugorje Center Foundation with the theme “Pilgrims of Hope Guided by the Queen of Peace.”

During a brief break from the event’s busy schedule, the priest took some time to speak to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

ACI Prensa: What does it mean to be a priest and pastor of Medjugorje and what is the particular grace that you have found there?

Pavicic: Being a parish priest at Medjugorje is very demanding, because you are at the same time the pastor, the rector, and the guardian. Because the three duties are not yet separated and the pastor is the one who does everything.

As a pastor, I take care of the parishioners and everything that parish life entails. But the pastor is also responsible for all the pilgrims who come. Although it is a very difficult and demanding task, at the same time it is very beautiful, because you meet people who come to encounter God and who want to live with Mary, and that makes your work easier. And I have to emphasize that I am not alone there, but the Franciscan brothers are there and they make all my work easier.

The grace that I discovered in Medjugorje is precisely the grace of the priestly vocation. What the priest means to the Church, how much people need priests, how much they seek him and, in reality through him, they seek the grace of God. And I discover this more and more in Medjugorje every day.

What has Rome’s recognition of Medjugorje as a place of extraordinary grace meant and what does it bring to the Church?

Before the recognition of the “nihil obstat” (“nothing stands in the way”), Medjugorje brought a lot to the Church. It brought people to conversion, the faithful to conversion. And these people, in turn, prayed for others, converted others, moved people to prayer in their cities. So Medjugorje is a gift to the Church. And the Church has recognized this.

And the “nihil obstat” has opened the doors to Medjugorje and also to all those who want to go to Medjugorje. It has recognized the spirituality of Medjugorje as sound and that it can help the Church in today’s world. And that is why the declaration states that this spirituality must be proclaimed in the Church, so that the greatest number of people will hear about this spirituality and that, by the grace of God, the greatest possible number of people will be converted. And I would conclude that Medjugorje was, is, and will be a gift for the Church.

You are a Franciscan. St. Francis was commissioned by the Lord to restore the Church in Porziuncola. What fruits has Medjugorje been bearing in these 44 years for the restoration and edification of the Church?

It’s the same task. How did St. Francis renew the Church? With a holy life. With prayer. Living in the Church. Not criticizing the pope, the bishops, or the priests. And at that time he had reason to criticize them!

But he loved the Church and lived in it. And that is the true reform of the Church. And that is what Medjugorje does today. We have always been within the Church and for the Church. We have been waiting for the “nihil obstat” and we continue to serve the Church humbly, because we have not created ourselves. We say that God has granted us this grace and we only collaborate with it: for the Church and in the Church.

Many priests experience a profound renewal of their ministry when they go to Medjugorje. What do you think the experience brings to priests?

It’s the grace of God. It can’t be described simply. It can’t be described, because it would not be divine if it could be described. But God acts in Medjugorje. And this is very visible in every priest and in every member of the faithful who goes to Medjugorje. I think it’s not necessary to describe it but to live it.

And not only in Medjugorje but in any other parish. Medjugorje is only an image and a model of what any other parish should be like. Any parish should offer God to men. And the opportunity to go to confession, to pray the rosary, the Eucharist, adoration, and many other devotions. Everything is very simple and God acts in all of this. And this is what priests discover in Medjugorje. In reality, they discover that God is hidden in simplicity.

What do you say to those who are hesitant, who even look with suspicion at the phenomenon of Medjugorje, who do not feel called to that place?

I wouldn’t say anything to them. I never argue with people about Medjugorje. Those who believe, should continue to believe. Those who do not believe, should live with it. God reaches out to each person in different ways. He has touched millions through Medjugorje through the Blessed Virgin Mary. Others have been touched through something else.

The Spirit blows where he wants and how he wants. We never argue about Medjugorje. But I tell everyone: Come and see. Only those who come to Medjugorje and participate in the evening program in the parish will reach a conclusion and make a judgment about Medjugorje.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.