5 places you should visit in Medjugorje
1. St. James Church (5-minute walk from Hotel Luna)
The parish church and the area surrounding it are the center of Medjugorje and the main place for the celebration of the Eucharist and sacramental life. The church, like the parish itself, is dedicated to Saint James the Apostle, the patron saint of pilgrims. The parish is cared for by the Franciscans of the Herzegovinian Franciscan Province of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, based in Mostar.
The construction of the church lasted 35 years (1934–1969), and the design for the church was created free of charge by the renowned architect Stjepan Podhorsky from Zagreb. Work on the church continued even after its blessing and consecration in 1969, since the interior had not yet been completed, nor had the bell towers been built. The St. James Church as we see it today was fully completed in 1980.
Next to the church there is an outdoor altar for open-air celebrations and a large number of confessionals, which earned Medjugorje the title of the world’s largest confessional. Due to the growing number of pilgrims, the church and surrounding area have continuously adapted to new needs since 1981. The outdoor altar, built in 1989, and the surrounding prayer area (with around 5,000 seats) serve as the site of major liturgical celebrations during the summer months, when thousands of pilgrims gather in Medjugorje for Mladifest.
2. Statue of the Risen Jesus Christ (along the promenade behind St. James church)
This monumental bronze sculpture is the work of Slovenian sculptor Andrej Ajdič and was installed at Easter in 1998. According to the sculptor himself, the work represents "two different mysteries"; the first depicts Jesus on the Cross and in the tomb (the part of the sculpture lying on the ground), while the second symbolizes the Risen Christ with outstretched arms. The artist arrived at this concept quite accidentally when he dropped the sculpture into the modeling mold during the creative process. The widely extended arms symbolize Jesus as the one who opens Himself to all humanity, offering shelter and refuge to all believers.
The most well-known feature of the Statue of the Risen Jesus Christ is the unusual phenomenon of liquid droplets appearing from Christ’s right knee, whose chemical composition reportedly corresponds to human tears. Around the statue, a Way of the Cross area has been arranged for believers and pilgrims who are unable to climb Krizevac. A pathway called "Via Domini" (The Lord’s Way) has also been created, together with stations dedicated to the Mysteries of Light.
3. Apparition Hill – Podbrdo (15–20 minute walk from Hotel Luna)
This is the site of the first Marian apparitions in Medjugorje, reached by a steep rocky path along which 15 bronze reliefs depicting the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary have been placed. While climbing Podbrdo, pilgrims most often pray the Holy Rosary.
Countless testimonies speak of how pilgrims from all over the world, in front of the statue of the Queen of Peace, have found faith and inner peace.
In 2006 , part of the path was illuminated with small spotlights making it clearly visible even at night.
4. Blue Cross
At the foot of Apparition Hill there are two Blue Crosses. The first Blue Cross (on the left side) was placed at the location where the prayer group of visionary Ivan Dragićević has gathered since July 4, 1982. This place became important because Ivan reportedly received a vision warning him not to climb to the top of the hill with the prayer group due to the communist authorities of the time, so they began praying at the foot of Podbrdo instead. In 1985, a wooden cross approximately 2.5 meters high was placed at the sitewhere the Virgin Mary, through her apparition, was believed to have protected the prayer group. To protect it from rain and decay, members of the prayer group painted it with the only paint they had available at the time — blue paint — and over time the cross became known as the “Blue Cross”.
In 1999, members of the prayer group together with visionary Ivan Dragićević erected a second Blue Cross (on the right side) in order to expand the prayer area. The surrounding space was arranged by members of the community
It is an essential place of prayer for all pilgrims visiting Apparition Hill, especially for those who are unable to climb the hill due to health reasons.
5. Križevac (30-minute walk from Hotel Luna)
At the top of Križevac (formerly called Šipovac), the parishioners of Medjugorje constructed a monumental cross (8.5 meters high and 3.5 meters wide) in honor of the Holy Year of Redemption (1933–1934). One of the reasons that inspired the local people to build the cross was the heavy rainfall that endangered crops, prompting the parish priest Bernardin Smoljan to encourage the parishioners, despite their poverty, to construct a cross in memory of the 1900th anniversary of Christ’s Passion and death on the Cross. Another reason was the appeal of Pope Pio XIfor monuments to be constructed on hilltops around the world in honor of this great anniversary. Relics believed to be from the true Cross of Jesus, were placed inside the structure of the cross, specially obtained from Rome for this occasion. It was truly a great sacrifice for the parishioners of Medjugorje, as they had to carry all the materials needed to build the reinforced concrete cross (gravel, cement, iron, water and equipment) on their backs for days up the steep Herzegovinian rocky terrain to the summit of Šipovac.
On March 16, 1934, the first Holy Mass was celebrated at the foot of the cross. In September 1935, Bishop Alojzije Mišić decreed that the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, would be celebrated in Medjugorje every year on the first Sunday after the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, with Mass celebrated on Križevac.
From the foot of the hill to the summit, 15 bronze Stations of the Cross have been placed, created by Italian artist Carmelo Puzzolo.
“To Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of mankind, as a sign of our faith, love, and hope, in memory of the 1900th anniversary of the Passion of Jesus.”
inscription on the Cross
