Vatican confirms Pope Benedict XVI has set up an international commission to investigate the authenticity of the reported apparitions by the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Benedict XVI has formed a commission to investigate if Our Lady truly appeared in Medjugorje, a small town in Bosnia.
The commission is part of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Cardinal Camillo Ruini will preside over the commission. Ruini is the pope’s former vicar of Rome’s diocese. Ruini goal will be to explain to the pope what’s happening at the sanctuary which has become the third most visited in Europe.
Allegedly, at least 6 people have witnessed the Virgins apparitions there since 1981. Aside from the large crowds of pilgrims who visit the sanctuary, the Vatican has not commented on the alleged apparitions, but in 1991 the local bishops said they were not aware of any supernatural apparitions.
This investigation will put an end to any doubts and it’ll be critical for the millions of pilgrims who visit this shrine every year.