The Visions of the Children: The Apparitions of the Blessed Mother at Medjugorje

In June 1981, six teenagers in the village of Medjugorje, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzogovina), claimed to have had visions of the Virgin Mary, whom they say has continued to appear to them over the ensuing 10 years. This compilation of Connell's interviews with the six shows them standing up admirably to the scrutiny of church officials, as well as to the intense tourism that news of the apparitions generated in the area. Two of the women, now married with children, have less frequent visitations; the others continue to encounter Mary, and her message to them is consistent: God is present in the world and in people's lives, and we must repent to bring about peace. Connell, who gave up a Pennsylvania law practice to become the visionaries' spokesperson, argues that the Medjugorje phenomenon falls within the tradition of 20th-century Mariology--the study of and devotion to the mother of Jesus--although private revelations are not included in official church doctrine. She sounds a poignant note when reflecting that the village survived communism only to be threatened now by the Yugoslavian civil war. Photos not seen by PW . ( Aug. )