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- Title
Le "apparizioni" della Madonna a Medjugorje tra la dissoluzione della Jugoslavia e la guerra di Bosnia (1981-1995).
- Authors
FERRARI, FRANCESCO
- Abstract
The article analyses one of the most controversial religious events of the twentieth century: the "apparitions" of Our Lady in Medjugorje started in 1981 and still ongoing. Despite the opposition of the local Bishops, the hostility of the Yugoslav communist authorities and the official silence of the Holy See, the worship towards the Bosnian Gospa has grown rapidly changing the village in one of the most important European pilgrimage destinations. Parallel to the expansion of the cult toward the Virgin Queen of Peace, we can see numerous attempts to exploit the "apparitions" to weaken the Catholic Church or to support Croatia's demands for independence. In the early eighties, the Yugoslav communist organizations severely criticized the clergy accused of using the "apparitions" to undermine the unity of the Federation founded by Marshal Tito. In the following decade, the Bosnian Lady assumed a role in the dramatic ethnic and religious contrasts that tore apart the Balkans. The new Zagreb's ruling class saw in the Gospa of Medjugorje an essential element of identity for the construction of a Croatia free and independent from Belgrade.
- Subjects
MARIAN apparitions; BOSNIAN War, 1992-1995; CATHOLIC Church; RULING class; CLERGY
- Publication
Studi e Materiali di Storia delle Religioni, 2019, Vol 85, Issue 2, p796
- ISSN
0393-8417
- Publication type
Article