Vandals desecrated two statues of Our Lady and set fire to the outdoor altar of St. James Church at the Medjugorje shrine in Bosnia and Herzegovina early Tuesday, July 28, days before the shrine's annual Mladifest youth festival.
The statue of Our Lady on Podbrdo, or Apparition Hill, was doused with black paint across the face, chest, and dress, with the words "Devil in a skirt" scrawled on its pedestal, local media reported. The statue of Our Lady at the nearby Blue Cross was similarly defaced, with "EVIL" written on a nearby stone slab. A banner in Polish naming the six alleged seers was left near the Podbrdo statue.
Police in Citluk received the first report at 4:30 a.m. and a report of fire at the recently renovated altar behind St. James parish church at 5 a.m., a police spokeswoman said reportedly. Surveillance footage shows a man dousing the altar with flammable liquid and igniting it. Cantonal police later confirmed to local media that a suspect was arrested Tuesday afternoon. His identity has not been released.
'Prayer, fasting, and forgiveness'
"We received with great sadness the news of the act of vandalism that damaged the places of prayer in our parish," the Medjugorje parish office said in a statement, calling on the faithful to respond "as Our Lady has been teaching us in Medjugorje for more than 40 years: with prayer, fasting, and forgiveness."
Cleanup began immediately, the parish said, and "the shrine remains open to all pilgrims."
Bishop Petar Palic of Mostar-Duvno expressed deep sorrow, urging the faithful not to let evil "infect us with its own logic," while the Interreligious Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina condemned the attack.
The Vatican granted a "nihil obstat" to devotion at Medjugorje in September 2024. Mladifest opens Aug. 1 and is expected to draw 50,000 to 60,000 pilgrims.
