The Secrets of Medjugorje: The Ten Secrets, the Messages of the Visionaries, and the Discernment of the Church

# The Ten Secrets of Medjugorje: An Analysis within the Ongoing Ecclesiastical DiscernmentThe ten secrets of Medjugorje form the most mysterious core of apparitions that, since 1981, the six Bosnian visionaries claim to have received from Our Lady of Peace. None of these secrets has been publicly revealed: each visionary received their own, committing to keep them until the designated time by Our Lady. This article examines what the visionaries themselves have said about the content of these secrets and the regular messages that Mary transmitted over decades, situating them within the context of ongoing ecclesiastical discernment.## The Messages of Medjugorje (Since 1981): The Six Bosnian Visionaries, Recurrent Themes, and the Question of AuthenticityIn 1981, six young people from Medjugorje (Bosnia-Herzegovina) – Ivan, Maria, Vicka, Jakov, Ivanka, and Mirjana – reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary with messages of prayer, fasting, conversion, and peace. The canonical status remains *sub iudice*. In 2024, the Holy See issued guidelines allowing local veneration without a definitive pronouncement on the supernatural character.This is the question that arises from pilgrims to priests and commissions. Later, everything was channeled into Mary’s monthly messages on the 25th of each month, which were published in R. Laurentin’s *Messages et Pédagogie de la Vierge à Medjugorje*. Some claim that the regularly disseminated Medjugorje messages are banal and repetitive, eventually trivial, as they repeat what is essential in the Gospel regarding our times: prayers, conversion, fasting, reading of the Sacred Scriptures.In daily reality, those who have forgotten the Gospel see it as something important. They encounter it and practice it, and it was fasting above all that brought Medjugorje back to life.Regarding repetitiveness, R. Laurentin had the opportunity to respond to a cardinal: *”Your mother, who gave you your basic education, certainly repeated many clichés, but precisely for that reason, you have become what you are.”*The problem raised by this criticism of repetitiveness can be debated. Is it perhaps an automatism that prolongs the spontaneity of the initial dialogues between the surprised visionaries and the apparition?Many reasons allow us to answer this hypothesis increasingly cited. What cannot be doubted is the sincerity of the visionaries. For each of them, when they received the last secret, it marked the end of their experience, even with the singular modalities of *Mirjana*. She was the first for whom daily apparitions ended on Christmas 1982, but since then she has not only had an annual appearance on her birthday but also a prayer contact, sometimes accompanied by an apparition, every first Tuesday of the month.Some visionaries still have daily apparitions: Ivan, Maria, Vicka. The others have only an annual appearance. The simple and evangelical messages of the visionaries did not pose any problem.Some formulas are ambiguous, but once examined, they say nothing more than the doctrine of Vatican Council II, also used by Saint John Paul II, even with non-Christian religions, based on a principle of equality in prayer dialogue.# The Ten Secrets of Medjugorje: What the Visionaries Revealed About the First Three and the Remaining SevenAnother point discussed somewhat blindly concerns the secrets: nothing is known about them because the visionaries keep them closely guarded, and they have not even shared their insights with each other. However, what little they have revealed about them does exhibit a remarkable consistency.Let’s summarize what they have shared:• **The first three secrets** are warnings that foretell significant events, which the visionaries refer to as “punishments.” These punishments signify self-inflicted consequences on the world for its abandonment of God and legitimization of evil. The second warning is said to be a visible sign given on the mountain during apparitions to rekindle faith when approaching particularly challenging times.Ivan, who was asked by the commission to reveal the secrets, ended up presenting a sealed letter, promising it would remain unopened until the content of the secrets could be verified. When René Laurentin, surprised by this small opening, inquired about what Ivan had written, he replied that there was nothing significant within the envelope. Despite René Laurentin sharing this news with the commission, they attempted to intimidate Ivan again, suggesting they open the envelope. Upon doing so, it was discovered that Ivan had indeed said something (very little) about the “warning,” mentioning a visible sign on the hill. In his rural prudence, rather than leaving it blank, he simply stated the minimum that seemed to be able to reveal. Due to this relative discretion and a lie, he was challenged by the commission. During a retreat with all five visionaries and Slavko, Ivan humbly acknowledged his limitations, the issues stemming from his shyness, which he had always struggled against, especially with help from the one who appeared to him, as he testified.• **The remaining seven secrets** appear to be dark and dramatic, particularly the seventh (which was slightly mitigated thanks to prayers and conversions in Medjugorje, starting with Mirjana’s) and the tenth. These secrets widely foretell the apocalyptic self-punishment of the world, leaving unclear whether the visionaries perceive it as the end of times or the end of an era.But what are these secrets? Like all secrets, they will undoubtedly seem disappointing because the most successful predictions are never those that accurately describe how history unfolds before the event occurs. Instead, they serve as a mix of warnings intertwined with what seems to be instant and incomprehensible before its realization. Their true meaning is only revealed after the fact has been accomplished.## The Prophecies of Medjugorje and Church Discernment: Ambiguity in Forecasts and the Position of the Holy See### Will the Medjugorje prophecies prove fundamentally correct?We ask this question because Mirjana had predicted the revelation that would be entrusted to a young Franciscan starting in 1985. After that, nothing happened. If she knew the date when the revelation would be authorized, why did she predict it so early? This remains a mystery.However, prophecies are the most ambiguous field that exists in the world, as they are never verifiable or analyzable before their fulfillment. Even if the authentic Christian fruits of Medjugorje, widely recognized, are presented under the best conditions, no prediction can be made about whether the prophecies will be fulfilled or not, upon which the six visionaries seem to tacitly agree independently.The little that has been said about the progressive revelation of the *ten secrets* (with the apparitions ending at the tenth) is presented coherently and did not raise criticism.The message of Medjugorje—prayer, fasting, conversion, and peace—resonates with the central themes of Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Redemptoris Mater, which presents Mary as a watchful mother who guides her children towards Christ and reconciliation with God.**Deepen your studies:** Explore Mariology, Marian Theology, Marian Apparitions, and Post-Graduate Studies in Mariology.See the complete list of recognized Marian apparitions by the Church.