YOUTH PRAYER FESTIVAL

A Prayer Youth Festival will be organized again this year in Medjugorje. It will begin July 31,1995 at 18.00 (6:00 pm) with the evening program in church and will end with a festive Holy Mass on Mt. Kri`evac at 5 am on August 6, the Feast of Our Lady of Snows. The theme of the festival will be: Youth with Our Lady for Life and Peace. Participants must have a bible in order to fully take part in the prayer program. Based on our experience in past years, we request all pilgrimage organizers not to plan on other programs during the festival, but only to participate with the youth in the festival. We also invite all priests to be at the disposal of the youth for personal discussions and confessions during the festival. A songfest of Marian music dedicated to Our Lady will take place on the evening of August 5, the last day of the festival. Therefore, we invite you to prepare and rehearse in your own language a song that you can sing for this occasion. Participation in this portion of the festival will be limited only to individuals or groups of less than 20 persons. All those who want to participate in the songfest or who wish to enrich the festival with an instrumental performance (violin, flute, trumpet, cello, saxophone, etc) are requested to make their wish known to Augustino at the fax number - - 387-88-642-339 as soon as possible. Augustino is the young Italian who will be responsible for the music during the festival. A simultaneous translation system will be provided. To take advantage of it one must have headphones and any kind of FM radio equipped with frequencies between 88-108 MHZ. To submit any suggestion concerning the planning of prayer for the festival, please send it in to us as soon as possible on the fax number - - 387- 88-642-339.

MISSIONARY TRIP OF FATHER JOZO ZOVKO

At the invitation of Medjugorje pilgrims Fr. Jozo Zovko visited several Italian cities from April 18-27,1995. During all the prayer meetings he spoke about Our Lady's message and, especially, about prayer and the Eucharist. Along with the Eucharist he prayed the rosary and led Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The meetings were well attended. For the meeting in Padua about 3,500 faithful came from all over northern Italy.

After meetings with pilgrims in Bologna, Fr. Jozo visited the Poor Clares' Monastery and the tomb of St. Catherine who founded the same convent in which her incorrupt body is preserved. Fr. Jozo met with the Bishop of Ferrara at his invitation. During the one hour meeting, the bishop listened to Fr. Jozo's experiences with deep interest and evident emotion as he related the events of Medjugorje. Due to ailing health the bishop was not able to attend the prayer meeting organized in the cathedral at which several thousand faithful participated. However, he invited all his diocesan priests to attend. Fr. Jozo also met with the members of the Ferrara Red Cross in order to thank them for all the aid they have sent to the Croatian people, suffering so much because of the war.

Desiring to help in the building of a school in Sarajevo, Italian Caritas organized a meeting with Medjugorje pilgrims on April 26 in the city of Terni. Fr. Jozo was also invited to the meeting. In that way Medjugorje wanted to help the suffering city of Sarajevo along with the thousands of faithful and the President of Italian Caritas who came from Rome to take part in the meeting. On April 28 Cardinal Vinko Pulji} visited Terni for the same purpose.

After his visit in Italy Fr. Jozo visited Lugano, Switzerland. The prayer meeting in Congress Hall with several thousand faithful present was especially touching. Since the bishop of this diocese died recently and a new one had not yet been appointed, the organizers dimmed the lights at the beginning of the meeting and played a message from the bishop taped before his death as the faithful held lighted candles to express their affection. All the diocesan priests joined in praying the rosary and in the Holy Mass that followed.

OTTO VON HABSBURG VISITS MEDJUGORJE

A great friend of Medjugorje, Archduke Otto von Hapsburg and his son, Karl, visited Medjugorje April 23 with a group of 40 family members and members of the European Mission. They explicitly wanted to participate in the Croatian Evening Mass after which they visited the Parish house where they had a long and cordial talk with the Medjugorje Franciscans.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECURE STATUS OF MEDJUGORJE

Medjugorje is and has remained an Oasis of Prayer and Peace during these disturbed times. Only in the beginning days of the war three years ago was it a little bit dangerous being in Medjugorje. But from then until the present time it has never been dangerous again. The easiest way to reach Medjugorje by car or bus is by the Dalmatian coastal road through Croatia via Split. For those who wish to travel by air the Split airport is open and bus transportation is available to Medjugorje . By boat one can arrive at any Croatian port and then take a bus to Medjugorje.

NEW BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS

Dr. Franti{ek Mr ~ek: "Medjugorje" III, V�RIT�, PRAG, 1994 176 pp.

Published by: INFORMATIVNI CENTAR MIR - Svetiste Kraljice Mira (Information Center MIR - Shrine of the Queen of Peace), 88266 Medjugorje.
Director: fra Miljenko Stojic.
Information Office: 00387-36-651-988
Parish Office: 00387-36-650-206; 650-310; 651-333
Fax: 00387-36-651-444
Radio: 00387-36-651-100; fax 651-300
E-mail: medjugorje-mir@medjugorje.hr; Internet: http://www.medjugorje.hr
Automatic Message: 060-325-325. By calling this number you can hear the latest message of Our Lady in Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland and Germany, as well as also the meditation and the news from Medjugorje which is updated every Wednesday.

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Last Modified 11/25/2002