When my father died and my mother became ill, I was sad and exhausted. I said to God, ‘I need to rest.’ Soon afterwards I saw Our Lady in a film trailer and felt a burning desire to come to Medjugorje, although everything seemed to stand in the way. On arrival I felt immense peace, and the pain I carried began to heal. Here, in confession, I experienced God's mercy for the first time. I returned to Spain looking like a different person, and that peace remains in my family today. This is my seventh visit; I come every summer to give thanks. If you want to come, come with an open heart and empty hands.

I grew up in a Catholic family in Lower Bavaria, and Jesus was with me from the beginning, like a friend. Over the years my love for Him grew, especially through the Eucharist and the sacraments. My family and I have been coming to Medjugorje since our first child was born. We now spend three weeks here for our summer holidays, and I have been about thirty times. I recharge here better than anywhere else. The more I let go of my own will, the more I trust God, who is only goodness and love. If I surrender completely to Him, I have nothing left to fear. Here I have experienced a fellowship among Christians unlike anything elsewhere. At home we pray the Rosary together.

I grew up among different churches and spent my childhood and youth as an agnostic, feeling very sad much of the time. A few months after getting married, I knew I needed a personal relationship with God. The path that made sense to me was the Catholic Church, and the saints helped me greatly. I joined at Easter in 1994, and it is the best thing I have ever done. A friend spoke to me about Medjugorje for years. When I finally came, with questions about being a good mother to my children, nothing was the same again: I became the mother I wanted to be. This is my fifth visit. Our Lady is my spiritual mother. She gave me life, and with it peace and a happiness I had not felt for years.

I was born near Medjugorje and am Croatian, but have lived in Italy for many years, where I belong to the Franciscan Fraternity of Bethany. I was sixteen when I first came here, and from what I felt within, I immediately understood that Our Lady was appearing. I do not call it healing, but conversion: God opened my eyes and ears to see Him and feel Him in my heart, and everything in my life changed from there. At that same age I also felt my vocation, a constant desire that was more than merely human. For me, the greatest healing is to encounter Jesus and never leave Him. Today I only want to do what God asks of me.

I am originally from Nigeria and live in Houston, Texas. For ten years I was in and out of hospital every few months, with a feeding tube and unable to eat for days. I prayed for healing, but it did not come straight away. I understood that it was not that God was not listening: I had to go through it. I offered Him my suffering and promised to devote time to adoration for the sick on Saturdays at three in the morning. When the time came, in His time, God healed me completely. I have no regrets: without that experience, I would not be so in love with Him. Today I pray the Rosary daily and go to Mass and adoration. In Medjugorje I feel peace.

I come from Galway and this is my third visit to Medjugorje. I return for the peace we do not have at home. My parents raised me in the faith, and to me Jesus is my brother, my dad and my best friend. My father always spoke about adoration, and this time I decided to take it seriously. It is difficult at first, but then the soul longs to return and speak to Jesus. I now try to pray the Rosary every day. It is a conversation, a walk with God. I tell young people not to be afraid of confession, because it brings you one step closer to God and Jesus wants to forgive you. Yesterday I prayed the Stations of the Cross and found great peace.

I left the Church about ten years ago, disappointed by negative experiences, although I never stopped praying or believing. I tried everything: seminars, spiritual teachers and the New Age. I spent a lot of money and heard many promises, but none were fulfilled. Before going to Assisi, we visited Padre Pio, and I felt the need to go to Mass. It was such a gift that I decided there and then to return to the Church. Today I know I cannot do without Mass and the Eucharist. This is my fifth visit to Medjugorje: here I find peace, and in confession, enormous relief. Praying the Rosary takes me deeper than any meditation I used to practise. If I had stayed in the Church, I would have saved myself a great deal.

I am a retired priest from the Archdiocese of Chicago. I worked in business for ten years and felt the call to priesthood at thirty-two. As soon as I entered the seminary, I knew it was right for me, and I have never regretted it. During a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, after the apparition to Mirjana on 2 November, I felt Mary's love three times: a powerful affection that I had neither brought about nor deserved. I had always believed in the Rosary, but intellectually. Since then I have prayed it every day and shared my experience. What had been a concept became an experience, and it changed my priesthood forever.

I am from Kansas City and this is my sixth visit to Medjugorje. I return because I feel an inner call from Mary, and the reason is different each time. On my first visit, my granddaughter had been born three months prematurely. I went crying to the Blue Crosses and told Our Lady that she loved her more than I did, and asked her to care for her. I felt tremendous peace for the next eight days, until I could see her again. I touched a cloth to the knee of the Risen Christ statue and placed it on her chest in the incubator. Today she is an outstanding student and plays several instruments. To me, it is a miracle.

I am Lebanese, from Zahlé, and have been coming to Medjugorje for twenty-five years. Here I feel Our Lady beside me. When I have a problem and she helps me find a solution, I return to thank her. Even when I am ill or there are problems in my family, I come and lay everything at her feet. I lost my mother, but I have the Blessed Virgin in her place. During the war in Zahlé, I saw her in a dream: she placed the Child Jesus in my arms and told me to leave the house. We prayed in the shelters, and she saved us. My advice is simple: pray, and come and see for yourself.

When I got married I was not practising any faith. I was Protestant and my wife a cradle Catholic. I went with her to the Catholic Church for three years and one day decided to convert. She never asked me to. At first I was a Catholic who simply fulfilled the obligations: Mass once a week and confession once a year. Everything changed when I committed to praying the Rosary daily with my family. It brought me closer to God, and I wanted to lead my family spiritually. My marriage and my children felt the difference. We came to Medjugorje with our three children and I discovered a love I had never seen before. Pray the Rosary, go to confession often and entrust your life to the Lord.

On my first visit to Medjugorje I had no idea what to expect: I thought ‘Gospa’ was the name of the bus. I arrived exhausted and struggling inwardly. Expecting to be bored, I brought my computer. One day I sat down on my little chair to hear confessions. At quarter past four the first person came, then the second, then the third, and so it continued every day without stopping. I learnt to grow in holiness by helping others do the same. Our Lady taught me to be a priest there, gave me a new heart and a joy that is not of this world. I have returned three times, almost without meaning to, because she chooses the day. Medjugorje is our Mother's home, and Mary always has a gift for you.

Since the age of five, I had suffered migraines almost every day and offered them up as my mother taught me, until I grew tired of it. A friend brought a statue of Our Lady to our home for a novena. As it entered, I felt peace, joy and a desire to cry. That evening my daughter and I prayed the Rosary by candlelight. During the first decade I felt a sharp pain in my head, then suddenly it released, as though the weight had disappeared. My hands, twisted by arthritis, began to straighten over the following days. Since 28 October last year, I have not had a single migraine. I am here to give thanks. This is my first visit to Medjugorje.

I first visited Medjugorje in 1998, aged thirteen, and felt my first call to care for the weak and vulnerable. I returned as an adult to give thanks for my mother's recovery from terminal cancer and to ask for clarity: I had left nursing and did not know whether to return. Gradually I understood that it was not just a job, but part of who God created me to be. On this pilgrimage, through Mass, adoration and confession, I have received that clarity: I will return to medicine. I had felt empty for three years, and now I am going home with peace and joy.

I was born in the Philippines and live in Houston. I was away from the faith for a long time. Bad things happened to me and my family, and I had nowhere else to turn. When you hit rock bottom, you land on the Rock, who is Jesus. I felt called to Medjugorje. We had planned to walk the Camino de Santiago, but something changed our plans. This is my first visit, and the first thing I felt was overwhelming, almost tangible peace. When I arrived, I went to confession after many years away, and it was a wonderfully freeing grace. Through researching Eucharistic miracles, I also discovered that the Eucharist is not a symbol: it truly is Christ. To anyone at rock bottom I would say: surrender to Jesus, give Him your troubles and give this place a chance.

I am a Dominican priest in Trinidad and Tobago and this is my second visit to Medjugorje. I never felt an urgent desire to come; it came gradually, and I arrived as chaplain to my parish group. What I value most is the stillness and silence. We live in chaotic times, and here there is a spirituality of light, peace and hope. I do not mean optimism, but hope, which is humble and creative. God is generous, like the sower scattering seed without looking where it falls. Grace is not earned: we enter into it. Come and receive the peace the world cannot give.

I am Lebanese and have come to Medjugorje almost every year since 2007, more than twenty times. It feels like home. I come to recharge, draw closer to God and take His peace back to my country, which is going through turbulent times. I have always been Catholic, but four or five years ago I truly drew close to God, because things happened that reassured me He had never left me, not even for a second. I was born with a spinal condition and should have died at three months old. I believe Saint Charbel saved me, and I can never thank him enough. My advice is simple: speak to God, be silent, open your heart and trust.

I am Protestant and live in Montpellier. Some time ago my family went through difficulties, and every night I prayed, asking why. One night, half asleep, I saw the room filled with light and a radiant lady. She did not speak aloud, but in my heart I understood that she was Our Lady. I felt wrapped in a love I had never known. She comforted me, and I wanted her to stay. When I opened my eyes, it was dark again. Ever since, I have searched for that presence: I visit Lourdes up to three times a year and pray the Rosary. I always wanted to come to Medjugorje and, after a series of chance encounters, here I am. I feel it is a call from the Blessed Virgin.

I was born Catholic but grew up almost an atheist. At university I drifted away from faith and did everything I thought would make me happy. The opposite happened: I was left empty. I reached a very low point and had a dark experience that terrified me. Then I prayed, ‘Jesus, I give You everything I have.’ On 22 May 2018 I felt a shower of mercy and forgiveness, and knew God was real. I went to confession for the first time, wept for my sins and received the Eucharist. I first came to Medjugorje as a sceptic, full of anger, anxiety and addictions. The graces did not come all at once, but with the help of priests I began to heal and forgive. God is waiting for us; all that is missing is our yes.

I am a priest and have been coming to Medjugorje two or three times a year since 2000. Here I find great peace and the spiritual rest I need, both as a person and as a pastor, and I accompany groups of pilgrims from Lebanon. I do not come expecting miracles or apparitions, but to experience this peace. Seeing so many people going to confession, I say: this is the Lord's land, because the devil would never want someone to confess. For me, the greatest miracle is inner transformation. A leg can be healed, but someone healed within is already living eternal life. Come away from the noise, pray in silence and listen to Mary.

I have been to Medjugorje about nineteen times; my first visit was in 2013. At first I thought, ‘What will I do here for a whole week?’ But something draws me back, and that is the peace. About fourteen years ago I had stage-four cancer and underwent several operations. I had never prayed so much in my life, and I asked Saint Peregrine for help. Today I am completely healed, and to me it is a miracle. It was a wake-up call: I began attending Mass every week, going to confession monthly and praying the Rosary regularly. To anyone with cancer I say: stay positive, do not give up, prayer helps.

I drifted away from the Church and the faith, but Our Lady brought me back through the Rosary, which I had not prayed as a child. I began going to adoration and reading the Bible. I will enter the seminary in the autumn. I tried living my way, and it did not work. Now I want to try Our Lady's way and the Lord's way. My first confession on returning was face to face, and I left with extraordinary peace and determination. If someone is afraid, let them try praying the Rosary and going to adoration. God will do in the heart what only He can do.

I spent twelve years away from Jesus. Gradually I became involved in the New Age: angel readings, tarot and mediums. I reached such a bad state that I could not leave my house. I had panic attacks, anxiety, bruises on my body and felt a presence beside me. A friend took me to a nearby church, where the priest said that Jesus was present, and hearing that made me feel safe. I experienced deliverance, went to confession and never looked back. This is my fourth visit to Medjugorje and I feel peace, as though at home. To anyone afraid to return, I say: Jesus is waiting with open arms.

I am an Irish Dominican. As a child I always wanted to be a priest. As a young man I drifted away and enjoyed life, but thanks to wonderful parents I never lost my faith. Around 1983 or 1984 I began thinking seriously about priesthood again, and spent nine years on mission in Latin America. After my ordination, a man told me, ‘The bishop laid hands on you, but the people will shape your priesthood for life.’ Being a priest is a privilege: you accompany the most intimate moments of people's lives, without masks. In Medjugorje I hear confessions every day, pray the Rosary and walk the Stations of the Cross. It is a retreat for me. Come and learn to speak to Jesus as a friend.

When I first came to Medjugorje, I was not very religious. I climbed Podbrdo with my mother and, after the apparition, the dark sky seemed to open and fill with galaxies. For me, it was the beginning of my conversion. Later I spent four years with severe memory and concentration problems, even forgetting how to shower. I asked Our Lady to guide the doctors towards a proper diagnosis. I became much worse and nearly died. Weeks later my husband found a doctor who understood my condition and prescribed medication. Within a week I began to improve and enrolled in medical school, my dream. To me it is a miracle, and I return to give thanks.

I am from Hong Kong and this is my second visit to Medjugorje. The first was about two years ago, and I feel Our Lady invited me back. Here I encounter little miracles: unexpected people, an unplanned Mass with a priest staying in the same hostel. Last October I became depressed because I wanted to do everything perfectly at work. God helped me see that work is not my whole life, and the Rosary became a powerful help in bringing me closer to Him and Our Lady. I go to confession before flying, because you never know when your last day will be. My husband is not Catholic. A priest told me that God has His own timing. I keep praying and trusting.

I was baptised and did nothing more. In 2019 my mother encouraged me to go on pilgrimage to Medjugorje with a group of grandmothers. The guide said she would not take us home without going to confession, so we went almost out of obligation. On the last day I felt drawn to go again. I saw all my sins and cried for twenty minutes before a very elderly priest. Afterwards I felt I had left behind a backpack I had carried for years. Peace, love and joy followed. Back in Austria I lived a double life until, during lockdown, I began drawing closer to the Church. Later I left my teaching job and made a cycling pilgrimage, raising funds for an orphanage. Taste God's goodness, and you will return.

I am a parish priest in Yecla, Spain. I knew about Medjugorje through messages from Our Lady that I read in the seminary. Last year I came for the first time with five other priests. Now I have returned with fifty-nine parishioners. Here I have rested in the Lord, although we have slept little. Many priests today feel tired and discouraged, and here I have found renewed strength. We are not here to count the fruits, but to give ourselves and love. I have spent several hours each afternoon hearing confessions and have gone to confession myself. It is a breath of fresh air, a new beginning. I arrived with peace, and Mary has brought me closer to Jesus.

I am from Indianapolis and have been to Medjugorje about 120 times. For around thirty-four years I have brought pilgrims because I feel Our Lady asked me to. On my first visit, my mother's rosary broke in two. She had recently died, and I was angry. On the last evening I knelt, asked forgiveness and said I only wanted to know that I mattered to her. Outside the church, a small woman wearing a headscarf sat in my place, kissed my rosary and embraced me. Back home I understood that it had been Our Lady. It changed everything. Years later my husband was baptised here, and today I see the lives of those who come being changed.

I was angry with everyone and with myself, and searched for God in the wrong place: I promoted yoga, Reiki and pranic healing. When I wanted to change, I called my sister, who asked whether I knew the Our Father. She explained that I should stop using mantras, and gradually I began to pray it. Then I discovered the Rosary, and today I share it passionately. There was no single special moment: it was a process. In Medjugorje, Our Lady asked me to live here. I left everything in Mexico and have been here about five years. I am no longer angry: Jesus made me new. Every day I pray the Rosary on the hill, and if even one person comes closer to God through it, it is worthwhile.

I come from Argentina, although I live in Spain, and this is my third visit to Medjugorje. Every time I come, I experience heaven on earth through the power of God's grace in the sacraments and adoration. It is almost addictive: I need to recharge before returning to the mission. Here I find silence, and in silence the Spirit whispers. My two favourite places are Eucharistic adoration and Apparition Hill at night, when all is calm. To anyone afraid of confession, I say: do not be. You will encounter only God's forgiveness and mercy, and leave renewed. To everyone I say: come and see.

I am a teacher in Mexico and have come to Medjugorje every year since visiting with university colleagues and a priest. Here I find a peace I seldom see elsewhere in the world, and I feel at home. I was born on 25 March, the Annunciation, and my name is María. I believe she was with me before I was born. I have always been Catholic, though for a long time I did not attend church or pray, and Our Lady always held my hand. Four years ago I returned from here changed, with a deep devotion to her. I know about ten people in Mexico who have recovered from serious illnesses through her intercession. Miracles come as God wills, not as we ask.

For years I had no interest in Medjugorje, although friends invited me. Then my son entered a monastery, and I found it very difficult. I was angry. I went alone to a retreat and said to God, ‘I am very angry, but here I am. This is all I have.’ I went to confession and the priest told me, ‘Go and spend some time with your mother,’ meaning Our Lady. I entered a small Marian shrine, prayed the Rosary for an hour and a half, and left feeling a weight had been lifted. Afterwards I agreed to go to Medjugorje. This is my third visit, and every year I am healed of things I did not even know needed healing. I come without expectations and always fall in love with my faith.

I was fortunate to be born into a family of faith. My mother made us pray the Rosary every evening and repeated that doing God's will was what mattered. As a young man I tried to enter the seminary, but I was rebellious and proud. I married, and have seven children and twelve grandchildren. In 1988 I first came to Medjugorje. During an apparition my whole body began to shake with the power of Our Lady's presence, as though plugged into an immensely powerful electrical machine. For years I kept the commandments out of fear and a desire for perfection, which made me unhappy. I understood that it is about being merciful, and then joy came. Seven years ago I was ordained a deacon.

I returned to Medjugorje after twenty-seven years. Inwardly it is still the same, and many memories of that journey came flooding back. We found out just four days before coming. It was not in my plans, but it was in the Lord's. I came mainly to intercede for people I love, but the Lord showed me corners of my own heart that needed a deeper encounter. I went to confession twice. The second time, after several days of reflection, the Holy Spirit illuminated things I would not otherwise have seen. I spent about three hours before the Blessed Sacrament, and that same afternoon, providentially, I met a priest who brought light and comfort to a painful situation.

I was born in New Orleans and grew up in a deeply Catholic family, with the Rosary and devotion to Our Lady. I spent years in very dark places and a long time away from church, but faith was always rooted in my heart. I believe the prayers of my grandparents, aunts and parents brought me back. I had waited more than twenty years for Our Lady to call me to Medjugorje, and at last I was able to come. Here I felt her love, and during an apparition an incredible peace surrounded me, like a cocoon of prayer. Three times I noticed an intense fragrance of roses, and I am certain it was her. I take home my faith, spiritual courage and an open heart.

This is my fourth visit to Medjugorje this year, and it becomes more amazing each time. I booked the wrong dates and coincided with the Youth Festival. It was the best decision I could have made. Every evening there were prayers, the Rosary and a beautiful Mass. To me, Medjugorje means happiness, peace and people seeking advice and blessings. As a priest, I enjoy hearing confessions. I ask people about their lives and faith, and when we reach the heart of things, many leave smiling. I also speak about forgiveness: someone holding a grudge suffers more than the person they are angry with, and letting go brings freedom. I leave with a smile and longing to return.

I first came aged sixteen, in 1998, and this is my thirteenth visit. During that first week, my mother and I saw drops of blood around the scourging of Christ on Cross Mountain, and experienced it as a miracle. I had attended Protestant groups at school, and that experience brought my Christian and Catholic faith together. From university onwards I attended daily Mass. Medjugorje is an anchor for me: I come to pray and recharge spiritually, and then God sends me back into the world. I love the joy of the priests and consecrated people here. I go to confession every few days, and receiving Communion brings relief and peace. My prayer is to become a wife and mother.

I am Irish, from Cork, and was a devout Catholic all my life. In my forties I drifted away, searching for something more in Eastern philosophy. This year I turned sixty and made the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. I discovered that what I lacked was a relationship with Christ. I closed my heart when I was young, after my father died. I see that doorway overgrown for more than fifty years, and returned to Medjugorje to begin clearing it and let Him in. I have returned to confession, pray and read the Bible, and feel Mary introducing me to her Son.

This is my twenty-sixth visit to Medjugorje. Many times I have accompanied pilgrims from my country, celebrating Mass in Dutch. To me, Medjugorje is a message from God, through Our Lady, so that we do not lose faith. I spent many happy years as a missionary in Malawi and South Africa. I believe life is a gift from God, and that we must love God and our neighbour in the knowledge that we are children of a heavenly Father who loves us dearly. I have gone to confession myself during these days. You feel free, because God has already forgiven you. Every Mass reminds me that Jesus stayed with us in bread and wine.

About two years ago we drew closer to Mary, and last year consecrated ourselves to Jesus through her Immaculate Heart. We pray the Rosary every day. At first it was difficult; now we cannot stop. She has called us herself, and here in Medjugorje you feel her presence. My husband felt drawn to Eucharistic adoration about four years ago, and many graces followed. When you surrender to God, the troubles that once distressed you fall behind and you travel lightly, because your life is in the best hands. During Saturday's adoration, although there were many people, I felt something different in my heart. We are now preparing to consecrate ourselves to Saint Joseph.

I spent many years with my back turned to faith. My mother told me I should go to Medjugorje, but it took almost twenty years to listen. In 2010, nearly forty and feeling my life was going nowhere, I decided to go. On the third day I went to confession after more than twenty years, and felt no change. But on Apparition Hill I told Our Lady I was making a mess of my life, and cried all the way down. I knew God loved me. Since then I have taken Mass and confession seriously. I married, and today we pray the Rosary every evening with our five children.

I am Irish but belong to the Diocese of Baton Rouge in Louisiana, and regret nothing about my journey to priesthood. I see priests as doctors of the soul. When I absolve someone, I feel God cleansing their soul and giving them a fresh start. God created us out of love. He is a Father who does not leave us and wants an intimate relationship with each person. The one thing no one can take away from us is God; that is why only He can make us happy. The Rosary reminds me that Jesus has overcome evil and I no longer need to fear. In Medjugorje I love Mass and adoration. Seeing people's freedom in confession reminds me that I am not doing this: God is.

This is my fourteenth visit to Medjugorje and the most special, because I have come as the guide of fifty people from Dubai. On my first visit in 2008, aged eighteen or nineteen, I came reluctantly. I returned in 2013 after six months of headaches and a numb shoulder, with no clear answer from doctors. I came seeking bodily healing, but met a woman who, amid her own suffering, smiled and thanked God. She healed my soul from the very first day. Since then I have promised to come for a week every year. It is the least I can give to the One who died for me. To me, Medjugorje is heaven on earth.

I grew up in a Methodist family but drifted away from faith. On returning from Vietnam in 1973, I considered myself agnostic. My wife, who had deep faith, wanted us to raise our children as Catholics. I accompanied them to Mass and remained seated. I went through the catechumenate three times, always saying I was not sure I believed. One Sunday, watching them go to Communion, I heard a voice say, ‘What are you waiting for?’ The next day I told the priest and entered the Church. Around 2010 I first went to Medjugorje with my wife, and we have returned twelve times. Here I find a peace I cannot find elsewhere, and every year I return to give thanks.

I was born in Hong Kong and moved to Toronto as a teenager, later becoming a priest. At school I heard about Medjugorje without understanding it. At university, during a time of conversion, I read a book about this place and knew I had to come. My first visit was in 1996, while discerning my vocation. Not everything became clear here, but it helped greatly. The following year, when I met John Paul II, everything fell into place. I felt called to live and share the Gospel message. The first thing you experience here is peace, and whenever I return I feel like a fish in water.

I am from Jacksonville, Florida, and this is my first visit to Medjugorje. I came because I needed a retreat and some stillness, and I found it here. It is a different kind of peace that I cannot explain. I grew up in the faith thanks to my mother, who never missed Mass and did God's will without complaint, including when I lost my father at eleven. I sometimes become angry, but here I have learnt to let that anger go. I believe that has been my healing. We spend our lives acquiring things, yet there is an emptiness in the heart that only Jesus can fill. Now I pray that I can take this peace home.

As a child I suffered a very deep wound, and at thirteen I found a false answer in drink. For years I tried to go around the cross through alcohol, drugs and everything else. I had a powerful conversion in Knock, but inwardly I remained deeply broken. Gradually I understood that only Jesus reaches so deep, and He does so gently, never violently. Through prayer, the sacraments and God's Word, I am recovering my identity as a child of God. Today I run a charity shop in Knock, where people can speak freely about God, just as in Medjugorje.

At thirteen I said I wanted to be a priest, though I was only joking with my friends. I applied to the seminary and was turned down. Twelve years later they came looking for me. At forty-four I left everything, including a job I had held for twenty years, and God has been good to me. I first came to Medjugorje without any expectations. I celebrated Mass in Saint James's Church and was nervous, but as I began to preach, a great peace came over me. In the room of an apparition I felt a coolness and a scent of roses, and knew it was real. I am taking home peace and a stronger faith.

I am Maltese and have lived in Melbourne for more than thirty years. My mother prayed the Rosary with us daily, and as a teenager I found it repetitive and boring. I came to Medjugorje with my parish, not knowing what to expect. The first thing I felt was tremendous peace. During an apparition, with thousands of people in silence, I thought, ‘I could die now, because this is heaven.’ Here I understood the power of the Rosary, which opens a channel to Our Lady, and that she does not come for herself but to lead us to Jesus. This is my third visit, now with my husband, and every time it renews me.

For many years I was involved in the New Age: Reiki, therapeutic touch and tarot. I came to Medjugorje in 2004, before I was Catholic, and my marriage was close to breaking down. A priest prayed for me, and suddenly I knew God was real and that what I was involved in did not come from Him. I felt a peace I had never known. Without knowing how to pray, I sat before the Blessed Sacrament, an experience I will never forget. I returned to Toronto, threw away everything from that period and was baptised in March 2005. It was the best day of my life. God restored my marriage, and today we pray together.

I had heard about Medjugorje for twenty or twenty-five years. I had led groups to Fatima and Lourdes, but the opportunity to come here never arose. About four weeks ago, over lunch, someone invited me to come as chaplain. I said to the Blessed Mother, ‘If you want me to go, you will have to help me.’ And here I am. One evening I joined adoration from the back, among very respectful families, with the light focused on the monstrance, and felt the presence of the Lord and Our Lady. I climbed the hill with a stick because of my painful ankle. I have heard the confessions of people crying with gratitude and felt like an instrument of the Lord. I tell them not to fear: they have come to the right place.

I am from Melbourne and had not heard of Medjugorje until the pandemic, when I watched Mass online and stories about this place appeared. I became curious and came last year with my brother. Since then I have missed it every day. Here I feel whole, and faith comes easily: everyone goes to Mass and adoration, and there is a deep sense of respect. I understood how wonderful confession is. As a child it was an obligation; now I want to go every month. I have returned carrying the intentions of about sixty people to lay at Our Lady's feet. If you struggle to find yourself, here you can.

This is my first visit to Medjugorje and I find it difficult to explain what I have experienced. I did not come looking for miracles, but to get to know the place and encourage others to come. I had drifted away from the Church and have returned. I believe the prayers of my grandmother, who was deeply devout, brought me back. At the English-language Mass I burst into tears like a three-year-old, without knowing why. They were tears of joy and release. The Rosary, which I pray daily, brings peace and protection. My advice is this: do not come to see a miracle. Come and ask God to bring you closer to Him.

I studied in California to become a professional golfer, but my life fell apart and I spent five years partying, drinking and taking drugs, far from the Church. Afterwards I left golf and became fascinated by Jesus. At my mother's request, I went to confession. There I felt God's mercy and freedom, and in Communion, His closeness. That was how I discovered His call to priesthood. I went to Medjugorje intending to stay three days and remained for the whole novena. I wrote nothing of my thesis, but felt Mary giving me a grace: to live knowing she is always watching over me. I have returned since then.

I did not like Medjugorje at all on my first visit. I thought I would not be able to climb any hills, and found the food boring. I told my friend I would never return. But seven or eight weeks later I felt a real call to go back, and have now been coming for about twenty-three years. I have a physical disability and need a lot of help, and have always found people willing to carry me up. One night I saw Our Lady in the sky. She bowed her head towards me and I bowed mine, without fear. I go to confession here, and once experienced an inner cleansing that helped me see confession as a gift. I am no longer afraid of death.

I was baptised Catholic but left the Church in my early twenties and eventually practised Buddhism for seven years. Thirty-five years later my family invited me to a three-day retreat, and I went without expectations. There I made my first confession in decades. Before the Blessed Sacrament I felt something touch my heart, and said to Jesus and Mary, ‘I miss you.’ Back home I no longer wanted to meditate. I began reading Saint Faustina's diary and praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet and the Rosary, and felt a peace I had not known since childhood. Even getting to Medjugorje, with flights that seemed almost impossible, is a testimony for me.

I am from Gabon and study canon law in Rome. I grew up in a Protestant family and rarely attended church. I had not even been baptised. One day, after a football match, some young people devoted to Mary invited me to a Marian vigil. At first I refused, but I went, prayed to Our Lady and returned home with a profound feeling. There I learnt about Saint Maximilian Kolbe and thought, ‘I too can give my life for Jesus.’ At that very moment I wanted to be a priest. I received all the sacraments in the Catholic Church. I return to Medjugorje because I was moved by the people's simplicity and spirit of prayer.

I was raised Catholic but drifted away at university. Now I am returning. I came to Medjugorje almost by chance. I was looking for somewhere nearby for a pilgrimage or silent retreat, and this place appeared. What brought me back was realising that when no one else is there, God is. Now I try to entrust everything to Him. I went to confession in Barcelona and felt a great weight lifted. I have discovered that my path is not the one I imagined. I have been invited to spend three years as a missionary in Austria and think I will go. What I find hardest is silence with Him, and I want to make time for Him every day.

I grew up Catholic in a rural parish in Lower Austria, but faith was not deeply rooted in me. My aunt, a religious sister, planted seeds in my heart and gave me a book about Medjugorje. I came around 2009 or 2010. One evening during adoration I saw the Eucharist, and my heart was filled. It lasted only an instant, but the impression never left me. Months later a priest gave me a text about the Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano, and my path became clear. Today I live in Ohio with my wife. What I most look forward to in Medjugorje is evening adoration. I thank my mother, who prepared my way to Our Lady.

After my father died in August 2005, I was living far from God and cried out, ‘Lord, if You exist, help me.’ A month later I came to Medjugorje. Climbing Podbrdo, I fell to my knees and cried for one or two hours. They were tears of release. Since then I have gone to Mass daily and not a day has passed without the Rosary. Between 2005 and 2010 I came about three times a year, seeking God's will. An image of the Merciful Jesus and a book I bought without knowing its author confirmed my vocation. I joined the Salesians in 2010 and now live in a community of Brothers of Merciful Jesus, awaiting ordination to the priesthood.

This is my sixth visit to Medjugorje. Our Lady keeps calling me. I come seeking some of this place's peace, love and joy, and each time I return stronger. I grew up in a Polish Catholic family, but sometimes kept faith at a distance. Twice in my life I faced a crossroads: I could lose my faith or embrace it, and I embraced it. God is closest when we suffer, if we unite that suffering with His will. For me, the Eucharist is an injection of strength, and confession a gift bringing peace and healing. My advice: live faith as a way of life, not just an hour on Sunday.

At twenty I went to confession at the Medjugorje Youth Festival and experienced a complete conversion. There I encountered God's presence and love, and the priest was simply an instrument. The following year I returned and told Our Lady, ‘If you want me to be a priest, give me a sign.’ The next day, during the homily, the priest said, ‘If you think God is calling you, raise your hand.’ That was the sign I had asked for, and I raised my hand. Today I am a Franciscan friar living in Honduras. I pray at least one Rosary every day; without it I have no strength for the day. When God opens a door, we must be brave and trust.

At ten I saw a video about Medjugorje, some children and Mary, and for forty-one years I wanted to come. I am from Trinidad and Tobago, live in Canada and work on cruise ships. I had a Catholic upbringing, and an elderly priest taught me to pray the Rosary when I was twelve. For me, home is wherever the Eucharist is, in any church in the world. I went to confession here yesterday and feel closer to God than ever. It was like a deep cleansing of the soul. I have now written my life's purpose with God first, and pray for my colleagues, who have very little access to the sacraments on board.

I have been to Medjugorje fifty-seven times, I think. I have lost count. I first came many years ago, before the Iron Curtain fell. Although I have never seen Our Lady, I knew something supernatural was happening here: so many people returning to faith, going to confession and attending Mass. It is the most peaceful place I have ever been. I pray the Rosary a couple of times a day and find life calmer. Once I believe I had a near-death experience, with a love and peace I cannot describe, and since then I have lost my fear of dying. If you can come, do so with an open mind and heart.

I was born in Offenbach, live in Frankfurt and work in a warehouse. I returned to the Church six years ago through the persistence of a good Croatian friend. Gradually daily Mass, the Rosary and confession followed. This is my seventh visit to Medjugorje in three years, and it has been the hardest. I arrived with pain in my right leg and many inward burdens, feeling like a rag doll. I went to the doctor, but also received blessings and the anointing of the sick, because the sacraments keep faith alive. Medjugorje is a place of peace and grace, and whenever I leave I know I must return.