User:Governor Sheng/sandbox/Our Lady of Medjugorje

Our Lady of Medjugorje (Međugorska Gospa), also called Queen of Peace (Kraljica mira) and Mother of the Redeemer (Majka Otkupiteljica), is the title given to the alleged visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary which allegedly appeared in 1981 to six Herzegovinian teenagers in Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina (at the time in SFR Yugoslavia).

The only official position of the Catholic Church regarding the alleged apparitions is the Declaration of the Episcopal Conference of Yugoslavia from 1991, which states that on the basis of previous examinations, it is impossible to establish that they are supernatural apparitions or revelations. However, the pilgrimages were allowed. The local bishops have been negative towards the alleged apparitions, while they were promoted by some members of the Franciscan Province of Herzegovina.

Between 1982 and 1986, the local diocese formed two commissions for the investigations of the alleged apparitions, with both investigations ruling that the apparitions aren't supernatural. Between 2010 and 2014, the Vatican formed its own commission, which proposed that the initial seven apparitions are supernatural, but all others since July 1981 should be further investigated. However, the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith received the results of the latter commission negatively.

In 2018, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Henryk Hoser apostolic visitor to Medjugorje for pastoral purposes and allowed the official organisation of pilgrimages to Medjugorje in 2019, without recognising the authenticity of the alleged apparitions.

The opponents of the alleged apparitions point out that the messages of Our Lady are not with the accordance with the Church teaching and Catholic Mariology, and are often false, contradictory or prophecies haven't taken place as promised. On the other hand, the supporters emphasise alleged miraculous healings and pastoral fruits in form of conversions, confessions, and mass attendance.

Background
The Medjugorje apparitions took place at a time when relations between the diocesan clergy and the Franciscan Province of Herzegovina were severely strained due to the redistribution of parishes. In the mid-1970s, some of the Franciscan parishes were handed to the diocesan clergy, with fierce opposition from the Franciscans. The Franciscans decided to establish an organization of priests and laypeople called Peace and Goodness (Mir i dobro). The association developed into a local movement that supported the local church autonomy and opposed the decisions of the diocese in Herzegovina, providing support to the Franciscan self-rule. The Vatican strongly supported the local bishop, Pavao Žanić.

In 1975, the Pope issued a decree Romanis Pontificibus, according to which the Franciscans were to leave most of the parishes they controlled and retreat to the monasteries. Bishop Pavao tried to force the decree, while the Franciscans opposed him, trying to gain support at home and abroad. The Church leaders tried to avoid the conflict, so they acted cautiously.

History
On 24 June 1981, two teenagers, Mirjana Dragićević and Ivanka Ivanković went to a nearby Podbrdo Hill in Medjugorje to smoke cigarettes in hiding. There, they claimed they saw an apparition, for which they thought was Mary, mother of Jesus. In a latter conversation with Bishop Pavao Žanić, Mirjana tried to convince the bishop they were looking for the missing sheep, a claim the seers continued to advocate.

Nevertheless, Bishop took a stand for the seers and the local Franciscans against the communist authorities who tried to prosecute them. He informed the Pope about the events in September 1981. The whole of that time, the Bishop remained cautious towards the apparitions, without any final conclusion. He became skeptical towards the apparitions after the apparition accused him of the disorder in Herzegovina that existed between the Franciscans and the diocesan clergy and defended the two Franciscans who refused to leave their parishes as requested by the Papal decree Romanis Pontificibus.

Bishop Pavao formed two commissions for the examination of the apparitions. The first commission was active from 1982 to 1984, and its investigation was expanded by the second commission which examined the events from 1984 to 1986. The commission asked Vlašić to hand over the Chronicle, which Vlašić did, but only with a long delay and after modifying the Chronicle.

The negative conclusions of the commissions were delivered to Rome, from which it was expected to agree with the conclusions and to give a negative judgment of the apparitions, however, the Rome requested another investigation to be made by the Episcopal Conference of Yugoslavia, which was done between 1987 and 1990.

The Conclusion of the Conference of Bishops, published in Zadar on 10 April 1991 was the apparitions "non constat de supernaturalitate", that is that on the basis of previous examinations, it is impossible to establish that these are supernatural apparitions or revelations. However, the Conference left the possibility of the pilgrimage.

A 2009 paper by Rev. Brother Daniel Maria Klimek, T.O.R., details the intricate connection between the Medjugorje apparitions and the writings of the Italian mystic Maria Valtorta.

Chronicle of Apparitions and Vicka's diaries
Fr. Vlašić became a spiritual guide of the seers and was conducting the Chronicle of Apparitions (Kronika ukazanja). The Chronicle covers the period from 11 August 1981 to 15 October 1983. The chronicle is written to give the impression of immediacy, using terms such as “same scene as yesterday” or “tonight” and “tonight”. However, Nikola Bulat, member of the commission that examined the apparitions, concluded that the Chronicle wasn't written daily as it seems. Under the number dates, events that occurred later were recorded. The intro of the Chronicle was written only on 25 February 1982, so Bulat concludes that it is possible that Vlašić started writing the Chronicle only then, eight months after the apparitions or during the October 1981 at its best.

The commission also received Vicka's three out of four diaries. The first diary was written by Vicka's sister Ana and it encompasses the period from 24 June 1981 to 6 September 1981. Some of the problematic aspects the commission found with the diary is that Vicka never saw it nor wrote it, and it contained the information Vicka claimed to have never told to her sister.

The second diary was largely copied from Vlašić's Chronicle, and it encompasses the period from 12 October 1981 to 14 December 1981. The 18 October 1981 was written twice, with different content. It contains two handwritings, non of which is Vicka's. Vicka told the commission that this diary was also written by her sister.

Vicka's third diary is the only one written by Vicka. It includes the period between 6 February 1982 to 25 March 1982. It isn't reliable as the dates in it do not correspond to the days of the week, while only the first eight days are correctly written. For example, on the day of Ash Wednesday, it says it was Good Friday. It also contains songs and quotes unrelated to the apparitions. It has poor grammar and content.

The question of the Vicka's fourth diary remains unresolved. Vicka claimed in a letter to Bishop Pavao that she has been writing it since the beginning of the apparition, and the second time she claimed that she never had it. Similarly, Fr. Vlašić claimed that the fourth diary exists, and then later sweared on the Cross that he never held it in his hands.

Controversial apparitions and messages
There are several apparitions and messages from the alleged Madonna, that caused controversy. These visions and messages were recorded by Vicka's diaries.

Herzegovina Case
While Friar Tomislav Vlašić was still a chaplain in Medjugorje, and Friars Ivica Vego and Ivan Prusina, who refused to obey the Papal decree Romanis Pontificibus and leave the parishes, were chaplains in the parish of Saints Peter and Paul in Mostar, Vicka allegedly received messages from the Maddona from 19 December 1981 until 29 September 1982, and recorded them in her diary.

On 21 September Fr. Ivan Prusina, along with other Franciscans, with the help of the crowd, violently expelled diocesan priests from the parish. Because of his disobedience, Fr. Ivan Prusina had his priestly jurisdiction revoked by Bishop Pavao Žanić on 9 October 1980. Honorius Pontoglio, the General Vicar of the Order of Friars Minor expelled Fr. Ivan Prusina from the Order on 29 January 1982.

The Madonna allegedly told Vicka that Fr. Ivan Prusina and Fr. Ivica Vego "are not guilty of anything" in the matter. On 15 January 1982, the bishop invited the alleged seers to his residence to ask them were there any messages from the Madonna on the issue, and they replied that there are not. However, on 3 April 1982, the seers came to the bishop to tell him that the Madonna scolded them for not telling the truth and that she requests that the two friars remain in Mostar and continue to celebrate masses and hear confessions. Tomislav Vlašić took responsibility for the lies of the seers telling the bishop he instructed them not to tell the truth because the bishop might dispute the authenticity of the apparitions.

On 21 June 1983, one of the seers, Ivan Dragičević, sent a threatening message from the Maddona to the bishop, in which she requests the bishop's conversion regarding her apparitions, otherwise, he would be "judged by me [the Madonna] and my son Jesus". On 6 February 1985, Ivan Dragičević sent somewhat more tolerant message from the Madonna, with her stating that if he doesn't believe in her apparitions, at least he shouldn't persecute her priests who believe in her messages and promote them".

Fr. Ivan Prusina and Fr. Ivica Vego appealed to the Franciscan Order and the Congregation for Clergy, who ignored their appeal considering their decisions to be final. However, the Apostolic Signatura, the highest judicial court of the Holy See, on 27 March 1993 concluded that they had a right on appeal and saw this as a violation of the procedure and declared the dismissal to be null and void; the same followed for Fr. Ivica Vego as well. The Franciscan Province of Herzegovina tried to present this as a sign of victory against the bishop, however, the bishop's revocation of Fr. Ivan Prusina's priestly jurisdiction remained in force, and the Apostolic Signature never reviewed the matter itself, only the procedural defects. However, only later it became known that Fr. Ivica Vego had made a nun Leopolda pregnant, whom he eventually married and lives with her near Medjugorje.

Archbishop of Split-Makarska Frane Franić, who supported the alleged apparitions from the beginning, tried to persuade Vicka to retract the messages about the two friars, so the authenticity of the apparitions could be defended more easily. However, both Vicka and Ivan continued to claim that the messages regarding the two friars are from the Maddona, like any other.

The messages included the accusations against Bishop Pavao Žanić and encouragement for the two friars not to leave the parish. It was then when Bishop Pavao took his final negative stance on the alleged apparitions.

Busniess disputes
Vicka Ivanković used her apparitions two mediate in business disputes. The two shareholders of a hotel, whom Kutleša names as A.A. and B.B., on one side, had certain issues with the third shareholder, referred to as C.C., so they asked Vicka for help. Vicka allegedly consulted the Maddona.

"I asked about you and heard what was going on with C.C. and she understood everything he wanted. I asked Our Lady about you. It's like this. Regarding C.C., he should be warned not to do so because he is not aware of what he is doing. She said that he would not last long and that he too would be put to an end because he does not believe in anything and does not follow God's order and that is why nothing can happen to him with a blessing. And let me tell you, don't talk about anything because he won't accept God's words. You don’t have to talk to him because it’s a big blow to him, only he won't admit it. And give up his wife because she wants to drive you to great evil and she wants to persuade him (ie her husband) to drive you out of there more easily. You stick to yours and don't give in and he will be finished."

Yet, in another dispute, at the beginning of 1995, problems arose over construction of hotel in Medjugorje, called "Pastoralni centar Međugorje". A family from Netherlads recieved a call for financial aid from a local family to build the hotel, whom Kutleša reffers to as N.N. Prior to that, the N.N. family asked Vicka to consult the Maddona for advice on when to start the construction several times. In April 1995, the Maddona told them: "It's not the right time yet, when the times comes, I'll let you know." When they requested the advice the second time, the Madonna allegedly responded the same. The third time Vicka told them that the Madonna approved the start of the construction.

The Dutch family sought a confrimation from Vicka's spiritual director Friar Slavko Barbarić, whether Vicka told the N.N. family to start the construction. However, before he was able to respond, Vicka, noticing the stall in money landing replied to them.

""I have already written to you once via my friends N. N. and his family, so I am contacting you again because you may not have understood me well, and at the same time I am a little surprised that you are looking for someone else's messages through Our Lady.When Our Lady approves and emphasises the beginning of work on the construction of the facility, then I do not know why you suspect and ask for some subsequent message and approval from ordinary people.Our Lady - Mother of God's permission was given through me for the construction of the building, so if you believe in Medjugorje and the apparition of Our Lady, I do not know why all the doubts. I sincerely wish you a happy start to construction and joint cooperation."

Friar Slavko, unaware of Vicka's response, replied to the letter he received on 28 March 1995, and informed the Dutch family that Vcika "did not consult the Mother of God on the issue". The next day, the Dutch family asked him how is possible that Vicka is saying them one thing, and to him the other. Fr. Slavko finnaly tried to sort the issue by sending them another letter on 3 April 1995.

"My question was: Why did she then tell me that she did not ask her (Our Lady), why did she lie to me? I spoke to Vic in front of her parents and she had little fear of her father to confirm the answer because her father was already angry at the insistence of the N.N. family. She has now also apologized in writing to me and says she never thought it was that important. She writes: It has happened now, and it will never happen again! ... To understand Vicka's situation, I will say something else in relation to the letter you received from Vicka and faxed it to me. When I read the letter, I was sure the text did not belong to Vicki. Then I asked her. And it was like this: She was getting ready for a trip to Rome and she had little time. Mr. N. N. and his son wrote the text and asked Vicka to sign the text with her own hand. In a hurry she signed the text with her own hand. Vicki has only the last sentence. Vicka therefore almost cried and apologized several times, because she knows what consequences this case of 'lies' can have, because you also wondered how ‘credible’ Medjugorje is."

Bishop Pavao Žanić's commissions: 1982–1986


Bishop Pavao Žanić established the first two commissions for the investigation of the apparitions. The first commission was active from 1982 to 1984, and had four members. The investigation was expanded with the establishment of the second commission that had fifteen members and examined the events from 1984 to 1986. The second commission included nine professors from various theological faculties and two psychiatrists. The second commission examined Fr. Tomislav Vlašić's Chrinicles and Vicka's diaries. The Chronicles and diaries were found incredible, with records kept irregularly, entered subsequently, and some parts of Vicka's diaries were forged.

The negative conclusions of the commissions were delivered to Rome, from which it was expected to agree with the conclusions and to give a negative judgment of the apparitions, however, the Rome requested another investigation to be made by the Conference of Bishops of Yugoslavia. The Conclusion of the Conference of Bishops, published in Zadar on 10 April 1991 was the apparitions "non constat de supernaturalitate", that is that on the basis of previous examinations, it is impossible to establish that these are supernatural apparitions or revelations. However, the Conference left the possibility of the pilgrimage.

The Ruini Commission: 2010–2014


Pope Benedict XVI established a new commission headed by Cardinal Camillo Ruini with other fourteen members on 17 March 2010. The commission was active until 17 January 2014. Other prominent members of the commission included Cardinals Jozef Tomko, Vinko Puljić, Josip Bozanić, Julián Herranz and Angelo Amato, psychologists, theologians, mariologists and canonists. The task of the commission was to "collect and examine all the material", and publish a "detailed report" based on its findings.

The Ruini Commission made a distinction between the first appearances from 24 June 1981 until 3 July 1981, with 13 votes in favor of those apparitions being of "supernatural" origin, one vote against, and an expert with a suspensive vote. Regarding the rest of the apparitions, from July 1981 onwards, the Commission found them to be influenced by heavy interference caused by the conflict between the Franciscans and the diocese over the redistribution of parishes. The Commission deemed later visions to be "pre-announced and programmed", and they continued despite the seers stating they would end.

Regarding the pastoral fruits of Medjugorje, the Commission voted in two phases. In the first phase, they disregarded the behavior of the seers and voted six in favor of the positive outcome (including three experts), seven stating they are mixed (including three experts) with most being positive, and other three experts stating the fruits are a mix of positive and negative. In the second phase, taking into consideration the behavior of the seers, twelve members (including four experts) stated they cannot express their opinion, and other two members voted against the supernatural origin of the phenomenon.

The report was recieved with negative oppinions in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, expressing doubts regarding the apparitions. Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, who headed the Congregation at the time, said in April 2017 regarding Medjugorje, that "pastoral questions" cannot be separated "from questions of the authenticity of apparitions".

Position of the Church
The only official stance taken by the Church is the Declaration of the Episcopal Conference of Yugoslavia in Zadar, from 10 April 1991, in which it is said that the alleged apparitions "non constat de supernaturalitate", that is that on the basis of previous examinations, it is impossible to establish that these are supernatural apparitions or revelations. The Delcaration allowed the pilgrames.

The local bishops denied the apparitions. Bishop Pavao Žanić took a negative stance towards the apparitions after seeing some false statements from the alleged seers and Madonna accusing him of causing disorder in the Herzegovina Case, a dispute over the redistribution of parishes between the Franciscans and the diocesan clergy, and taking the side of the two disobident Franciscans. In a sermon in Medjugorje from 1987, Bishop Pavao expressed his dissatisfaction with the apparitions happening at any location, including cars and buses, exclaiming "Madonna, what are they doing to you?".

Pope
Even though the supporters of the apparitions claimed that Pope John Paul II and Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith were sympathetic towards the apparitions, Ratzinger refuted these claims in July 1998, stating: "I can only say that the statements about Medjugorje attributed to the Holy Father and me are mere fabrications! (frei erfunden)".

In an interview in May 2017, Pope Francis commented on the findings of the commission headed by Cardinal Camillo Ruini saying that the report said of the initial apparitions that they "need to continue being studied" and expressed doubts in the later apparitions. He also expressed his own suspicion towards the apparitions saying he prefers "the Madonna as Mother, our Mother, and not a woman who’s the head of an office".

Authorization of Pilgrimage
However on May 12, 2019, the Vatican officially authorized pilgrimages to Medjugorje. The first Vatican-sanctioned pilgrimage took place for five days in August 2019. During the pilgrimage, approximately 60,000 young Catholics from 97 different countries took part in the celebration of a youth festival. Fourteen archbishops and bishops and about 700 Catholic priests joined the festival as well.

Reported miracles
Many phenomena have been reported at Medjugorje, such as the sun spinning, dancing in the sky, turning colours, or being surrounded by objects such as hearts or crosses. Eye damage from looking at the sun in Medjugorje has been reported. And some have reported miraculous cures. The tall cement cross erected on Mount Križevac (which means "Cross Mountain") has reportedly disappeared and reappeared or else glowed as if lit with lights, although there is no electricity on the mountain. Not everyone reports seeing the same miracles at the same time. Numerous supposedly miraculous healings have also been reported.

Critics consider the apparitions to be a hoax, and have stated that the reports of mysterious lights on the hill could easily be explained by illusions produced by atmospheric conditions, or fires that were lit by local youths.

Raymond Eve, a professor of sociology, in the Skeptical Inquirer has written: "I acknowledge that the teenagers' initial encounters with the Virgin may well have been caused by personal factors. For example, Ivanka, who was the first to perceive a visitation, had just lost her natural mother. The perception of apparitional experiences spread rapidly among her intimate peer group. ...The region's tension and anxiety likely exacerbated this contagion process and the need to believe among the youthful protagonists."

Skeptical investigator Joe Nickell has noted that there are a number of reasons for doubting the authenticity of the apparitions such as contradictions in the stories. For example, on the first sighting, the teenagers claimed they had visited Podbrdo Hill to smoke. They later retracted this, claiming they had gone to the hill to pick flowers. According to Nickell there is also a problem of the "embarrassingly illiterate" nature of the messages.

Description of Mary
Franciscan Fr. Janko Bubalo questioned the seers and asked them to describe Virgin Mary's appearance. They claim that Our Lady appears to be 18 to 20 years old, slender and around 165 cm tall. Her face is long and oval. She has black hair. Her eyes are blue with delicate eyelashes and thin black eyebrows. She has a little nose and rosy cheeks. She has reddish thin lips and her smile is more like some indescribable gentleness. It's visible as if somehow under her skin.

Her simple dress is bluish-grey and falls freely all the way down to the little whitish cloud on which she is standing. Her veil is pure white and covers her head and shoulders. It also reaches down to the little cloud. She has a crown of twelve golden stars on her head.

Finally he asked, "Is Our Lady really beautiful, as you have said?" Their answer was, "Well, really we haven't told you anything about that. Her beauty cannot be described. It is not our kind of beauty. It is something ethereal, something heavenly, something that we'll only see in Paradise and then only to a certain degree." Seer Mirjana, in her autobiography, says that when they asked Gospa, "How is it possible that you are so beautiful?" Our Lady gently smiled. "I am beautiful because I love," she said. "If you want to be beautiful, then love."

Vicka Ivanković
Vicka Ivanković is the oldest of the alleged seers, born on September 3, 1964, in Bijakovići, a village near Međugorje. She was 16 at the time of the alleged apparitions. She claims to have had daily apparitions, and on occasions two, three, four or five times a day. According to her claims, the apparition told her her biography from January 1983 to April 1985.

One of the major controversies of the Međugorje phenomenon was her diary about the apparitions, which went public with or without her consent. She claimed that the copying of her diaries occurred without her knowledge or consent.

She lives in Međugorje and is married to Marijo Mijatović as of 2002.

Mirjana Dragičević
Mirjana Dragičević was born on March 18, 1965, in Sarajevo. She was 15 at the time of the alleged apparitions. She lived in Sarajevo for a long time, where she has also finished her education. She claims to have had regular apparitions between June 24, 1981, and December 25, 1982. She claims that she became depressed and prayed for the apparition to see her again. According to her claims, Gospa left her "a gift" that she could see her on her birthday. As Međugorje became more and more popular, Dragičević later said that as of August 2, 1987, the apparition would appear every 2nd day of every month. As of 2 January 1997, Dragičević knew the exact hour of the apparition (10 to 11 AM).

She claims that the apparition told her ten secrets, which are intended "for humanity in general, for the world, then for Međugorje, Yugoslavia, and some other areas". Dragičević also said that every seer has a special mission. She was ordained for those "who do not know the love of God", Vicka Ivanković and Jakov Čolo for the sick, Ivan Dragičević for the young and the priests, Marija Pavlović for the souls in Purgatory, and Ivanka Ivanković for families.

Dragičević is married to Marko Soldo since 1989 and they have two children. They live in Međugorje.

Marija Pavlović


Marija Pavlović was born on April 1, 1965, in Bijakovići near Međugorje. She was 15 at the time of the alleged apparitions. She finished secondary school in Mostar. She became a seer since the second day of the alleged apparitions on June 25, 1981.

She was once asked why she didn't become a nun, to which she replied: "Through all those years I thought I'm gonna be a nun. I started visiting a monastery; my desire to go there was very strong. But the abbess told me: "Marija, if you tend to join, you can, but if Bishop decides that you cannot talk about Međugorje, you must listen to him." In that moment, I started to think that my calling is perhaps that I witness to what I saw and felt, and that I will seek my sainthood outside the monastery." She also claims to have daily apparitions and that she keeps nine secrets from Gospa. She claims that Gospa sends her monthly messages for the world. These messages were at first made public by fra Tomislav Vlašić, then after him by fra Slavko Barbarić.

Later, in February 1988, she joined fra Tomislav Vlašić, a New Age promoter, and his group of 15 young men and women in the community "Queen of Peace, where totally yours – Through Mary to Jesus" in Parma, Italy. Together they participated in spiritual exercises for five months. She left the group in July 1988. Vlašić was an ex-friar since 1987 who with his German assistant Agnes Heupel founded a mystic community. Heupel also claimed to receive messages from Gospa. Vlašić claimed that through Pavlović's testimony the community was a work of Gospa herself, and that Pavloviće had delivered him an answer in March 1987 to his question to Gospa about the community, which, among other things, stated: "This is God's plan" and that "Gospa leads the group through father Tomislav and Agnes, through which she sends her messages for the community". In July 1988, Pavlović denied any messages from Gospa regarding the community.

She married an Italian, Paolo Lunneti, in Milano in 1993. They live in a mansion in Monza.

Ivan Dragičević
Ivan Dragičević was born in Mostar on May 25, 1965. He was 15 at the time of the alleged apparitions. After graduating from elementary school, he enrolled at a secondary school in Čitluk, but failed to pass the first class. In August 1981 he applied to the seminary of the Herzegovinian Franciscan Province, where he was already known for the alleged apparitions. He was sent to a seminary in Visoko. In the seminary, he also claimed to have daily apparitions. Again he failed to pass the first class and was sent to the gymnasium in Dubrovnik, where it was thought he would pass the class more easily. Thus, in autumn 1982, he was transferred from the Franciscan seminary to the humanist gymnasium in Dubrovnik. He was unsuccessful there as well and left the school altogether in January 1983.

While in the Franciscan seminary, he claimed that Gospa came to an image of Jesus and said: "Angel, this is your Father", which was never taught by any Christian denomination. He also claimed, like Vicka Dragičević, that Gospa told him her biography from December 1982 to May 1983.

Dragičević married Laureen Murphy, a former Miss Massachusetts, in 1994. They have three children and live in Boston.

Ivanka Ivanković
Ivanka Ivanković was born in Bijakovići on June 21, 1966. At the time of the alleged apparitions, she was 14. She, like Ivan Dragičević and Vicka Dragičević, claims that Gospa told her biography between January and May 1983. She claims to have had regular apparitions until May 7, 1985, and that since then the apparitions occurr only once a year. She was, as she claims, given the tenth secret by Gospa.

She is married to Rajko Elez with whom she has three children. They live in Međugorje.

Jakov Čolo
Jakov Čolo was born in Bijakovići on March 6, 1971. He was 10 at the time of the alleged apparitions. He claimed to have had daily apparitions from June 25, 1981, to September 12, 1998. As of then, he claims that he has one apparition a year on Christmas day. He claims that Gospa told him the tenth secret.

He married Anna-Lisa Barozzi, an Italian, in 1993. They have three children and live in Međugorje.