Monsignor Hoser speaks "Medjugorje sign of a living Church"

"Medjugorje is the sign of a living Church". Archbishop Henryk Hoser, Polish, a life spent with assignments in Africa, France, Holland, Belgium, Poland, for fifteen months has been an envoy of Pope Francis in the Balkan parish known throughout the world for the alleged Marian apparitions which began on June 26, 1981 and - according to some of the six alleged seers involved - still in progress. He has just finished a crowded catechesis for Italian pilgrims, in the large "yellow room" also used to follow the liturgies by videoconference, because the large church has become insufficient.

A "Cathedral" built inexplicably in an uninhabited countryside, well before the apparitions ...

It was a prophetic sign. Today pilgrims arrive from all over the world, from 80 countries. We host nearly three million people every year.

How do you photograph this reality?

On three levels: the first is local, parish; the second is international, linked to the history of this land, where we find Croats, Bosnians, Catholics, Muslims, Orthodox; then the third level, planetary, with arrivals from all continents, especially young people

Do you have your own opinion about these phenomena, always quite discussed?

Medjugorje is no longer a "suspicious" place. I was sent by the Pope to enhance the pastoral activity in this parish, which is very rich in ferments, lives on an intense popular religiosity, made up, on the one hand, of traditional rites, such as the Rosary, Eucharistic adoration, pilgrimages , the Via Crucis; on the other, from the deep roots of important Sacraments such as, for example, Confession.

What strikes you, compared to other experiences?

An environment that lends itself to silence and meditation. Prayer becomes itinerant not only in the path of the Via Crucis, but also in the "triangle" drawn by the church of San Giacomo, from the hill of apparitions (Blue Cross) and from Mount Krizevac, on whose summit since 1933 there is a large cross white, wanted to celebrate, half a century before the apparitions, the 1.900 years since the death of Jesus. These goals are constitutive elements of the pilgrimage to Medjugorje. Most of the faithful do not come for the apparitions. The silence of prayer, then, is softened by a musical harmony that is part of this culture, sober, hardworking, but also full of tenderness. Many pieces of Taizè are used. Overall, an atmosphere is created that facilitates meditation, recollection, the analysis of one's own experience, and ultimately, for many, conversion. Many choose the night hours to go up the hill or even to Mount Krizevac.

What is your relationship with the "seers"?

I met them, all of them. At first I met four, then the other two. Each of them has their own story, their own family. It is important, however, that they are involved in the life of the parish.

How do you intend to work?

Especially in training. Of course, it is not easy to talk about formation to people who, with different times and methods, have testified to receiving messages from Mary for almost 40 years. We are all aware that everyone, including bishops, needs ongoing formation, even more in a community context. A dimension to be strengthened, with patience.

Do you see risks in accentuating the Marian cult?

Certainly not. The popular pietas here is centered on the person of the Madonna, Queen of Peace, but it remains a Christocentric cult, as well as the liturgical canon is Christocentric.

Have tensions with the diocese of Mostar subsided?

There have been misunderstandings on the theme of the apparitions, we have centered the relationships and above all the collaboration on the pastoral level, since then the relationships have developed without reserve.

What future do you see for Medjugorje?

It is not easy to answer. It depends on many elements. I can tell what it already is and how it can be strengthened. An experience from which 700 religious and priestly vocations emerge undoubtedly strengthens the Christian identity, a vertical identity in which man, through Mary, turns to the risen Christ. To anyone who confronts it, it offers the image of a Church that is still fully alive and in particular young.

Can you tell us what has struck you most in recent months?

Ours is a poor church, with few priests that has been spiritually enriched thanks to the many priests who accompany the pilgrims. Not only. I was struck by an Australian boy, an alcoholic, a drug addict. Here he converted and chose to become a priest. Confessions strike me. There are those who come here on purpose, even just to confess. I am struck by the thousands of conversions.

Could the turning point also come from a recognition of Medjugorje as a pontifical delegation?

I don't rule it out. The experience of the envoy of the Holy See was positively received, as a sign of openness towards an important religious experience, which has become a reference at an international level.