The long walk the night before was very hard on my bladder, but fortunately, I had my medication with me. I took a pill during the night but I knew I would be unable to participate in the morning’s activities. A number of our pilgrims decided to meet at 5:30 AM to climb Apparition Hill, the site where the Blessed Mother first appeared to the children in 1984, for sunrise prayer. That was something that JoAnn had done with Gregg and their fellow 2014 pilgrims, and JoAnn wanted to participate again today.

The group returned a few hours later, highly excited and energized. Many other people from other groups decided to do the same thing that morning, so the spot was fairly crowded. JoAnn reported that the sun was “pulsating” when she was there, and others said they saw it, too.

JoAnn and the others left for the morning’s experiences. When I felt well enough, I left our room to sit outside in the sun. Soon Paul, who was in JoAnn’s 2014 group,  joined me. He had felt the need for some “down time,”  so he remained at our lodging that morning, too. Paul told me about his 2014 experience with JoAnn and Gregg, starting by saying that when they got off the plane, Gregg looked so ill that he, Paul, had doubts that Gregg would survive the week. He experienced Gregg getting stronger as the hours and days progressed. Gregg joined him and the others to participate in all of the activities including  taking long walks and climbing rocky hills, ever mindful that he  needed to return to his mother so that she  could administer medications by injection at precise hours.

Paul and his friends are deeply religious men with whom JoAnn  and Gregg formed a close bond. I loved hearing this. JoAnn’s father was a devoutly religious man, but my father was not, so talking with a man about his faith was new to me.

Paul and the others visited Gregg shortly before Gregg’s passing. Gregg told each of them how much their friendship and support meant to him and how much loved them. Paul asked Gregg to send him a sign that he was okay once he had reached heaven, and Gregg replied that if it were at all possible, he would.

Paul showed me a photo of a shoot of a rose bush next to his front door that had one rose in  full bloom.  He told me that there was an old rose bush a few feet from the front of his house  that had been dead for several years. His wife had  asked him to remove it but although  years had  passed,  it was still a low priority item for him.  On the morning that that Paul  received the phone call telling him that Gregg had passed away, he stepped outside onto his front porch.  He looked down, struck by something that had not been there the day before. There, in November,  next to his front door and several feet away from the dead rose bush, was a small  shoot, with one red rose in full bloom.

The whole group got together in the early afternoon, and I was feeling well enough to join them. At this time, Ivan told us the story of the first apparition. It happened in 1984, when he was 16, and Yugoslavia was under communist rule. It was a typical morning. He and his siblings  arose early. The children had to work in the tobacco fields before school, but because Ivan  disliked that job, his mother put him in charge of the family’s sheep instead. After their chores were completed, the children washed and went to school. After school, Ivan was walking with a friend of his named Jakov, looking forward to playing soccer. Suddenly the two boys heard a scream. They ran  until they  encountered two girls of about their age, Vicka and Maria, who said  that a fantastic lady had appeared before them. Doubtful, the boys asked the girls to bring them to the lady. They did. They were struck with awe. The lady was lovely, with dark hair, blue eyes, and bare feet, and was dressed in gray. They asked her who she was, and she replied, “I am the Queen of Peace.”

The four decided not to breathe a word of this to any one except their parents, but the girls told two of their best friends. Their parents told their neighbors.  By the next morning the news had reached the police, who were soon at  their doors. The children were interrogated individually for days, but each one repeated the same story. The police interrogated the town priest, and in fact, sentenced him to prison for three years, even though he knew nothing about the apparition. He was released after eighteen months.

Jakov became a priest and Maria, a nun, but they each left their orders because they found the constant interrogations too difficult to allow them to continue. Ivan still has daily apparitions, and the others have them monthly or annually.

I was feeling well enough to walk back to town with JoAnn and Mary for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. I was amazed by the starting number of people from different walks of life who were there to pray.

Back at our lodging,  dinner consisted of soup, salad, fish, Swiss chard, and potatoes, with ice cream for dessert.

That day I walked 7522 steps for 3 miles, and went up 9 staircases.