Breakfast was early on Thursday, because  Father Dan from our group  would be the main celebrant at the English mass, and we wanted to get there in time to get a seat up front. We arrived more than an hour early, at which time worshippers were entering the  church for the German mass.  Neither JoAnn nor I understands German, but we went in  and stayed for the mass. I recalled the  times in my childhood back in Queens  when  we used to accompany our grandmother to masses said in Italian, which we didn’t understand at that time. At the conclusion of the German mass, we remained in our seats for the English mass. Many in our group participated as readers, petitioners, and offertory collectors.

After mass, we walked to the  bookshop I mentioned earlier that donates its proceeds to the Franciscan  priests. Soon it was time for us to get back to our lodging. On most days, breakfast and dinner were provided and we were on our own for lunch. Today,  breakfast and lunch were the provided  meals and we’d be on our own for dinner.  After a lunch of salad and chicken,  a  group photo  was taken in the chapel. Next we took a cab back to the church. We said two rosaries and then headed out to share a pizza. Wanting to stretch our legs, we wandered into  a few souvenir shops and treated ourselves to gelato cones.

Near the church, there is a huge outdoor  open  area with an elevated  altar  that is covered to protect it from the elements,  and many hundreds of  uncovered  benches facing it. Even though the Catholic Church has not approved Medjugorje as an official pilgrimage site, the benches were filled with  hundreds of  priests and nuns, and  thousands of ordinary folks from all over the world,  all there for the same reason: prayer.  We were told that the crowds are even bigger in the summer. As in sports arenas back home,  there is a screen that enables all in the audience to see  what is happening on the altar. We saw that the Blessed Sacrament was presented for adoration.

We were on a bench at prayer when Mary, who was  next to me,  said the sun was spinning. What? I was doubtful, but I looked up and saw that the sun, suddenly surrounded by pink circles, seemed to be spinning, just as Mary had said.  I can’t explain this  phenomenon. JoAnn said she had seen the  sun spinning  in 2014.

Back at our lodging, Ivan told us that he was about to drive for nine hours to get to a town in Italy in which he would be a teenager’s confirmation sponsor. He told us that this would be his one hundred sixth sponsorship! Also, we had to be ready for an early breakfast, because we would be visiting Vicka, one of the other original visionaries.