I haven’t explained about pronunciation. Medjugorje is pronounced Med-ju-gor-ya. Ivan’s name is pronounced the same as the woman’s name Yvonne, and Vicka’s name is pronounced Vitzka. Vicka was one of the original visionaries along with Ivan. She still lives in the area, and she gives audiences every day.

Vicka’s small house is at the far part of  a large fenced area. We had arrived early so we could stand  close to the porch of her house, on which she would  eventually stand.  While we waited for her, our small group began to pray the rosary. By the time we were finished, many hundreds of people had joined us, and still more were pouring in. One of our pilgrims recognized two of the people in the crowd. She passed the word that they were pickpockets she had seen in the process of trying to get their hands inside someone’s purse in  the church the day before.

At this point, the crowd was huge, and I wasn’t comfortable physically or emotionally.  Physically,  I was being jostled and crushed. One woman pushed her way through the crowd by clobbering people with her handbag, and she hit my face with it! Emotionally,  I thought of my 2x great grandmother, Carola Sartini, who, in 1877,  somehow lost her balance and fell while she was in  a crowd during a religious celebration, and was trampled to death. I clutched JoAnn and my handbag tightly!

At long last, Vicka stepped onto the porch. She is a very small woman, about five feet tall and weighing about 90 pounds. However, she seemed like a giant! From the moment she joined us, her entire being radiated complete joy. I have never  been in the presence of anyone like this before! Her translator told us the Blessed Mother’s message:  say the rosary daily,  fast, and  pray for peace. We were told that peace starts  within each of us, and we need to extend peace, love, and hope to each member of our family, so that they can do the same.

We had been standing for three hours! While we had been waiting for Vicka, Ivanka had made arrangements for Vicka to pray individually with two members of our group who were suffering from life threatening illnesses.  Vicka’s hands  were upon them as she prayed. Before we left, we were among the fortunate few who touched her hands.

Rather than going to town for mass, we went back to the chapel on Ivan’s property, where Father Bob would say mass. At the chapel, Father Bob wore vestments that were made in Medjugorje and were embroidered with the image of the Blessed Mother as described by Ivan. Throughout the mass, I felt Father Bob’s kindness and sensitivity. At the conclusion of the mass, he invited those of us suffering from illnesses to receive  a special anointing. Almost all of us got on line. Afterwards we all connected by holding hands. I found it to be a most moving experience.

At 2 PM, we had an  appointment to visit a  residential community of recovering  drug and/or alcohol addicts. The community’s name, Cenacolo, is  a Biblical reference that means “The Upstairs Room.”  As part of their responsibilities, the residents are asked to take turns  meeting with visitors to tell them about their lives before and at Cenacolo. Our two hosts were Vitaly, a young man from Ukraine, and Dan, a young man from Miami. Both had been addicts, and had tried various recovery programs. Neither thought they would stay more than the minimal amount of time in Medjugorje. No one forced them to stay, yet here they were many months  later. They live a disciplined life of work and prayer.  They arise early  for group prayer on their knees,  followed by breakfast. Then each member of the community has responsibilities that include cleaning,  washing laundry by hand in the river and hanging it up to dry, ironing, cooking, baking bread, gardening and growing their own crops, masonry and woodworking. Vitaly and Dan explained about the emptiness they felt before Cenacolo.

There are now more than thirty Cenacolo communities around the world including one in the USA. By the way, all residents spend their first two weeks at Cenacolo giving up drugs ad/or alcohol  “cold turkey.” After that they are full members of the community with their share of required tasks.

We returned to our home base for dinner, where we enjoyed  broccoli soup, salad, chard and potato crepes, mixed veggies, eggplant, and cake for dessert. After dinner we gathered  back in the chapel to say the rosary. Then we decided to walk to town for Veneration of the Cross, and we returned by cab  in the moonlight.

10,730 steps; 4.25 miles