Medjugorje - Apostolic Visitor Archbishop Henryk Hoser
On February 11th, 2017, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Henryk Hoser as a special envoy from the Holy See to St James Parish in Medjugorje.
Holy See's Press Office announced "has the aim of acquiring a deeper knowledge of the pastoral situation there and above all, of the needs of the faithful who go there in pilgrimage, and based on this, to suggest possible pastoral initiatives for the future. The mission will therefore have an exclusively pastoral character."
Archbishop Hoser was Archbishop of Warsaw, Prague & Poland, and was sent to Medjugorje when retired from his previous duty. Pope Francis has appointed him once again and extended his pastoral care in Medjugorje on May 31st, 2018.
As the Holy See press office released, "the mission of the Apostolic Visitor has the aim of ensuring a stable and continuous accompaniment to the parish community of Medjugorje and to the faithful who go there as pilgrims, and whose needs require particular attention."
Henryk Franciszek Hoser was born on 27 November 1942 and died on 13 August 2021.
Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Aldo Cavalli as his apostolic visitor of special character for the parish of Medjugorje.
From the last interview of Archbishop Hoser to Medjugorje.hr on May 19th, 2020, we bring here a few essential notes from this interview!
When Archbishop was asked to recall the statement from "the Holy see and His Holiness Francis on pilgrimages to Medjugorje":
This was such a great joy for us all in Medjugorje, and I remember we had the privilege of announcing this statement of the Holy See in Medjugorje church of St. James, patron saint of pilgrims.
I will remind you of the content of that statement – there are no obstacles in organising pilgrimages to Medjugorje and all categories of the Church officials, starting with the cardinals, archbishops and bishops, priests from all over the world, all people were allowed to come to Medjugorje. Indeed, in that place people find what they lost in their lives and they encounter someone who waits for the there – God, our Lord Jesus and the Mother of God. This was a great joy that expanded all over the world for it brings the universal role of this shrine where people from all of the continents come. We are happy about this and this reflects the future of Medjugorje that needs to live in the rhythm of the heart of the universal Church.
On the question, "if he can share with us the opinion of John Paul II and Medjugorje apparitions"?
From the very beginning, John Paul was very inclined and interested in Medjugorje, for all the events we discover today as the Marian cult present here in devotion to the Queen of Peace is deeply rooted in Fatima apparitions. Today we recall those events, the anniversary of the apparitions in the valley of peace in 1917. Eight days afterward, Pope Benedict XV introduced invocation the Queen of Peace in the Litanies of the Blessed Virgin Mary. These apparitions protected our future from the conflicts, invited us to conversion and conversion is the state of peace between God and man – God's peace in man's heart. The restlessness is first created in each of us and radiates in a negative way around us. Unless we reconcile with God, with our neighbors, we would not be able to live with the others as the children of the same God.
Anything you would like to say to our viewers, pilgrims of Medjugorje, friends of this place?
Dear friends of Medjugorje, dear pilgrims and parishioners, I speak to you with a plea to continue living in the spirit of hope, for Medjugorje has an obligation to bring hope to people, God’s hope, for He is the one who leads us all with great love and mercy, who sends us Mother of God so she would bring us all to Him. She, in Medjugorje, has been pointing to Jesus all the time and I ask you all to be those who would sow peace, trust and God’s vicinity in these moments. Please look at your vineyards and olive gardens that remind so much of the Holy Land where Jesus lived. He continues to walk with us throughout the centuries, He sends us His Mother to protect us, for her to be the patroness of our inner, family and social peace. We continue to be connected through the media who are active in these days all the time, all so you would continue to be spiritually connected to Medjugorje, praying for the moment when we would meet there again to thank God for all the gifts we received.
Pope Francis addressed participants of the Medjugorje Youth Festival that took place from July 31st to August 6th, 2020!
Here few words from the letter Pope Francis sent to Medjugorje on the occasion of the Youth Festival amid the Covid19 pandemic!
Dear young friends!
The annual youth meeting in Medjugorje is a time rich in prayer, catechesis and fraternity. It offers all of you the opportunity to encounter the living Jesus Christ, especially in the Eucharist where he is praised and adored, and in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And in this way he helps you to discover another way of living, different from the one offered by our ephemeral culture, according to which nothing can be definitive and the only thing that matters is enjoying the present moment. In this climate of relativism, in which it is difficult to find true and certain answers, the guiding words of the Festival, “Come and see” (Jn 1:39), addressed by Jesus to the disciples, are a blessing. To you too, Jesus directs his gaze and invites you to go and be with him.
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Do not be afraid! Christ is alive and desires that each of you live. He is the true beauty and youth of this world. Everything he touches becomes young, becomes new, full of life and meaning (cf. Apost. Exhort. Christus Vivit, 1)
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On your route through the Gospel, also enlivened by this Festival, I entrust all of you to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, invoking light and strength from the Spirit so that you may be true witnesses to Christ. I pray for this and I bless you, and I ask that you, too, pray for me.
Rome, Saint John Lateran, 29 June 2020
Francis
You can find the entire letter here below, in pdf format.
