When Alicia Italiani from Erie, PA, wrote to Pope Francis to ask if her devotion to the Medjugorje message was was acceptable to the Church, the response was different from what she had expected. She received a Medjugorje medal, and a note that the Pontiff had personally blessed it.
The envelope Alicia Italiani received from the Pope, and its contents: The medal to the right has the word Medjugorje inscribed, and has been for sale in Medjugorje for years
Pope Francis is in agreement with the Medjugorje message, even if he is still to raise his voice on the authenticity of the apparitions. In early May the Pope personally blessed a Medjugorje medal and had it sent to an American woman who had asked him if following the Medjugorje message was okay with the Catholic Church.
“Several months ago, I wrote a letter to Pope Francis asking his blessing and prayer for my family and for myself. I have a devotion to Our Lady of Medugorje, and I understand that whether the alleged apparitions in Medugorje are approved or not, that prayer and fasting and any devotion to the Blessed Mother is good and pleasing to God. But I still felt like I needed to know if it was OK to follow those particular messages (just because there’s been so much confusion regarding the devotion within the Church)” Alicia Italiani from Erie, PA, tells the newsletter The Spirit of Medjugorje.
“On May 6, I received a response back. The response was from the Papal Nuncio to the United States from Pope Francis. Included in the envelope were a medal from Medugorje, a medal of St. Michael the Archangel and two holy cards – one with a picture of Pope Francis and the other a picture of St. Francis with his prayer for peace. The note said that the medals were blessed by Pope Francis! I felt so comforted and I just wanted to share the story” Alicia Italiani tells.
With some believing it to happen this year, Pope Francis is expected to issue a verdict on Medjugorje at some point. In January an international Vatican Commission ended four years of investigations by passing on its final report to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Both its contents, the further procedure, and the time-table have remained under lock.