Pope John Paul II died on April 2,2005. It was also a day in which Medjugorje visionary, Mirjana,received an apparition of Our Lady in Medjugorje. The apparition was at the Cenacolo Community in Medjugorje, all the while, John Paul II was living out his last hours on earth. Of this apparition, Mirjana said it was “both powerful and perplexing.†Our Lady blessed everyone and then stressed that the most important blessing is from a priest. Fresh in the minds of those praying in vigil with John Paul II was the image of his final blessings from the window of his apartment when he could no longer speak, yet still found the strength to raise his hand in blessing. Our Lady then said with “striking resolve,†according to Mirjana:
Explaining that moment, Mirjana said: “It seemed like an overwhelming request.†Mirjana, responding to Our Lady’s request, asked Her: “Can I do this, can we do this?†Our Lady answered:
Then Mirjana said: “Only you be with us, Mother.†This was a similar reaction of Our Lady when Fr. Slavko Barbaric had died on November 25, 2000. Many wondered in the Medjugorje world: “How will we be able to continue without Fr. Slavko?†When Marija voiced this concern to Our Lady, in the same manner as Mirjana described Her today, Our Lady said with striking resolve: “Go forward!†At the death of Pope John Paul II, everyone knew that a great saint and a great leader of the Church had left this world and there was a universal feeling of: “What are we going to do without John Paul II?†Our Lady’s words gave confidence that with Her still here with us, we would be able to fulfill all of the plans of God. In a few messages before this one, She began calling Her children: “…my apostles…†She would increasingly use this word in the coming years. While Pope John Paul II had fulfilled that which God had called him to, Our Lady’s plans were still advancing and Her children were entering into a new phase of formation to become apostles of Her messages.
