‘“MIR”’ Appears in the Sky

The Croatian word “MIR” (peace) appeared in the sky over Medjugorje in large red letters. Many people in the village saw it. Fr. Jozo spoke of this in a sermon following the event, saying:
“Let the earth quake, let signs appear in the sky. They are signs that God has not abandoned His people. The Church here is a small island in an atheist and materialist society. Mary is trying through these children to tell us not to be afraid.”

In these last days of July pressure from the top government echelon was being placed on Bishop Zanic to stop or at least denounce the visionaries. He refused to do so. The priests were being interrogated constantly and the Communists had started a rumor that the Franciscans had hatched a plot with the visionaries. Government authorities from Citluk demanded that the Church be closed. Father Jozo refused. The chairman of the Commission for Religious Affairs in Citluk charged that, “…the gatherings on the hill were nationalistic, hostile to the State and masterminded by an enemy of the people.”

Father Jozo was being held accountable, because he would not close the Church, for the fact that no work was being done, roads were being destroyed and the local water supply was being depleted because of all the pilgrims. Fr. Jozo spoke out against the allegations of sedition. He countered: Had anyone been spotted carrying nationalistic banners, shouting seditious slogans, or singing revolutionary songs? Fr. Jozo was under no illusion of what would happen to him if he continued to stand up against the Communist authorities. Yet, he followed a Higher Authority and it was to Our Lady that he knew he must be faithful. He stated:
“We all recognized that night that we must go out and bear testimony to these events. I knew that my own witness must be a radical one, and that it would probably land me in prison. Fr. Tomislav Vlasic had just arrived on a visit from Capljina. ‘Tomislav,’ I said to him, ‘I shall be going away soon. Be ready to take my place.’”