For the tenth year anniversary of Our Lady’s apparitions, Marija and Jakov went to visit Bishop Zanic in Mostar. They went bearing gifts to show their love and good will towards their shepherd. It had been many years since Bishop Zanic had seen any of the visionaries that when Jakov approached to greet him, Bishop Zanic called him “Ivan,†who is several years older than Jakov. It was apparent that Bishop Zanic did not know the visionaries. Yet, it was a very cordial and friendly meeting. A Friend of Medjugorje had accompanied Marija and Jakov for this historic meeting, and realized that Bishop Zanic literally had no contact with the visionaries. It helped to form his opinion that perhaps God wanted to keep them separated for the greater good of Medjugorje because he believed that if the bishop only would spend a single day with any of the visionaries, he would become a believer in the apparitions.
