Fr. Jozo had given the visionaries a book on Marian apparitions earlier. Reading that Bernadette of Lourdes had 18 apparitions, they became convinced it would be the same for them. Counting the number of apparitions they had already had, they calculated that July 3rd would be their last apparition. So certain they were of this that they did not gather together the evening of July 4th. Suddenly, catching them unaware, Our Lady appeared to each one wherever they were. Ivan was home stringing tobacco leaves, Vicka picking flowers, Marija walked into a room at home and there was the Madonna. Mirjana said:
“We decided that we weren’t going to be the same as Lourdes after all.â€
Having learned that Our Lady appeared to each of them at the same time, regardless of if they were together or not, the apparitions began to take place in random places such as in a neighbor’s house, outdoors, in the clergy house, or in the Church. In Yugoslavia, a national holiday was held on July 3rd, named, “Fighters Day†to commemorate the 40 year anniversary of the 1941 Partisan uprising (Communism). Brando Mikulic, a leading communist politician, addressed a crowd of several hundred thousand people, which was carried on national television. In his speech, he attacked Medjugorje, which demonstrated what kind of threat Medjugorje was held by the Communist authorities from the beginning. International News agencies picked up the story and the events of Medjugorje began to spread beyond local areas and also beyond the borders of Yugoslavia.
