Carmelo Puzzolo, the artist who sculpted the bronze Stations of the Cross for Cross Mountain and the Mysteries of the Rosary on Apparition Mountain, finished a beautiful painting of Our Lady of Medjugorje that hangs in the Yellow Building behind St. James Church. According to Ivan, it is the best and most accurate portrait of Our Lady that he has seen. When Marija first saw it, she smiled, pleased. But she said that there is no portrait of Our Lady that comes close to Her actual beauty.
Another new addition to St. James Church in the year 1998 is the St. Leopold Mandic statue that is placed by the confessionals on the side of the church. St. Leopold, a Croatian priest, was known as an Apostle of Confession, often spending 12-15 hours in the confessional at a time. Since Medjugorje is often called the “Confessional of the World,†St. Leopold would have felt quite at home in Medjugorje. He was canonized on October 16, 1983 by John Paul II.
