The name Medjugorje literally means “between mountains”. At an altitude of 200 m (660 ft) above sea level it has a mild Mediterranean climate. The town consists of an ethnically homogeneous Croat population of 2,306. The Roman Catholic parish (local administrative and religious area) consists of five neighbouring villages: Medjugorje, Bijakovići, Vionica, Miletina and Šurmanci. Medjugorje has one of the most visited sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina, receiving more than one million visitors each year.
Since 1981, when six local children had visions of Virgin Mary, Medjugorje has become an destination of Catholic pilgrimage. “Most Blessed Virgin Mary”, “Queen of Peace” and “Mother of God” are words the apparition has allegedly introduced herself with. The visionary Marija Lunetti claims to receive messages from the Virgin Mary on the twenty-fifth of every month. The other visionary, Mirjana Soldo, reports receiving messages on the second of the month. The messages attributed to Our Lady of Medjugorje have a strong following among Catholics worldwide. Medjugorje has become one of the most popular pilgrimage sites for Catholics in the world. This small town turned into Europe’s third most important apparition site, where each year more than 1 million people visit. It has been estimated that 30 million pilgrims have come to Medjugorje since the reputed apparitions began in 1981.
