1) Apparition Hill
There are two hills, The Apparition Hill and Križevac Hill.
Apparition Hill (Podbrdo or Brdo ukazanja) is the smaller of the two and it is the place where the Virgin Mary appeared for the first time. Her statue is located on a hilltop and the way up is very rocky, so make sure to wear comfortable shoes and take lots of water and a hat if you are visiting in summer because there is no shade. You can buy walking sticks around the town and they can be really helpful, especially when you’re going back down.
You’ll find people from different parts of the world praying in their own languages, but it is not a loud place; on the contrary, it is one of the most peaceful and most serene locations you’ll ever visit and a beautiful place even you are not religious.
2) Križevac Hill
Wikimedia commons
Križevac (Cross Mountain) is the steeper of the two hills (520 m). It is a place where the townspeople erected and 8.56 cross back in 1934, to commemorate the Passion of Christ.
You can participate with the parish stations of the cross – there are 14 and all of them are marked and have a relief depicting the theme of the station. People climb and then pray at each station, which takes about one hour each way, but you might need more.
Coffee and refreshments can be found in the cafe at the base.
3) St. James Church
Wikimedia commons
The Apostle St. James, whom the church is dedicated to, is the Patron Saint of Pilgrims.
After the parish was founded in 1892, the foundation for the church was laid and the church was built in 1897. Shortly afterwards the walls began to crack and the ground began to sink and it was abandoned. The new, bigger church took a long time to build (1934 – 1969) and even though it seemed too big at the time, its size proved to be perfect to accommodate all the pilgrims who started coming into Medjugorje after the apparitions.
Many apparitions actually took place at St. James Church: in the sanctuary, in Fr. Slavko’s office and bedroom in the rectory, in the choir loft and one of the bell towers of St. James and the Adoration Chapel behind the church.
Today Our Lady does not appear in St. James Church, but visionaries witness apparitions in their own homes.
