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The constant and misguided accusations of disobedience by the visionaries and anyone who loves Medjugorje is wearying. I hope I am not breaking any rules on this forum if I paste a little anecdote from one of the visionaries, Mirjana. This item, apart from witnessing to Pope John Paul's love of Medjugorje, also illustrates Mirjana's beautifully humorous nature:

Q: We went on a pilgrimage and we were blessed to stay at your house once and we noticed the Pope’s shoes are in a little display at your house. Can you tell us how Pope John Paul II’s shoes arrived there?

A: I am the only one of 6 visionaries who was lucky enough, had the honor, to encounter Pope John Paul II. You can imagine how the other 5 are jealous of me. [laughter] Jakov always says, “Oh, yea, you have been with Pope...”

I was in the Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilica, with an Italian priest. Holy Father was walking by and he was blessing us. When he approached me, he blessed me and he just continued to walk. However, this Italian priest loudly said to him, "Holy Father, this is Mirjana from Medjugorje." He came back and blessed me again and he set out. And I said to the priest, "He just thinks I need a double blessing." But then after, the priest received a note, an invitation to Castle Gandolfo, close to Rome, in order to encounter the Pope. I couldn’t sleep all night because I really loved him and I respected him and I could really feel his love for Our Lady.

So the next day when the Pope and I met alone, I was just crying. I couldn’t say a word out of excitement. He noticed that I was excited. I think he tried to talk to me in Polish because he thought in the Slavic languages there are things in common. I didn’t understand a word! But I finally had enough strength and courage, I asked him, "What are you trying to tell me?" Then we talked. Among other things he said to me, "I know everything about Medjugorje. I’ve been following Medjugorje. Ask pilgrims to pray for my intentions, to keep, to take good care of Medjugorje, because Medjugorje is hope for the entire world. And if I were not Pope, I would have been in Medjugorje a long time ago."

So recently on the Mount of Apparitions, I saw a pair of shoes of the Pope in front of me, and after the apparition, this gentleman who brought these shoes ( he didn’t introduce himself), he said, "It was the Pope’s desire for a long time to come to Medjugorje. I had said, ‘If you do not go, I will take your shoes.’ And that is how I brought his shoes, so they may be present during the apparition."