FATHER JOZO ZOVKO - A GOOD PRIEST

Father Jozo Zovko was the parish priest of St. James' Church in Medjugorje during the early days of the Medjugorje apparitions.

Jozo in Croatian means Joseph and Father Jozo Zovko was born on the feast day of Saint Joseph on 19 March 1941 in the village of Uzarici in Siroki Brijeg, Bosnia and Herzegovina. His parents were Mate Zovko and Milka Gugic and he was the eighth of ten children in the family. Although life was difficult during World War II, the family managed to survive the hard times. The young Jozo attended primary school in Siroki Brijeg. After having completed his primary school education, he realized that Jesus was calling him to be a priest and that was when he discovered his vocation to the priesthood. In 1958, he joined the seminary in Bol, located in the southern part of the Island of Brac, in the Adriatic Sea within Croatia. After his novitiate, he was transferred to the seminary in Sarajevo in 1963, and later, enrolled at the University of Ljubljana where he studied Theology. He graduated with a degree in Theology in 1967 and was ordained a priest in Sarajevo on 6 August 1967. In 1974, he went on to further his religious studies at the University of Graz in Austria. After graduation, he returned to his homeland in Yugoslavia and became the parish priest of Posusje. Because of his strong influences, deep faith, and great devotion to God, he was frowned upon by the communists and the bishop had to transfer him frequently. It should be noted that during those days the bishops were selected and appointed by the Communists with the approval of the Communist authorities in Belgrade.

Father Jozo Zovko is a true apostle of Jesus - a good priest. Ever since he was a child, he had always wanted to be a Franciscan friar. He is certainly not the kind of priest with these shameful thoughts, "I have better switch to Anglicanism and be an Anglican priest and then snag me a hot wife before I jump back to the Catholic Church to be a Catholic priest so that I can enjoy the best of all worlds as a married priest." Father Jozo will never do such a disrecpectful thing and he has never criticized the Catholic Church for not allowing priests to marry. Marriage has never crossed his mind as he continues to live a celibate life all these years. He has sacrificed his whole life to serve God's people and lead them to God just like what Jesus has done. He has chosen to be a celibate priest because he wanted to dedicate all his time to the Church thus giving himself completely to God and His people. To this effect, he has devoted himself wholeheartedly to the sacred ministry. He lives according to his vows of poverty, obedience and chastity, just exactly the kind of life that a good priest will live. Those who can take the vows of poverty, obedience and chastity freely are hard to find nowadays and as such Father Jozo Zovko is really a rare and precious gift from God. The Medjugorje pilgrims will agree that he is always busy with the Lord's affairs and concerned only with pleasing the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:32). As one of the best known Catholic priests in the world, he doesn't have much time for himself because hundreds of pilgrims come to see him every day and he has to tend his flock like a shepherd.

Father Jozo Zovko was the parish priest of St. James Church, Medjugorje, when the Medjugorje apparitions began on 24 June 1981. He was an authentic witness to the Medjugorje apparitions. Initially, he did not believe in the apparitions. When the visionaries (Vicka, Mirjana, Marija, Ivan, Ivanka, Jakov Colo) first told him about the apparitions, he was very suspicious about the authenticity of the apparitions and even chastised them because he thought that they were fabricating the apparitions. Talking about the apparitions was a dangerous thing to do during the era of communist oppression. He was very troubled and feared that the apparitions were not true. He simply could not believe the visionaries' stories so easily. However, it wasn't long before he was convinced that the six visionaries were telling the truth. One morning after mass, while he was prayng on his knees at the altar, he suddenly heard a voice saying, "Come out and protect the children." As he was leaving the Church through the middle door, he saw the visionaries running toward him. They said, "The police are after us, protect us." He took the visionaries to the rectory and locked them in an unoccupied room.

Father Jozo had certainly paid the price when he refused to deny the apparitions as ordered by the communists and continued to celebrate the evening Mass at St. James' Church.  Despite warnings from the communists, he did not prevent the people from gathering on Podbrdo Hill for the apparitions. On 12 August 1981, access to Podbrdo Hill was blocked by the police. Father Jozo was arrested on 17 August 1981 and convicted of sedition on 21 October 1981 by a kangaroo court. During those days, sedition was a serious crime that could carry a death penalty. However, during the evening's apparition, the Virgin Mary convinced the visionaries that Father Jozo would not be punished severely. Instead of being condemned to death, he was given a prison sentence of three and a half years with hard labor the following day. The sentence was reduced to one and a half years on appeal. Life in prison was dreadful for Father Jozo as he was being subjected to horrendous treatment but it seemed that his sufferings were sent by God to deepen and strengthen his faith. As Our Lady's chosen one, She continued to watch over him while he was in prison and because of this some extraordinary things happened in his cell. The prison guards were furious to find his cell door unlocked every morning and the prisoners testified that they had seen a strange light in his cell on many occassions. After 18 months, Father Jozo was released on the condition that he would never be the parish priest of St. James' Church again. In the spring of 1983, Father Jozo was transferred to St. Elijah Church in Tihaljina, near Grude. Eight years later, he was transferred to the Franciscan Monastery in Siroki Brijeg where he remains until today. Because of Father Jozo, Tihaljina and Siroki Brijeg have become famous tourist destinations.

Father Jozo was the central figure in Medjugorje during the early days of the apparitions and his great reputation has remained until today. Every year, millions of pilgrims flock to Medjugorje and later on to Tihaljina and then to Siroki Brijeg to meet him and listen to his inspiring words because he is a great speaker. He is also well-known for the great works that he has done for the people. He has been chosen as president of the "International God Parenthood to Herceg-Bosnian Children Association", a child sponsorship program which was established on 20 December 1992 in Siroki Brijeg. It was actually Father Jozo who founded this organization when he came out with the idea that children who lost one or both parents in the war could be helped through Godparenting. During the war, more than 280000 people were killed and innumerable homes were destroyed. A large number of children were left without parental care and shelter. Under this program, people from all over the world are invited to sponsor and hence become godparents of the children of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thanks to this program, more than 4000 children in Siroki Brijeg are being well taken care of both spiritually and financially today. Father Jozo has also traveled all around the world to spread the message of Our Lady of Medjugorje and preach about the importance of the Holy Eucharist. His name has often been associated with numerous miraculous healings.

Father Jozo has been persecuted, sentenced to hard labor in prison, treated unjustly, suspended, criticized unfairly and accused of disobedience and sexual misconduct. How did he respond to all the injustices against him? "Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing." Those were his words according to Luke 23:34. Did he deserve to be treated so unfairly? Just how true were the accusations against him? Well, we all know that Father Jozo is a good priest as we can see with our own eyes what he has done for the world. Surely his good deeds are more overwhelming than any of those unfounded accusations against him!

To those who are unsure of Father Jozo Zovko's status, please read the letter of clarification, dated 14 November 2002, by Father Slavko Soldo, OFM, Provincial of the Herzegovinian Franciscan Province of the Assumption of the BVM. According to Father Slavko Soldo: 

"Father Jozo Zovko is a member of our community in good standing. He was the pastor at Medjugorje when the apparition of the Blessed Mother started in 1981. It was the time of the communist regime in our country. As pastor of Medjugorje, Father Jozo was put in prison by the communist court. After he was released from the prison, he continued to spread the message of the blessed Mother Queen of peace.

In our community Father Jozo Zovko is known as a charismatic priest who suffered for his faith and continues suffering. He spends long hours in prayer, counselling and preaching. Most of the time he is in the church; often for 10 hours a day.

Those who oppose the apparitions of the Blessed Mother at Medjugorje are constantly after Father Jozo trying to stop his mission, but those who accept Medjugorje, consider him a dedicated priest and are inviting him to lead retreats for them and pray for them in their needs. Among those who are inviting him are many priests and bishops. Father Jozo is tireless in that service." 

Yes, Father Jozo is a priest in good standing who continues to spread the message of Our Lady of Medjugorje until today. Throughout the years, he has suffered a great deal because of his strong faith in God. He was sent to prison just because he refused to deny the apparitions and wanted to protect the visionaries. Those who know him well will agree that he is an honorable priest whose soul is filled with holiness. As a holy priest, he has given himself entirely to the Church and spends the whole day praying and carrying out his duties and responsibilities untiringly. How many people can actually spend more than 10 hours a day in Church like Father Jozo? The answer is - very few.

You may also like to read JUSTICE FOR FATHER JOZO ZOVKO, THE SAINTLY PRISONER: FATHER JOZO ZOVKO and ARE THE MEDJUGORJE APPARITIONS AUTHENTIC? To view the content page of this blog, please click here. There is a complete list of my articles about Medjugorje on this page.

References:

1.  Medjugorje. Information Center "MIR" Medjugorje.

2.  The Apparitions of Our Lady at Medjugorje by Father Svetozar Kraljevic. Informativni Centar "MIR" Medjugorje.

3.  Letter of Clarification Regarding Fr. Jozo. Medjugorje.org.

4.  Father Jozo Zovko, O.F.M. Daily Catholic. 3 November 1999.

5.  The New American Bible. Thomas Nelson Publishers.