GOING UP PODBRDO HILL (APPARITION HILL)

Podbrdo Hill, also known as Apparition Hill, is the name of the place where the visionaries first saw Our Lady. Be it day or night, pilgrims can be seen climbing towards the place of the first apparition. This place has been marked by a pile of rocks, with a simple cross placed in the middle.

A photo of Podbrdo Hill taken while I was walking towards the hill.

The Blue Cross at the foot of Podbrdo Hill. There are two of them. Below is another one. Those who cannot afford to climb the arduous hill can sit and recite the rosary in front of the blue cross.

How did the story of the Blue Cross begin? On 27 July 1982, on his way to the apparition site, Ivan (one of the visionaries) suddenly knelt down. Our Lady warned Ivan that the communist police were waiting for him there. The place where Ivan knelt became the site of today's Blue Cross. A second blue cross was later placed close to the first one. Instead of going to the apparition site, Ivan and his prayer group met at the foot of the hill - the place where the Blue Crosses are now. The Blue Cross had since became the secret meeting place for Ivan's prayer group. There have been many apparitions at the Blue Cross.

See how steep and rocky Podbrdo Hill is! Certainly NOT an easy climb.

Above are two of the bronze reliefs of the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary on Podbrdo Hill sculpted by Carmelo Puzzolo from Italy. (The reliefs of the Joyful and Sorrowful Mysteries of the rosary were placed along the path leading up to the hill in 1989).

Two beautiful Medjugorje postcards. These are the scenes that you can see on Podbrdo Hill. In honour of the 20th anniversary of the apparitions, a statue of the Queen of Peace was placed at the very place of the apparitions. At first sight, this statue looks like the one in front of St. James Church. However, if you look at it carefully, you will notice that the features are slightly different.

I climbed Podbrdo Hill only once. When I went there for the second time with the intention to climb the hill again, it looked like it was going to rain. I changed my mind and after snapping some photos at the foot of the hill, I went to do some shopping before I went back to my hotel to prepare for church. Anyway, if I had climbed Podbrdo Hill that day, I would be late for church. That was also one reason why I decided not to climb Podbrdo Hill that day. I have never missed the Croatian Rosary (6.00 pm) and Croatian Mass (7.oo pm) at St. James Church during my stay in Medjugorje. In fact, every pilgrim feels that it is compulsory to be there in the evenings. (You can click here to go to the contents page of this blog)