Important international gathering taking place in Međugorje
The 23rd international meeting of pilgrimage organizers, leaders of peace centres, prayer and charity groups is taking place in Međugorje. The event, which lasts until 4 March, has brought together 270 participants from 25 countries: Latvia, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, France, Spain, Guatemala, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Italy, Lithuania, Russia, the United States, Portugal, Canada, Great Britain and Romania. The focus of the meeting is the Year of Mercy, reports medjugorje-info.com on March 3, 2016.
Coordinator of the event is the Međugorje parish priest Fr. Marinko Šakota who explained the guiding message of the meeting: "I hope we will have a good year as Our Lady wishes. Međugorje invites us that we should not try to change others but ourselves, to grow in love, forgiveness, self-knowledge and knowledge of God. Međugorje is the path towards peace."
One of the participants is Nikola Đukić, who organizes pilgrimages to Međugorje from Spain. This is his second meeting of this kind: "Here in Međugorje, Our Lady has given me a second chance at life. I came to Međugorje in 2003, but I was not a believer. And then I entered the Cenacolo community to escape my problems, and I stayed there for six years. Later I met my wife, who is from Spain. We now organize pilgrimages from Spain to Međugorje. I had never thought that I could bring pilgrims to Međugorje. People who had heard our story, that we had met in Međugorje and everything else what happened, they started calling us to follow them in their pilgrimages. And that is how it spontaneously began. Međugorje is my life, here I was born again", says Nikola, adding: "It is very important for us to bear witness of Međugorje with our lives. At this meeting, Fr. Marinko's lectures are very important to me, as well as sharing experiences with other organizers of pilgrimages, especially those coming from Spain."
In addition to lectures, participants take part in evening prayers at the church, they work in separate language groups and visit the Apparition Hill.
