Vatican approves pilgrimages to Medjugorje

The Vatican has approved pilgrimages to Međugorje, arguing that the positive spiritual experience of those who visit justified allowing organized spiritual visits to the town in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a group of local teens in 1981. 

"The time has come to conclude a long and complex history that has surrounded the spiritual phenomena of Medjugorje. It is a history in which bishops, theologians, commissions, and analysts have expressed a series of divergent opinions," said a Note presented at a press conference on Thursday at the Vatican by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández. 

The Church has issued a "nihil obstat" - a declaration - authorizing public devotion to Mary, Queen of Peace in Medjugorje.

"Nihil obstat" means that the faithful are allowed to give their spiritual devotion to this phenomenon, which may positively motivate them in their Christian life," said Fernandez.

In the decision, the Vatican does not weigh in on whether the reported apparitions were authentic.

This comes 43 years after the six teens reported seeing a woman they believed to be "Gospa", Our Lady in Croatian. To this day, the six seers claim they still receive messages from the Virgin Mary, some daily.

Their claims were met with skepticism from the Vatican, which conducted decades of investigations into the alleged phenomenon. However, this has not stopped tens of millions of Catholic pilgrims to visit Medjugorje since 1981. Religious tourism has become a major driver of the local economy and this decision is likely to contribute to the trend.