Vatican secret vote on Medjugorje apparitions revealed

New reports from Italian journalist David Murgia have revealed the details of a 2016 secret vote held by the Vatican regarding the alleged Marian apparitions in Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to the findings, a group of 33 theologians and cardinals reviewed the phenomenon. A two-thirds majority of the voters rejected the supernatural character of the events. Notably, six of the dissenting voters—including three cardinals—explicitly characterized the phenomenon as having a diabolical origin rather than a Marian one. These voters argued that the events could not be explained without the direct intervention of the ‘Evil One’ and called for a condemnation of the visionaries.

The investigation examined the findings of the international commission established by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 under Cardinal Camillo Ruini. While that commission had initially expressed a favorable view of the earliest apparitions, the 2016 dissenters argued that the assessment was based on incomplete documentation. Despite these internal theological rejections, Medjugorje has continued to grow as an international pilgrimage site.