6/29/09

Medjugorje: Mirjana speaks of Pope John Paul's Shoes


Question and Answer with Mirjana

*Question: We went on a pilgrimage and we were blessed to stay at your house once and we noticed the Pope’s shoes are in a little display at your house. Can you tell us how Pope John Paul II’s shoes arrived there?
*Answer: I am the only one of 6 visionaries who was lucky enough, had the honor, to encounter Pope John Paul II. You can imagine how the other 5 are jealous of me. [laughter] Jakov always says, “Oh, yea, you have been with Pope.”
I was in the Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilica, with an Italian priest. Holy Father was walking by and he was blessing us. When he approached me, he blessed me and he just continued to walk. However, this Italian priest loudly said to him, “Holy Father, this is Mirjana from Medjugorje.” He came back and blessed me again and he set out. And I said to the priest, “ He just thinks I need a double blessing.” But then after, he received a note, an invitation to Castle Gandolfo, close to Rome, in order to encounter the Pope. I couldn’t sleep all night because I really loved him and I respected him and I could really feel his love for Our Lady.
So the next day when he and I met alone, I was just crying. I couldn’t say a word out of excitement. He noticed that I was excited. I think he tried to talk to me in Polish because he thought in the Slavic languages there are things in common. I didn’t understand a word! But I finally had enough strength and courage, I asked him, “What are you trying to tell me?” Then we talked. Among other things he said to me, “I know everything about Medjugorje. I’ve been following Medjugorje. Ask pilgrims to pray for my intentions, to keep, to take good care of Medjugorje, because Medjugorje is hope for the entire world. And if I were not Pope, I would have been in Medjugorje a long time ago.”
So recently on the Mount of Apparitions, I saw a pair of shoes of the Pope in front of me, and after the apparition, this gentleman who brought these shoes ( he didn’t introduce himself), he said, “It was the Pope’s desire for a long time to come to Medjugorje. I said, ‘If you do not go, I will take your shoes.’ And that is how I brought his shoes, so they may be present during the apparition.”
Now I have a pair of his shoes in my home. But what is funniest in this, a man who made the shoes for the Pope, an Italian from Rome, he heard that I have a pair of the Pope’s shoes, and imagine, he wouldn’t believe it. He made two pairs of Pope’s shoes for me. My number’s 38 [in the US, size 7].

2 comments:

Deacon John said...

What a great heartwarming story! Thanks for posting it. I'm going to post a copy on my "Mary, Our Mother blog! Recently I wrote to Pope Benedict XVI a personal letter regarding some of my problems and I received a lovely autographed picture and a note saying he read my letter and will pray for me. He also gave me a blessing. This answer really meant a lot to me and gave me a lift and courage to continue on with my struggle in life! God bless our Pope; we need to pray for him and support him in these trying times when so many are attacking him.
Deacon John

Ed Sousa said...

Deacon John,
Thanks so much for writing and sharing this story with me.
Back in 1984 when my Father was dying of cancer I wrote to pope John Paul and he sent me a wooden rosary with a note signed by him. I gave that rosary to my son when he was ordained a priest.
God Bless, Ed