Sr. Emmanuel of Medjugorje and an Orphanage

Amazing Sister Emmanuel

Sister Emmanuel speaking to us
in Italian.

   Sister Emmanuel is an energetic French nun with a captivating smile who came to Medjugorje in 1989. She has been promoting Mary's messages, miracles, and happenings in the village through books, audios, videos, TV interviews, newsletters, and speaking engagements all over the world.  Sister Emmanuel has an unwavering belief in the appearances and messages of Our Lady to the visionaries who continue to receive messages from Our Blessed Mother even to this day.

Italians who came to hear
Sister Emmanuel.

A large group of Italians and our group gathered in a wooded area to hear Sister Emmanuel speak about Our Blessed Mother's message to us.  Sister Emmanuel told us that Mary is asking us to renew our prayer life and unite it with Her Son to enlighten our souls.  Mary wants us to be apostles of love and pray for our priests so that they may continue to remain close to Her.  When our priests are close to Mary, they become tools of God.  Mary keeps all of us safe through Her motherly love and Her blessings.

After Sister Emmanuel's speech, books and CD's were available for purchase at very reasonable prices. Priests were allowed to choose any books and CD's without charge.

Mass at an Orphanage Chapel

Our priests after Mass.

   We returned to our bus and continued on to a nearby orphanage where we heard Vicka two days earlier. We gathered in the chapel at the orphanage for Sunday Mass.  Our three priests concelebrated Mass.  Roza, our Croatian hostess, her mother, and a nun who works at the orphanage joined us for Mass. Roza told us a story about Sister Sofa, a relative whose life-size image is sculpted in bronze in front of the chapel. Reportedly, an Italian woman who was unable to conceive for 20 years, came to Medjugorje.  This woman had blisters on her body and had gone to a local pharmacy for a remedy.  A nun who was standing behind her took the woman by the hand and led her to the Risen Christ, rubbed the oil dripping from the sculpture all over this woman's sores, and particularly on her stomach.  Shortly thereafter, this woman conceived and 9 months later delivered her first baby.  The Italian woman identified the nun who had taken her by the hand as Sister Sofa, but Sister Sofa had been dead for several years.  It was at this point that the woman realized that this nun must have appeared to her to help her experience a miracle.  Many miracles take place in Medjugorje according to Roza.

Roza in front of sculpture

 

Sculpture of Sr. Sofa

    Individual pilgrims presented an  assortment of gifts for the orphans and  nursing home residents.  I brought a  variety of art materials so orphans of  all ages could use them.  I purchased  friendship pins for the elderly nursing  home residents. The friendship pins  displayed the Croatian and U. S. flags  crossed in kinship.  I hope the pins  bring smiles to their faces and that they  realize that someone across the ocean is thinking about them and praying for them.
   Croatians are very family oriented people, so to find elderly people in nursing homes, is rather unusual. Extended families are the norm. Elderly parents normally reside with one of their children.  I suspect that these elderly residents are a casualty of the past civil wars in the region.

Evening Prayer

   There was no Adoration this evening so we had Evening Prayer in a building near Sister Emmanuel's place. We recited the rosary and then shared how the "five stones" are working in our lives.  I became very emotional as I recalled the faith, daily prayers, daily Mass and family rosary that my parents brought us up with.  I recalled stopping whatever we were doing at noon when we heard the Angelus bells ringing from our parish church in Croatia or parish church in Columbus.  My tears thanked God for the compassionate and faith-filled parents I was fortunate to have in my life.  Then each of us had an opportunity to visit privately with one of our three priests and receive a blessing from them.  When individual visits were complete, the priests asked us (the pilgrims) to pray over them (the priests) and bless them.

The lightening struck the road near this area.

   As we headed back to our hotel.  Rain fell with a frenzy.  It was hard to keep dry even with an umbrella.  Thunder and lightening abruptly interrupted the downpour.  Some of us hurried along trying to get back to our hotel while others stopped at a coffee shop in an attempt to wait out the storm.  Two other pilgrims and I witnessed lightening strike a mere ten feet in front of us as we neared our hotel.  After a few shrill screams, we quickly picked up the pace and continued on to our hotel, soaked from head to foot.