Volunteers and parish workers in Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, have restored the statue of Our Lady, Queen of Peace, on Apparition Hill the day after it was defaced in an overnight act of vandalism, according to local reports and the Medjugorje parish office.
The attack took place in the early hours of Tuesday, July 28, when black paint was poured across the face, chest, and dress of the statue on Podbrdo (Apparition Hill), and the words “Devil in a skirt” were scrawled on its pedestal. A second statue near the close-by Blue Cross was similarly defaced, and a banner in Polish naming the shrine’s six visionaries was left at the site. Surveillance footage also captured a man dousing the outdoor altar of St. James Church with a flammable liquid and setting it on fire; the blaze was quickly extinguished by firefighters.
In response, members of the parish community, the Cenacolo Community, and other volunteers moved swiftly to clean and repair the damaged statues and altar area, allowing the shrine’s evening prayer program to continue that same day.
After the restoration was completed, pilgrims and the Cenacolo Community knelt before our Lady to give thanks.
Bosnian police arrested a 31-year-old Polish national, identified
