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Medjugorje and Fatama are both holy places in which Our Lady has appeared to many in
order to bring a message to the world. In the book Left to Tell, Mary appeared to Ilibigiza in a
dream and prayed for peace throughout her stay at Pastor Murinzis house. The apparitions that
Ilibigiza had are similar and different to the ones that occurred at Medjugorje and Fatama.
Peace, peace, peace and only peace. Those were the words of Our Blessed Mother at
Medjugorje on June 25, 1981. Our lady appeared to 6 visionaries at Medjugorje to reveal ten
secrets to all of human kind. Peace is a major topic which comes up often as a message revealed
to the six visionaries. These visionaries saw Our lady on June 24, 1981 for the first time in
Medjugorje. At time of the first apparition they were all children. Their names are Vicka
Colo, Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti. Medjugorje is located in Bosnia and Herzegovina and it was on a
mountain when Our Lady first appeared to 6 children. These six children were communicating
with Mary and having apparitions of her for many of years and three of the original visionaries
still have apparitions today. Now anyone can go to Medjugorje and feel the presence of both Our
Lord and Our Lady. The presence of Mary on the mountain will overwhelm you with peace as
many of the people have visited have said. When Mary appeared she would pray with the six
and send messages about the war and the end of war. Her main messages were often about peace,
fasting, conversions and prayer. Many Christians and Catholics like to visit Medjugorje to feel
The Basilica of Fatima, in Cova de Iria, Portugal. Our lady came to a small village called
Fatima and appeared to 3 children and told them to come back later for a miracle preformed by
God. The children were told by Our Lady that God would perform a miracle so that people
would believe in the apparitions and in Him. Over 70,000 people returned for the miracle and
they looked at the sun without it hurting their eyes or even blinking. While they were watching
the sun it rotated got larger and smaller, became closer to some people and far away. The sun
danced. Every person watching testified to seeing the sun dance even non-believers fell to
their knees. Now, every 13 of the month Our Lady appears to a visionary. These apparitions are
similar to those of Medjugorje in ways that they both are both able to be witnessed by anyone.
No matter who you are, you can feel the presence of Our Lady and God throughout Fatama and
Medjugorje. Our Lady appeared to the children, at Fatama, to spread the message of warning
and hope to the world. That is a very similar message to the one of Medjugorje. The message of
Medjugorje is to communicate to the world the ten secrets that were meant to help the world, and
Imaculee Ilibigiza wrote a book about her experiences in the Rwandan genocide called
Left to Tell. In the book, Ilibigizas faith was ultimately what escalated her to freedom in the end.
Due to her prayer and trust in the Lord, she was able to completely hand herself over and let God
protect her and guide her to freedom. Ilibigiza also has a strong connection with Mary in that she
sees Mary as a motherly figure. I especially loved the Virgin Mary, believing that she was my
second mother, watching out for me from heaven. I didnt know why, but praying just made me
feel warm and happy. (Ilibigiza 6). Ilibigiza had a strong connection with Mary and always felt
love and comforted when she would pray to her. One day, Ilibigiza snuck away from school one
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day and visited Father Clement, a wise elderly presit who was a good family friends of the her
family and almost lik a grandfather figure to her. She hiked seven miled one day with her friend
Jaenette through fields and forests and waded across a river to reach Father Clement. When she
arrived, and met with Father Clement, she and Jaenette sold father that they wanted to dedicate
their lives to God and become a nun. Ilibigiza from a young age always wanted to serve God and
her faith helped her to freedom during the Rwandan genocide. These are all the apparitions of
Mary, Our Blessed Mother and how she can touch anyones heart in all different ways.
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Works cited
"The Story of Fatima, Portugal." OLOF HOME PAGE. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.
Ilibagiza, Immacule, and Steve Erwin. Left to Tell: One Woman's Story of Surviving the
Rwandan Holocaust. Australia: Hay House, 2014. Print.