Five Greek Catholic bishops present for visionary Ivan Dragicevic’s apparition on November 16 in Zahleh, Lebanon, shows the Virgin Mary now raising her voice to all Christians in the Middle East, says lay people president who expects a Middle East breakthrough for Medjugorje now.
Ivan’s first apparition in Lebanon, on November 15 in Bkerke
Medjugorje will be much more known in the Middle East, and a lot of opposition to the apparitions will cease with visionary Ivan Dragicevic’s visit to Lebanon these days, the president of the Marian lay people in Galilee expects after Ivan’s apparition in Zahleh on Friday.
The apparition took place in the Greek Catholic shrine of Our Lady of Zahleh, and was attended by five Greek Catholic bishops, more than 40 priests, and a total of more than 7,000 people. The church was full, and other thousands were present outside.
Charbel Maroun
“Today is the first time that a Medjugorje apparition took place in the Greek Catholic Church in the Middle East. It means that Our Lady is now working seriously in the Middle East, and that she wants to bring her voice to the Christians in the Middle East where almost all of them belong to this church” Charbel Maroun, president of the Marian Movement for Lay People in Galilee, tells Medjugorje Today.
“It is very important for us that Ivan is in the Greek Catholic Church with bishops from the same church being present for the apparitions. It means a lot for us that they gave us permission to enter their churches to speak about the message of Our Lady in Medjugorje to the faithful of these churches”.
Attendees waiting for Ivan’s visit to Zahleh to begin on November 16
“We have had a lot of problems speaking about Medjugorje, with not a few Greek Catholic priests. Now these problems will disappear because all of them, and all the Christians, are seeing that bishops from their church are welcoming these apparitions, and have been present at the apparition. This is very, very important for the Marian movement, to our movement, and to all Medjugorje prayer groups” says Charbel Maroun.
He views Ivan’s visit to Lebanon as a major breakthrough for Medjugorje in the entire Middle East:
Greek Catholic Archbishop Issam Drawish of Zahleh
“Sure, sure. It is also the first time that the media speak about Medjugorje in this way – strongly. Now, people in the Middle East are aware of what is going on in Medjugorje. A lot of them had never heard about it before” he says.
In his homily, Greek Catholic Archbishop Issam Darwish struck a note of great friendliness. A personal friend of the visionary from his time as Melkite Catholic Eparch of Australia and New Zealand, the Archbishop spoke of both Medjugorje and Ivan:
“We are here to listen to Medjugorje’s special message for us tonight. I warmly welcome Ivan in my name and in the name of all of you. Ivan who comes from the village of Mary. This village that the Church has proclaimed a center of Marian devotion. Ivan is my closest friend, many times he visited me in Australia, and I visited him in Medjugorje. I encourage everyone of you to visit Medjugorje. Medjugorje is the most important Marian shrine in the world” Archbishop Issam Darwish said.
Ivan receives Holy Communion from Cardinal Patriarch El-Rahi in Bkerke on November 15
According to Ivan, the Virgin Mary was very joyful and happy during the apparition. She gave this message to the attendees in Zahleh:
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