Local Franciscans championed Marian visions to win a church power struggle

Evidence

At the time the Virgin was appearing in Medjugorje, the Bishop of Mostar, Monsignor Pavao Zanic, had been attempting to wrest control of some parishes from some local friars of the Franciscan order. Among the first champions of the authenticity of the Virgin’s appearances were local Franciscans. When the Virgin was asked by one of her interlocutors about the case of two Franciscans who had been punished by the bishop, she re plied that the bishop had made a mistake. The bishop worked tirelessly to have the visions condemned as a fraud.” — Michael A. Sells, The Bridge Betrayed, 264

Categorization

• XREF: Marian apparitions deployed in an intra-church power struggle parallels the reader’s notes on crusading-era politicization of religious display.