Virgin Mary Statue Defaced with Graffiti Saying “Devil In A Skirt”

Bosnian police have arrested a man after vandals defaced a statue of the Virgin Mary and set fire to an outdoor altar at the internationally renowned Catholic pilgrimage site of Medjugorje, just days before tens of thousands of pilgrims are expected to gather for the shrine’s annual youth festival.

Authorities arrested the suspect on Tuesday in connection with the overnight vandalism and arson at the Shrine of Our Lady in Medjugorje. Investigators have not released the man’s identity and are examining whether he was responsible for multiple incidents reported at the shrine.

Police responded at approximately 4:30 a.m. on July 27 after discovering that the face and hands of the Virgin Mary statue on Apparition Hill, also known as Podbrdo, had been covered in black paint.

The statue’s pedestal was spray-painted with the English phrase “Devil in a skirt,” while additional graffiti was found nearby.

Investigators also reported that an outdoor altar near St. James Church had been deliberately set on fire. Surveillance footage allegedly captured a man pouring what authorities believe was gasoline over the altar before igniting it. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze before it could spread.

The attacks occurred only days before Medjugorje’s annual international youth prayer festival, an event expected to attract more than 50,000 pilgrims from around the world.

In a statement, the Medjugorje Parish Office condemned the vandalism while urging Catholics to respond with prayer, fasting and forgiveness rather than anger.

“It is with great sadness that we received the news of the act of vandalism,” the parish said.

Church officials confirmed that volunteers immediately began cleaning and restoring the damaged prayer sites to ensure they remain open to pilgrims.

“The affected areas are being cleaned and restored as quickly as possible,” the parish said, thanking volunteers for helping preserve Medjugorje as “a place of encounter with God, a place of peace.”

Rather than calling for punishment, parish leaders encouraged the faithful to pray for those responsible.

“We pray for the conversion of the hearts of those who committed this act,” the statement said, asking God to “touch them with His grace and lead them on the path of goodness.”

The parish also appealed for peace, urging Catholics “not to return evil for evil,” but instead to bear witness through “love, forgiveness and hope.”

Despite the attack, church officials confirmed that the shrine remains open and that all scheduled Masses and prayer services will proceed as planned.

Located about 140 kilometres southwest of Sarajevo, Medjugorje became one of the world’s most visited Catholic pilgrimage destinations after six children and teenagers reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary there in 1981.

The incident comes after the Vatican reaffirmed its support for pilgrimages to Medjugorje, approving continued devotion at one of the Catholic Church’s most widely visited and closely scrutinised Marian pilgrimage sites.

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