Polish man arrested for vandalizing popular Medjugorje shrine

Medjugorje, a globally renowned Marian shrine in Bosnia and Herzegovina, has been rocked by an act of profanation that has deeply disturbed pilgrims and the local Catholic community. Early Tuesday morning, a 31-year-old Polish man was apprehended after vandalizing and setting fire to key sites within the sanctuary, a destination for hundreds of thousands of faithful annually.

Security camera footage captured the man defacing the exterior altar of St. James Church and spray-painting blasphemous messages on the statue of the Virgin Mary on the Hill of Apparitions, known as Podbrdo, and on the Blue Cross. Among the offensive phrases scrawled in English were "Devil in a skirt" and "Evil." The statue of the Virgin Mary, also called the Queen of Peace, was covered in black spray paint on its pedestal and figure. A banner with the names of the "Medjugorje visionaries" was also found, accompanied by a message in Polish stating, "...they are impostors; I have proof."

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Devil in a skirt

The alleged perpetrator has been identified as Bartlomiej Wlodzimierz Krakowiak, a Polish national with a remarkable past. Reports indicate he overcame a severe drug addiction in his youth and underwent a profound spiritual conversion, becoming a model of spirituality. A Polish documentary released in March 2024, "Powolany 2" (Called), chronicles his journey from addiction and prison to this transformation. Krakowiak had visited Medjugorje numerous times and was known to many faithful as an inspirational figure.

The incident has cast a shadow over the sanctuary, particularly as it occurred just before the International Youth Festival (Mladifest), an event scheduled to begin in August that draws tens of thousands of young faithful from around the world. In response, many pilgrims visited the vandalized sites early in the morning to pray and express solidarity with the parish community.

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...they are impostors; I have proof.