Medjugorje, just southwest of Mostar in modern day Bosnia and Herzegovina, was a quiet Yugoslav town when, in 1981, the Virgin Mary allegedly appeared to six local children. Soon, pilgrims began arriving at Medjugorje, much to the dismay of Yugoslav authorities, who were dubious of anything that would stoke instability in the nominally secular state — particularly just a year after the death of the country’s enigmatic socialist leader, Josip Broz Tito. Many ordinary Yugoslavs were also wary of Catholicism. Some still remembered the involvement of members of the Catholic Church in atrocities committed by the Uštasa (a Croatian fascist movement that allied with Nazi Germany) during the Second World War, including forced conversions, deportations, and massacres. Afraid the events at Medjugorje would become conflated with some newfound Croat nationalism or neo-fascist ideals, the Yugoslav authorities immediately denounced the apparitions as a hoax. But this did not deter many thousands of …