Ilača ( hu, Illyefő) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in eastern

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, southeast of

Vinkovci Vinkovci () is a city in Slavonia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. The city's registered population was 28,247 in the 2021 census, the total population of the city was 31,057, making it the largest town of the county. Surrounde ...

. The village is connected with the rest of the country by the D46 state road connecting it with the town of

and continuing into

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

as the State Road 120 to the nearest town of

Šid Šid ( sr-cyr, Шид, ) is a town and municipality located in the Srem District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It has a population of 14,893, while the municipality has 34,188 inhabitants. A border crossing between Serbia and C ...

Education

The village hosts a branch of Ilača–Banovci Elementary School ( hr, Osnovna škola Ilača-Banovci). Since 2002, the school administration has been based at the location in Ilača. The local school in Ilača has the most students. Classes in Ilača are conducted in Croatian and in Latin script. The editorial office of the school newspaper ''Jeka'' (Echo) is also located in Ilača . Other local schools that are part of the same administration are located in Banovci and

Vinkovački Banovci Vinkovački Banovci ( sr-Cyrl, Винковачки Бановци, hu, Bánóc) is a village in Croatia in the region of Syrmia. The village is a part of the Nijemci Municipality. Serbian community constitute majority of the local populatio ...

Religion

Ilača apparitions

Ilača is the most important

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

site in the historical region of

Syrmia Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exce ...

. The

Marian Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places * Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queenslan ...

Ilača apparitions The Mariology of the Catholic Church, Marian Apparitions of Ilača were reported sightings of miraculous events in Croatia in 1865. This was seven years after the Lourdes apparitions. Ilača became the most important Catholic pilgrimage site in t ...

were reported in 1865, seven years after the famous

Lourdes apparitions The Marian Apparitions at Lourdes were reported in 1858 by Bernadette Soubirous, the 14-year-old daughter of a miller from the town of Lourdes in southern France. From 11 February to 16 July 1858, she reported 18 apparitions of "a Lady". Soubi ...

. Shepard from Ilača Petar Lazin claimed that he saw a water on the middle of the field road although there was no rain, and that once he made a whole the water source started there that haven't stop since that time. At the same night, another villager, young Đuka Ambrušević saw a Virgin Mary with a child in his dream and she told him that it is her water spring, that he need to build a small wall around it so that stock don't drink from it. When he woke up he saw the image from his dream next to his bed. Initially church authorities tried to prevent congregation from pilgrimage. Later it was permitted by progressive bishop

Josip Juraj Strossmayer Josip Juraj Strossmayer, also Štrosmajer (; german: Joseph Georg Strossmayer; 4 February 1815 – 8 April 1905) was a Croatian politician, Roman Catholic Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop, and benefactor (law), benefactor. Early life an ...

. In 1866 small chapel was built next to the spring, and in 1870 construction of a church started. Ilača became target of pilgrimage for

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

as well as for

Eastern-rite Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...

Pannonian Rusyns Pannonian Rusyns ( rue, Русини, translit=Rusynŷ), also known as Pannonian Rusnaks ( rue, Руснаци, translit=Rusnat͡sŷ), and formerly known as ''Yugoslav'' Rusyns (during the existence of former Yugoslavia), are ethnic Rusyns from ...

. During the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...

church was destroyed by tanks of

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...

active in the area of self-proclaimed

Serbian Autonomous Oblast From August 1990 to November 1991, during the breakup of Yugoslavia, several Serb Autonomous Regions, or Districts ( sr, Српска аутономна област (САО) / ) were proclaimed in the Yugoslav republics of SR Croatia and SR Bosnia ...

SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia The Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srpska autonomna oblast Istočna Slavonija, Baranja i Zapadni Srem, Српска аутономна област Источна Славонија, ...

. Once the

UNTAES The United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) was a UN peacebuilding transitional administration in the Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia in the eastern parts of Croatia ...

finished its peace mission in the

Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia may refer to: * SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia (1991–1992) * Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia (1995–98) See also * United Nations Transitional Administration for Easte ...

in 1998 pilgrimage started once again to take place.

Gallery

Image:Ilača-Илача 12.JPG Image:Ilača-Илача 11.JPG Image:Ilača-Илача 02.JPG

References

Populated places in Vukovar-Syrmia County Populated places in Syrmia Marian apparitions {{VukovarSyrmia-geo-stub