The 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 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 ...

. Initially, church authorities tried to prevent congregations from pilgrimage. Later, it was permitted by bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer. In 1865, a shepherd from Ilača, Petar Lazin, claimed seeing water on the middle of the field road although no rain had fallen, and that once he made a hole, water started flowing and continued thereafter. On the same night, another villager, Đuka Ambrušević saw the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

with a child. In his dream, she told him that it was her spring, and that he must build a wall around it so that livestock could not drink from it. When he woke up, he saw the image from his dream next to his bed. In 1866, a small chapel was built next to the spring, and in 1870 construction of a church began. Ilača became the 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 = ...

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as well as for

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Pannonian Rusyns. 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 ...

, the church was destroyed by tanks of the

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

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 resumed. A documentary about Ilača pilgrimage was recorded in 2010. It was presented at the UK Christian Film Festival and Lecce International Tourfilm Festival.

References

External links

Župa sv. Jakova, apostola, Ilača
{{coord missing, Croatia Marian apparitions Shrines to the Virgin Mary Pope Pius IX Mariology Catholic Church in Croatia History of Slavonia 1865 in the Austrian Empire 1865 in Christianity Hallucinations Roman Catholic churches in Vukovar-Syrmia County