date: 24.01.2015.
The Third Franciscan Order was established in Medjugorje on September 17, 1885, by Fr. Anzelmo Culina. According to the information from 1940, the parish had 625 members of the Third Franciscan Order. After the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1981, not just the Third Franciscan Order but the whole parish radiated with peace and joy. The new members were taken into the Order, and since then, members were celebrating all major feasts in their communion. From1991 -2007, we do not have any official record about the work and the activities of the Third Franciscan Order. We know that they never stopped their service and it was in 2007, that the late parish priest Fr. Petar Vlasic initiated the Order and undertook the spiritual guidance. They began to meet every first Saturday for confessions, Holy Mass for all the members, especially for those who had died. On October 2, Fr. Petar Vlasic assigned Fr. Danko Perutina as the spiritual guide and he undertook the process of renewal of the brotherhood. He organised various lectures, movie presentations with the theme of St. Francis and Franciscan life, as well as of the other saints. They prayed together, discussed and worked in groups and grew in communion of the Third Franciscan Order. They also had guest speakers who encouraged them with their examples and life. After Fr. Danko left the parish, Fr. Ivan Landeka Jr. became the new spiritual assistant.
(Taken from the annual magazine of Medjugorje parish „Oasis of peace”, December 2014)
