Next weekend the movie depicting the story of the visions of the Medjugorje village children and the subsequent persecution of village priest Father Jozo will be shown at St. Patrick's Hall.

"Gospa'', staring Martin Sheen, Michael York and Morgan Fairchild, will be aired on Saturday, July 13 at 7.30 p.m. in aid of the Bosnia Relief Fund.

According to the Medjugorje Handbook -- A Pilgrim's Guide, hundreds of thousands of visitors/pilgrims believed that the Virgin Mary -- known locally as "Gospa'' -- has been appearing to a group of young people every evening since June 24, 1981.

The four young people who first saw the "Gospa'' were then 16-year-old Mirjana Dragicevic, Ivanka Ivankovic, then 15, 17-year-old Vicka Ivankovic, and Ivan Dragicevic, 16.

Two additional youths have also seen the "Gospa'' since June 25, 1981. Maria Pavlovic was 16 when she first saw the vision and Jakov Colo was only ten.

The first apparitions reportedly took place on a mountain side above the village of Bijakovici on June 24, 1981.

The handbook said the apparitions then took place in the local houses and in the fields.

"For about three years a side chapel to the right of the main altar -- in the church of St. James the Great -- was used by the visionaries for their evening meetings (with the "Gospa''),'' the book said.

The apparitions, according to the book, always occur about the same time at 6.40 p.m. in summer and 5.40 p.m. in winter.

Lucy Willitts, who recently travelled to the area, said the apparitions were still occurring and in June celebrated its fifteenth anniversary.

"It remains an oasis of peace,'' Mrs. Willitts said. "It hasn't been touched by the war.'' She said that the former communist government wanted the six youths to be deemed as being insane, but Father Jozo refused to denounce the youths.

As a result, Mrs. Willitts said, Father Jozo was arrested, interrogated and charged with inciting the masses to plot to overthrow the country. He was tried and served three years in prison.

Presently, she said, Father Jozo was still preaching just outside the town and has personally had one apparition of the "Gospa''.

And the six visionaries, Mrs. Willitts added, are still seeing the apparitions today.

"One has their meetings (with the "Gospa'') on the mountain and the others see her at their homes,'' she said.

Mrs. Willitts said the visionaries claimed that the "Gospa'' asked all people, regardless of their religion, to pray for peace.

"She (the "Gospa'') asks all of us to pray for peace,'' she added. "And she said there was no exceptions.'' Personally, Mrs. Willitts said she had experienced some unusual occurrences while visiting Medjugorje.

"I had heard all the stories before and I felt a pull, so I decided to go visit for myself,'' she explained. "One morning I was walking to church and something said look up. The sun was spinning so fast. It was spinning on its axis. It stopped and then pulsated.

"After there were these colours, blue, light pink, it was extraordinary. I just cried.'' Film's screening to aid relief fund Mrs. Willitts added that there had also been some reported and documented physical healings in the area and said she believed that "something'' did happen in Medjugorje.

"It's all about where your heart is,'' she said. "I learned to pray with my heart. Before I just prayed with words but now I pray with my heart. It's all about conversion.'' Like Mrs. Willitts thousands have been to Medjugorje from all over the world to witness these supernatural claims first hand.

To date the Catholic Church has not reached a verdict on the authenticity of the apparitions.

The seating capacity at St. Patrick's Hall is 200.

Mrs. Willitts added that a small donation would be appreciated from those attending the film. The funds are in aid of the Bosnia Relief Fund.