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Tihaljina is a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina . It is located in the municipality of Grude , in the District of Western Herzegovina and in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina . It is located about forty kilometers from Medjugorje.

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The Church of St. Elijah in Tihaljina houses a statue of the Virgin which has become famous. Why ? At the time when the Church of St. James in Medjugorje was inaugurated, the parish priest of Tihaljina went to Italy and, in a shop, saw a statue of Our Lady of Graces that he found very beautiful . However, the price was substantial. He could not afford to buy it, but back in his parish, told his parishioners about it. He wanted her to be put in the church. The parishioners contributed to the puchase and the statue could soon find its place in the church.

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This statue then became famous when Father Jozo Zovko was transferred to this parish. The pilgrims of Medjugorje wanted to see and hear the testimony of the first pastor from the time of the first years of the apparitions. They came in great numbers  to listen to him.

 

Father Jozo then began to distribute to the pilgrims images representing the statue of Tihaljina and on the back he put the main messages requested by the Virgin. He noticed, when the pilgrims returned to see him, that they had received many graces with this image. Since then, this image has been considered miraculous. Today, pilgrims continue to receive graces by praying before the image.