31-year-old Pole suspected of vandalising Medjugorje shrine

The suspect, born in Warsaw, was arrested in the village of Cerno, near Ljubuski, and remains in custody.

Police suspect him of desecrating the main statue of the Virgin Mary on Podbrdo Hill, as well as another smaller statue, setting fire to the outdoor altar of the Church of St James, and writing messages in Polish and English against Međugorje, the Virgin Mary and the visionaries.

The statue stands on Podbrdo Hill, where six visionaries have claimed since 1981 to have witnessed apparitions of the Virgin Mary. Graffiti reading "Devil in a skirt" and claiming that the visionaries had lied was found on the statue's pedestal.

The incident has shocked the Bosnia and Herzegovina's pilgrimage site, which attracts thousands of Catholic pilgrims from around the world every year.