Vicka stands on the stairs leading to a veranda with people pressing to get closer, some on roof tops, some on nearby walls trying to get a better view. Many, like myself, wondering what a girl chosen by heaven would look like.

Vicka is a plain, ordinary girl who exudes happiness as she speaks of the messages of the Virgin - standing patiently for over four hours as each language is translated and each group of pilgrims slowly disperse.

She turns to the English-speaking crowd. I have a good vantage from a nearby roof. She begins to pass on the messages of peace in the world between men and God.

She assures the crowd: "I will pray for you to the Blessed Virgin this evening."

Vicka finishes with a prayer but still the crowd hold on, touching her hands and asking for special petitions. Finally they let her go.

Many reported cases of miraculous cures have been attributed to Medjugorje. I have heard of people with terminal illness making unaccountable recoveries. Like Heather Duncan, of Aberdeen, whose case baffled the medical world. Heather was wheelchair-bound after severing some spinal cords while picking up a patient in the hospital where she worked. She then visited Medjugorje and returned home without her wheelchair.

For others the signs are different, like one gentleman who shows me his Rosary beads in which the links between each bead have turned to gold. For others the miracle is just the simple return to their faith.

Towards the end of the week I visit a drug rehabilitation centre founded in 1991 by an Italian nun called Sister Elvira. Lying near the base of Hill of Apparitions this community of around 160 former drug addicts from 11 different countries has been built from scratch by the residents themselves.

Two young men introduce themselves. Alan, a young Italian, explains the work and every day routine of the community while Sinisa, from Croatia, a serious dark haired man in his late thirties, tells how he became addicted to heroin and eventually came to this sanctuary within Medjugorje.

No medications are offered to the new intake addicts to ease their withdrawals when they arrive. However they are attended day and night by a 'guardian angel' as they call him. He is, in fact, one of the more experienced former addicts who has himself undergone the same physical and mental symptoms which the newcomer is experiencing.

Not even cigarettes are allowed on the premises as the men work diligently to build this haven and rebuild their lives. "It is not a prison and the gates are open to any who feel they cannot cope with the regime of hard work and prayer," explained Alan.

"Of the original ten boys who came here in 1991 two still remain, seven have returned to a normal life working in the outside world, some of whom are married with children now and one died of Aids contracted through an infected needle before he came here."

It is difficult to explain the effect Medjugorje has on you. I cannot deny that Medjugorje has had an effect on me.

There is beyond doubt something about the place probably best described by John Harte, from Livingstone, who stated: "We've all lost our sense of the supernatural, Medjugorje lets us regain that."