Pope Francis has granted approval to Catholic spiritual devotion centred in Medjugorje.
It follows decades of Vatican investigations into the alleged visitations of the Virgin Mary.
However, the Vatican says the Pope is not declaring messages given by the alleged apparition of the Madonna are authentic.
It said the pontiff recognises there are "positive fruits" for Catholics in the spiritual experience tied to the town.
In the messages allegedly passed to local people since 1981, the apparition refers to herself as "the Queen of Peace".
