Pope Francis has expressed some doubts on the messages, commenting in 2013 on the Virgin Mary’s particularly chatty nature at Medjugorje.

After decades, and controversy, the Vatican has authorized public worship at a shrine in Bosnia, where a once tranquil village has become a major pilgrimage site.

The Vatican is providing its long-awaited assessment on one of the more contested aspects of Roman Catholicism in recent years: the reported “apparitions” of the Virgin Mary at an otherwise unremarkable village in southern Bosnia.

In June 1981, six children aged 10 to 16 claimed that the Virgin Mary appeared to them on a hilltop near the town.

The Vatican said Thursday it recognised the shrine of Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina, without commenting on the Virgin's "alleged messages" to the faithful, who have gathered there in the millions for more than 40 years.

The Vatican issued a long-awaited note on the alleged apparitions at Medjugorje, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It did not say the apparitions were authentic but acknowledged spiritual fruit.

The Marian apparitions in Medjugorje stir considerable controversy among the faithful and those outside the Church. Some are convinced of the authenticity of the events, while others have significant doubts.