"Jakov's last daily apparition and tenth secret" by Sean Bloomfield

Jakov Colo calmly prayed as he waited for Our Lady to visit him, just as he had done every day for the previous 17 years of his life.

It was September 11th, 1998, and Jakov was a world away from the arid hills of Medjugorje, having come to visit his dear friend Marija Paulic and her family in Sunrise, Florida, near Fort Lauderdale. During his overseas trip—a rare feat for this young man who had always been afraid to travel in airplanes—Our Lady appeared to him in the usual way, every afternoon.

As he waited and prayed in the living room of Marija’s home, this day seemed no different. The Virgin finally appeared—a blissful moment which, according to the six seers, is impossible to describe in earthly terms no matter how many times it happens.

To Jakov’s shock, however, the Blessed Mother announced that this would be her last regular daily apparition to him. No reason was given. She concluded their meeting by requesting that Jakov prepare to receive the tenth and final secret during a special apparition the following morning.

After the apparition, Jakov struggled to understand what he had been told. He couldn’t comprehend the thought of no longer seeing Our Lady every day. In many ways, the Virgin was the paramount maternal figure in his life; she had been with Jakov longer than his own mother, Jaca, who had died soon after the apparitions began.

On September 12th, Our Lady appeared to Jakov at 11:15 AM (EST). According to Jakov,

According to Jakov, "When She came She greeted me as always with ‘Praised be Jesus.’ While She was confiding the 10th secret to me, She was sad. Then with a gentle smile, She said to me”:

"When She came She greeted me as a"Dear child! I am your mother and I love you unconditionally. From today I will not be appearing to you every day, but only on Christmas, the birthday of my Son. Do not be sad, because as a mother I will always be with you and like every true mother I will never leave you. And continue further to follow the way of my Son, the way of peace and love and try to persevere in the mission that I have confided to you. Be an example of that man who has known God and God’s love. Let people always see in you an example of how God acts on people and how God acts through them. I bless you with my motherly blessing and I thank you for having responded to my call."

Ending at 11:45 AM, approximately 30 minutes after it began, this apparition was especially long.

The parishioners and priests of Medjugorje, including the late Fr. Slavko, were taken aback when they received word of Jakov’s last daily apparition occurring in the USA. They had always thought it would take place in Medjugorje, where Mirjana and Ivanka had each received the tenth secret.

No one, however, was more affected than Jakov. He became depressed and withdrawn for many months, struggling with the absence of seeing Our Lady every day. Eventually, through ardent prayer, he came to understand that he had to be like everyone else who did not see the Virgin every day. Anyone, he allotted, could be close to her by praying with their hearts.

Three years later, the symbolic reason for the date and location of Jakov’s last daily apparition became apparent when, on September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda terrorists crashed hijacked planes into the World Trade Center buildings and the Pentagon. The attacks killed thousands and ushered in a new era of war, fear and uncertainty. It would later be revealed that many of the terrorists who piloted the planes had spent a substantial amount of time in Florida, preparing for the attacks and attending flight schools. Their plans, in fact, were being hatched at the same time that Jakov received the tenth secret.

When asked in 2003 if the secrets he has received have anything to do with the 9/11 attacks and the problem of Islamic terrorism, Jakov paused and then reluctantly said, “I should not answer that.”

Jakov lives in Medjugorje with his wife and three children. He waits impatiently for the one day every year that Our Lady has promised to appear to him for the rest of his earthly life: December 25th, Christmas day. When that day comes, Our Lady appears holding the baby Jesus, dressed in a radiant gold gown. Jakov’s eyes fill with childlike anticipation and excitement in the days leading up to Christmas.