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The Vatican Decree for plenary indulgences in Medjugorje reveals an interesting name that has been chosen for Medjugorje. Our team helped translate into English the Latin Decree (In the image above) given by the Vatican for Plenary Indulgences for the Jubilee Year in Medjugorje.

The full Latin transcript and English translation of this plenary indulgence can be read here.

Interestingly, the Decree reveals The Vatican has given Medjugorje an entirely new Latin-Greek name, Mesoropoli, routed in Ancient Greek and Ecclesial Latin.

When the Church formulates Latin names for locations, it sometimes directly Latinizes existing words, while in other instances, it incorporates Greek influences, depending on historical and theological considerations. For example, Paris is known in Church Latin as Lutetia Parisiorum. Given that the Croatian name Međugorje translates to “between the hills,” one might expect a straightforward Latin adaptation such as Mediamonte, following the precedent of Montenegro (meaning “Black Mountain”), a nearby country located just south of Medjugorje.

Mesoropoli would be classed as an Ecclesial Latin-Greek name, although the structure is entirely Greek itself. The Ecclesial Latin, or official Church Latin often adopts ancient Greek terminology due to the historic biblical connection.

The choice of “Mesoropoli” over a purely Latin alternative, such as “Mediimontium” or “Medii Montis,” is intriguing. Latin remains the official language of the Church, but it frequently borrows from Greek, especially for theological and ecclesiastical terms. Medjugorje, historically situated at the crossroads of the Latin West and Byzantine East, naturally lends itself to a name with Greek roots.

Mesoropoli: In the middle of two Latin-Greek Christian Empires

While Mesoropoli follows Greek linguistic structure, it is classified as a Latin-Greek name, reflecting the Church’s frequent use of Greek in theological and ecclesiastical terminology. The decision to adopt a Greek-rooted name over a purely Latin alternative, such as Mediimontium or Medii Montis, is interesting, and potentially significant. Latin remains the official language of the Church, but it often integrates Greek elements due to the historical connection between Greek and biblical scholarship.

Medjugorje sits at a historical and geographical crossroads between the Latin West and the Byzantine East, making a Greek-Latin name particularly fitting. The Catholic Church’s choice may also underscore Medjugorje’s potential role in fostering unity between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, particularly given its location near the historic fault line of the Great Schism of 1054.

One striking feature of Mesoropoli is the inclusion of polis, the Greek word for “city.” While Medjugorje simply means “between the hills,” Mesoropoli could be interpreted as “a city in the middle of mountains” or “in the middle of the cities.” This distinction adds symbolic depth, as Medjugorje lies geographically between two major centers of Christendom: Rome, the heart of Western Catholicism, and Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), the historic capital of Eastern Orthodoxy.

The etymology of Mesoropoli breaks down as follows:

• Meso (Greek: μεσο) – “middle” or “between.”
• Oros (Greek: ὄρος) – “mountain.”
• Polis (Greek: πόλις) – “city.”

Thus, Mesoropoli can be interpreted as “City in the Middle of the Mountains” or “City Between Cities”, reflecting both the physical and symbolic position of Medjugorje within Christendom.

The Significance of the Church’s Choice

By bestowing a name rooted in Ancient Greek, the Church may be subtly acknowledging Medjugorje’s role as a bridge between East and West. While the reasons behind this naming may hold no deliberate intent, it is clear that the Vatican considers Medjugorje’s significance in its historic and geographical location.

This linguistic choice reinforces Medjugorje’s spiritual role on the map —a place of reconciliation and unity between Eastern and Western Christian traditions.