Fr Jozo Zovko OFM was parish priest of St James, Medjugorje when the apparitions began. At first he did not believe in them, but later he felt prompted by God when one day in church he heard the words: "Protect the children", and he became the young visionaries' defender. Within weeks he was arrested and imprisoned by the Communist authorities, who suspected him of political intrigue, but he has become one of the great spokesmen for Medjugorje through his missionary journeys around the world and through the large crowds he draws to his preaching and healing services at the Franciscan monastery of Siroki Brieg, near Medjugorje, where he now lives.