Pope Francis has approved a Catholic spiritual devotion centred in Medjugorje, a town in Bosnia that has been steeped in controversy over whether the Virgin Mary appears to local people, the Vatican said on Thursday.

While it offers no definitive judgment on the supernatural authenticity of the alleged apparitions, the Vatican’s report highlights the abundant good fruits that have come from Medjugorje.

Pope Francis initially appeared skeptical. The apparitions of the Madonna of Medjugorje, which continue to occur at scheduled times decades later, manifesting to the six alleged visionaries,