Beth Racine had just come out of church after confession in Medjugorje and was leaning against a wall when something caught her eye. A disc covered the sun. She saw swirling colors to the sides — red on one side and white on the other — that made her think of the image of Divine Mercy.

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.