{"id":1354,"date":"2019-01-28T00:22:01","date_gmt":"2019-01-28T00:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maranatha-conversion.com\/?page_id=1354"},"modified":"2019-02-21T03:08:01","modified_gmt":"2019-02-21T02:08:01","slug":"about-us","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/maranatha-conversion.com\/en\/about-us\/","title":{"rendered":"About us"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The goal of the \u00ab\u00a0Maranatha Conversion\u00a0\u00bb association is to establish an international ecumenical and interreligious movement to create bonds of faith, friendship fraternity and sodality between men and women of good will. The method is to contribute with prayer and fasting primarily – everyone in his faith and tradition – but also with times of shared cultural exchange – to help make peace – the gift of God – come into the world.
\nThe association \u00ab\u00a0Maranatha Conversion\u00a0\u00bb is a non-profit organization.<\/p>\n

To realize objectives, the association has implemented:
\n1. \u00ab Maranathons<\/strong> \u00bb: Meetings open to all, religious (or spiritual), philanthropic and artistic, from the 4th to the 6th of each month, in centers (existing or to be designated) and Marian shrines.
\n2. Establishment of the \u00ab Sakramento Peace Center<\/strong> \u00bb in Medjugorje (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
\n3. The creation of \u00ab Maranatha TV<\/strong> \u00bb, television channel to connect the centers and Marian shrines.
\n4. A website to support the primary goal of \u00ab\u00a0Maranatha Conversion\u00a0\u00bb, which is the healing of humanity and the building of peace in the world through Prayer & Fasting.
\n5. The \u00ab Queen of Peace Prize<\/strong> \u00bb issued on 21 September of each year \u2013 [A day chosen by the United Nations to be \u00ab Peace Day \u00bb.] to three women whose ministry makes life on Earth worth living.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Two co-founders\u00a0: Bishop Andr\u00e9 L\u00e9onard and Sabrina \u010covi\u0107 Radoji\u010di\u0107<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Bishop Andr\u00e9 L\u00e9onard<\/strong>, born on May 6, 1940. Before his episcopacy, he was professor of philosophy for more than 20 years at the Catholic University of Louvain and, for 13 years, superior of the Saint-Paul University seminar in Louvain-la-Neuve. As a priest, he therefore lived most of his ministry in the world of youth.<\/p>\n

Andr\u00e9 L\u00e9onard was Bishop of Namur (Belgium) for 19 years, then Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels for 6 years before retiring to France, in the Hautes-Alpes, where he is vicar in parish and chaplain at the Notre-Dame du Laus sanctuary, devoting his free time to writing and preaching spiritual retreats.<\/p>\n

He was member of the International Theological Commission (advisory body to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith).. His episcopal motto is “Maranatha!” which means “Come Lord!” Indeed, the Church expects nothing less than the return of Jesus in \u2018Glory\u2019. His Coming (and only His Coming) will annihilate the Anti-Christ (2 Thess 2,8). He will return for “restoration” and “regeneration” (Mt 19:28, Acts 3:21), fulfilling the reign of God “on earth as in heaven” (Mt 6:10), before handing over the “Kingdom to the Father\u201d (1 Cor 15, 22-28). Thus our movement and the structures within it take up this word \u2018Maranatha\u2019 which is also a prayer.<\/p>\n

Bishop Andr\u00e9 L\u00e9onard is the initiator, with Mrs Sabrina Covic, of the worldwide spiritual movement “Maranatha Conversion” which invites people of good will from all spiritual traditions to intercede, to pray for the conversion of the human heart and the healing of humanity.<\/p>\n

Sabrina \u010covi\u0107 Radoji\u010di\u0107<\/strong> was born in Osijek (Croatia) in 1966. Although she grew up in Paris she frequently travelled to the United States. Married to Vladan Radojicicic, they have two children, Katarina and Matthieu. A close friend of the Medjugorje seers, she is an author and translator of a range of books, and has directed documentaries about Medjugorje which are available on both video and CD all of which have as their theme “Medjugorje”. She also recounted her testimony “I wanted to help Heaven to save the world so I organized touring trips”, in a book published by Les Editions Sakramento which Sabrina herself founded.<\/p>\n

In 2007, Sabrina co-founded with Mgr Andr\u00e9 L\u00e9onard, now Archbishop Emeritus of Mechelen-Brussels (Belgium), the prayer movement “Maranatha Conversion”, an international, ecumenical and inter-religious movement of intercession for the healing of the world. Together they have organized many meetings and prayer meetings and international pilgrimages through several countries.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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The activities of “Maranatha Conversion” are taking on new dimensions:<\/p>\n

1\/ An exceptional place of welcome, the “Bethany” house in Medjugorje (Bosnia and Herzegovina). “B\u00e9thanie” is a warm “family house” with a beautiful permaculture garden and a few rooms to welcome and offer a relaxing and calm stay. In particular, it is a privileged place for people who would like to better understand the activities of the movement or the structures with which “Maranatha Conversion” has been collaborating for years, in order to be able to actively engage in one of these structures, by considering, for example, founding and running a Maranathon in their country of origin.<\/p>\n

2\/ Le Centre de Paix Sakramento qui comprend trois belles salles de r\u00e9unions tr\u00e8s bien \u00e9quip\u00e9es ainsi qu\u2019une librairie. Dans ce cadre, il est possible d\u2019organiser des r\u00e9unions informatives, des enseignements donn\u00e9s par des intervenants de qualit\u00e9. Ce lieu a ainsi accueilli, en septembre 2018, l\u2019\u00e9tape \u00e0 Medjugorje, du parcours \u00e9v\u00e9nementiel de la \u00ab Nuit des T\u00e9moins \u00bb qui se d\u00e9roula \u00e0 travers la Bosnie-Herz\u00e9govine, le Mont\u00e9n\u00e9gro et la Croatie et qui fut organis\u00e9 avec la fondation pontificale \u00ab Aide \u00e0 l\u2019Eglise en D\u00e9tresse \u00bb.<\/p>\n

The Sakramento Peace Centre, which includes three beautiful and well-equipped meeting rooms and a bookshop. In this context, it is possible to organize informative meetings and lectures given by quality speakers. In September 2018, this place hosted the stopover in Medjugorje of the “Night of the Witnesses”, an event that took place throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia and was organized with the Pontifical Foundation “Aid to the Church in Need”.<\/p>\n

3\/ \u00ab Maranathons \u00bb<\/p>\n

In Marian shrines and spiritual high places throughout the world, “Maranathons” are two days of prayer each month, like “marathons” of prayer, on the 5th and 6th of the month.<\/p>\n

We believe that prayer will save the world. Maranathons are times of intense prayer in privileged places. As in “little Noah’s arches”, everyone can take refuge there during difficult personal times. Maranathons are an opportunity to discover or rediscover our extraordinary spiritual heritage.<\/p>\n

On the 4th of the month in the afternoon or evening, an artistic meeting, followed by a debate and a snack, proposes to bring together people of good will, of diverse spiritual sensibilities, believers or even non-believers, wishing to meet “others” in an informal and fraternal exchange.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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\u00ab Maranatha Conversion \u00bb and \u00ab Maranatha Medjugorje \u00bb<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Archbishop Andr\u00e9-Joseph L\u00e9onard and Sabrina \u010covi\u0107 Radoji\u010di\u0107 met briefly in 2004, and again in 2007, where they began working together to launch “a prayer movement for the healing of mankind.\u201d This movement takes the name of \u2019Maranatha Conversion\u2019 in France and \u2018Maranatha Medjugorje\u2019 for the activities carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first Maranatha prayer meeting took place on Saturday 9th March 2013, in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Brussels, Belgium. Since then, other prayer meetings have taken place throughout the world including a first major pilgrimage to the Holy Land in August 2013; 550 pilgrims came from all over the world. Vicka, one of the visionaries from Medjugorje, was also in attendance. Since 2016, \u2019Maranatha Medjugorje\u2019 has been offering pilgrimages to Bosnia and Herzegovina, including Medjugorje, Mostar and Sarajevo. And since Sarajevo was the starting point of the First World War, we dream that it will become the starting point of world peace! It is also planned to strengthen the privileged links with the Holy Land by organizing at least one annual pilgrimage there.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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The boldness of an ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\u2018Maranatha Conversion\u2019 is an international, Catholic, ecumenical and inter-religious movement. We are aware of the risk of religious relativism, and of those who want to impose an anti-Christian world religion. We are conscious also of anti-Christian elements contained in other religions. However, we want to follow the path of two recent popes, who didn\u2019t think twice about inviting non-Christians to pray with them for peace: Saint John Paul II in Assisi on October 22, 1986 (On that occasion, all the religious groups congregated in one area, and, in order to avoid confusion, they took turns in reciting prayers; later in the day, they prayed simultaneously but in separate locations.). Pope Francis has also invited non-Christians to pray together with him on so many occasions. He who does good comes to the light (Jn 3:21), and at the glorious coming of Christ not only will the Christians (who witnessed to Jesus) reign with Christ, but also all those who have rejected evil (Rev 19: 4). In the very special times in which we live, it is therefore very appropriate to bring together men of goodwill who reject materialism, nihilism which carries the culture of death. In Medjugorje, when the Virgin Mary speaks of unbelievers, she speaks of “those who have not met the love of God.” The first words of the decalogue are words of love: “I am your God who delivered you” (Ex 20: 2). And Saint John summarizes the Bible: “God is love” (1 Jn 4: 8). St. John Paul II in Assisi also said: “Inter-religious dialogue is not independent of the Christian message. I humbly reiterate my own conviction that peace bears the name of Jesus Christ “. Jesus and He alone, will annihilate the Anti-Christ (2 Thess 2, 3-12). That is why the \u2018Maranatha Conversion\u2019 gatherings offer occasions not only to meet up with one another but also to spend time in fasting and prayer.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Maranatha-Medjugorje<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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The Maranatha-Medjugorje association is a registered association in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It follows the prayer intentions of the international ecumenical movement and Maranatha-Conversion.<\/p>\n

The Evil that’s surrounding us is such that it became normal for us to put up with it and we even started to call it ‘reality’ at the cost of sinking into passivity. So we asked ourselves in what way we could spread the Good rather than allowing the Evil to rule. Some people will think that we are utopians and idealists.<\/p>\n

But it doesn’t bother us. Let’s be idealists! Therefore, we enthusiastically invite you to participate in a movement that was initiated in order to create unity of all people of good will: unity which is required to make the healing of mankind possible (we see what the Tower of Babel has brought about); unity it is a gift from God and therefore we call it with our prayers.<\/p>\n

We will offer several times a year pilgrimages and meetings across Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country that enables it overcoming ecumenical boundaries by its nature and allows it to become interreligious.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Legal structures<\/h2><\/div>