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An apparition of Our Lady of Medjugorje for Mirjana, 2. April 2010

The many accounts of personal stories involving Medj. show how only the hand of God can get to the bottom of a person’s heart and radically change it.

This is the story of a young woman who lives in a religious community in Medj. She was born in a Catholic family; her parents practised their faith, but from when she was a little girl, she felt nauseated by everything they did. At first, out of respect, she hid these feelings from them, but when she was only 13, her heart was already distant from them, from prayer and from God.

"The Way of the Cross" is not only a great testimony to an inner depth and maturity, but it is in fact a school for interiority and consolation. It is also a school for the examination of conscience, for conversion, for inner transformation and compassion - not as sentimentality, as a mere feeling, but as a disturbing experience that knocks on the door or my heart, that obliges me to know myself and to become a better person." - Pope Benedict XVI

My name is Candace Evans. I am 43 years old and live in New Hampshire (USA) with my husband and nine year old son. My parents, both deceased, were Jewish. My mother was an atheist. We never spoke of religion in our home so I never had any spiritual teaching or guidance as a child, nor later as an adult.

Respected brothers, the purpose and aim of this questionnaire is to make a list of priests who received their vocation through Medjugorje.

So, we kindly ask you to fill out this form with following information:

By Sara Foss, Birmingham Post-Herald

Accusations of brainwashing and money laundering plague an area religious group as some unhappy members leave

Terry Colafrancesco started Caritas in Shelby County in 1987 to promote the experience of Medjugorje, the Eastern European village where six youngsters reported seeing the Virgin Mary.

Today, Caritas has grown into a multimillion-dollar enterprise, complete with families who live there year-round, a travel agency that offers trips to Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina, a publishing arm and even a farm. Caritas' mission of educating people about Medjugorje remains unchanged.

But recently the organization has come under fire by longtime residents who have left the community and others interested in Medjugorje. A lawsuit filed in California accuses Colafrancesco, the president of Caritas, of brainwashing residents and using funds raised from donors to purchase heavy equipment for himself.

By Sara Foss, Birmingham Post-Herald

In 1986, a man with a great enthusiasm for Medjugorje began visiting Jack Sacco in his office at the Eternal Word Television Network, a Roman Catholic television network based in Irondale.

At that time, Sacco was organizing one of the first trips from Alabama to Medjugorje, a rural village in Bosnia-Herzegovina where six youths had reported receiving messages from the Virgin Mary in 1981.

"I convinced two friends to go with me," said Sacco, a Birmingham native who now runs Michelangelo Films, a film production company based in Marina del Rey, Calif. "Before we left, this guy Terry is showing up in my office every day, all enthusiastic. He would talk about Medjugorje."

Sacco was referring to Terry Colafrancesco, then a landscaper who ran his business out of his home in Sterrett in Shelby County.

Today Colafrancesco is the president and founder of Caritas of Birmingham, a religious organization in Sterrett dedicated to promoting devotion to the visions of Medjugorje.

By Sara Foss, Birmingham Post-Herald

When the Flynn and the Littiken families moved to Caritas of Birmingham, they did it for their children.

The idea of a wholesome farming community, where devout Roman Catholics worshipped together and worked side by side, appealed to them.

By Andy Treinen, Fox News 19

Faith is defined as a complete acceptance of a truth which cannot be proved by the process of logical thought. All of us have faith in something, but sometimes our faith is betrayed. That's exactly what happened to a local man who after nine years, came to the realization that he was in a cult.

Tom O'Neill, a Xavier graduate and former teacher at LaSalle High School, was also in the FBI for 20 years. But none of his past work prevented him from making one of the biggest mistakes of his life. Now, his daughter is the one at risk.

"What is happening at Caritas is exactly the same as Waco, Texas," claimed O'Neill.