We ask you, urgently: don’t scroll past this
Dear readers, Catholic Online was de-platformed by Shopify for our pro-life beliefs. They shut down our Catholic Online, Catholic Online School, Prayer Candles, and Catholic Online Learning Resources—essential faith tools serving over 1.4 million students and millions of families worldwide. Our founders, now in their 70's, just gave their entire life savings to protect this mission. But fewer than 2% of readers donate. If everyone gave just $5, the cost of a coffee, we could rebuild stronger and keep Catholic education free for all. Stand with us in faith. Thank you.Help Now >
Franchising to Evangelize
FREE Catholic Classes
By Jesús Colina
NAZARETH, Israel (Zenit) - The construction of the Mary of Nazareth International Center is part of an evangelization project to publicize the mystery of the Mother of God through technology, explains the project's director.
In this interview with us, Olivier Bonnassies speaks about the scope of the project that aims to spread knowledge and love of Mary worldwide through associate centers.
Q: What is the Mary of Nazareth project?
Bonnassies: On Mar. 25, 2007, feast of the Annunciation, the first stone of the Mary of Nazareth International Center was laid in Nazareth.
The [then] Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, accompanied by bishops of all the traditional Christian churches in the Holy Land, presided over this moving ceremony, during which the apostolic nuncio transmitted Benedict XVI's blessing.
"Never before had the Christian churches of the Holy Land, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant, joined in this way to support a project. It is a small miracle!" said Bishop Marcuzzo of Nazareth, sent as a delegate by the episcopal conference of the Holy Land to support the project.
And, he added: "This initiative makes me very happy; it will be useful for the Church in the Holy Land, for pilgrims and also for the universal Church, because it will motivate us in a very practical way to address the great mystery of the Incarnation, and Mary's sublime place in the heart of the Christian community!"
Work is under way to actualize the center, which will offer pilgrims, tourists and the inhabitants of the Holy Land a unique place, with several modules, not only to discover Mary but also the principles of the Christian faith. They will [be completed] in just over a year; the inauguration is foreseen in 2010.
Q: What is the project's objective?
Bonnassies: The production of the Nazareth Center is the first stage of a great project of evangelization that seeks to help the public discover the grandeur of the mystery of the Mother of God, as well as all the beauty, truth and profundity of the Christian faith, using above all the different means of communication.
In the spirit of St. Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort, we wish to make the Virgin Mary known and to promote love of [her] so that, through her, Jesus is better known and loved. "Jesus Christ came to the world through the Most Holy Virgin Mary and also through her, he must reign in the world," the saint said in his "Treatise of True Devotion."
In a second phase, the Mary of Nazareth project will unfold in the whole world, through the creation of associate Marian Centers, which will use the contents elaborated by the Nazareth Center.
Three are already planned, in Lebanon, Brazil and Poland, with increasing local funding for the multiplication of multimedia productions distributed in these Marian Centers, for traditional means of communication, and the display of Web pages referring to the Virgin Mary and the whole of Christian faith in association with other movements.
Q: Have you been successful already in funding the whole project?
Bonnassies: Unfortunately, not yet. The whole project will cost €9.5 million [$12 million]; we have already obtained €6.5 million [$8.2 million], but €3 million [$3.8 million] are still lacking to be able to finish the work in the five buildings we have purchased and to finance the production of the first series of multimedia contents of great quality, which is already under way.
Q: Do you think that this project answers a current need?
Bonnassies: Yes, because this world needs to rediscover Mary.
We find ourselves today in a paradoxical situation: Most people do not know the principles of the Christian faith, but the world has a great thirst for truth. It has lost its compass and doesn't know where to find it.
Christians, who really have something to say, magnificent treasures to transmit, showing to what degree their faith is well founded, true, strong and beautiful, must seek all means to make themselves heard by the great public.
The Mary of Nazareth project was born from the need to be furnished with new and adapted means to make known and to love in a renewed way the woman who leads to Christ.
Q: What are the strengths you count on for the future?
Bonnassies: There are several, thank God. The first strong point is that the cornerstone of this project was laid in Nazareth, just in front of the basilica of the Annunciation, where everything began, in the holy place of the Incarnation, where the Eternal entered into time and where Jesus, Mary and Joseph lived a hidden life for 30 years.
The fact that this project begins in Nazareth is an opportunity and a privilege -- because half a million pilgrims come here every year -- to then spread to the whole world. The local Churches ardently desired such an initiative after their synod of the year 2000, which defined the great priority as the "pastoral care of the Holy Places."
John Paul II and Benedict XVI repeatedly pleaded that everything possible should be done to help Christians of the Holy Land. This project of peace, which has been well received by all the Christian communities, and also the Muslims and the local Jews, will also create jobs and relations with numerous countries, and give all our brothers of the Holy Land new reasons to stay, in keeping with their vocation.
This great project of reunion around Mary, is supported by three patriarchs, nine cardinals, the bishops of the major Marian shrines -- Loreto, Lourdes, Guadalupe, Czestokowa, Aparecida, etc. -- many [famous] personalities, 25,000 donors, 2,000 men of prayer and 50,000 subscribers who receive our free information bulletin, "Minute with Mary," every day on the Internet.
The Mary of Nazareth project will increasingly unfold in a logic of openness and association with all Christian movements and producers that share the same goals and the same desire of evangelization through the media.
Q: What is a Marian center associated with Mary of Nazareth?
Bonnassies: An associate Marian center is a very simple concept: It is a place where the public can come to discover the Virgin Mary -- in a new and intense way -- and the whole of the Christian faith, through multimedia productions that, if possible, will be constantly renewed.
Q: Where will associate Marian centers will be built in the future?
Bonnassies: The projects will always be implemented at the request of the local bishop, with the commitment of a religious community, for daily care.
The places will be found practically in the numerous existing shrines, large or small, or in other suitable places: Above all there will be a need for the faith to be proclaimed in a strong, modern and attractive way, to touch in a new way people whom the Church has not succeeded in reaching.
In addition to the structures of important dimensions of the associate Marian centers, which receive thousands or millions of faithful, it will also be possible to present all or part of audiovisuals of evangelization developed by Marian centers in special halls, made available either by the shrines or already existing places of evangelization.
Q: How and who will manage these Marian centers -- associated with the International Marian Center of Nazareth -- which you will multiply in the world?
Bonnassies: The associate Marian centers created in the future will always be managed and financed locally by those who take charge of them. It could be communities, congregations or movements encouraged and supported by their bishops.
The Marian center will function as a "franchise," which means that we will make available to them free of charge all the audiovisual productions developed in the framework of our project. By way of exchange, the centers will give back 9% of their earnings generated by [entrance fees] to the center and by these activities -- fees, shop, restaurant, etc.
It should be specified that this project, which responds to a classic commercial structure, is not geared to profit. All the directors of the Mary of Nazareth association have always been volunteers, and will continue to be so in the future. The earnings that our association will receive -- which we hope will be ever greater as the number of associate Marian centers increases -- will only be used for two ends: to constantly produce new multimedia contents of great quality at the service of the Gospel and to support the Marian centers that are in difficulty, especially in countries where evangelization is more difficult.
These simple principles could allow many to join this selfless project, totally at the service of evangelization, and find the means for its development.
Q: How many people do you hope to reach?
Bonnassies: At present we are working on a "model Marian center," which would cost some €2 million and could receive 150,000 people a year. We believe that this type of center might find a financial solution in all developed areas that could equal several million people. We hope that there will be dozens of centers of this type in the coming years, which all together would be visited by several million people a year.
If we succeed in this, if this helps numerous people in the world to discover Mary, and through her and with her, Jesus our Savior, and if associated sites on the Internet also have a great audience, this would be fantastic.
This will also change many things, because it will mean that we have created an important network of Christian distribution which does not exist at present, and which will benefit everyone.
Because all Christian producers who so wish will be able to contemplate the possibility of developing projects of greater breadth, given that they will have the possibility to find more easily a larger public and hence be able to obtain greater cost-effectiveness. The multiplication of Marian centers might also be a fantastic opportunity that leads to the discovery of the beauty, profundity and truth of the Christian faith.
Q: Are you seeking associates at present for all this?
Bonnassies: It is a project that, evidently, is difficult to construct, and all people of good will are welcome.
Those who have the possibility of foreseeing the creation of a Marian center associated to that of Nazareth in their country or region, can begin to reflect on it, in connection with their bishop.
This project will be carried out in association with all those who love the Virgin Mary and who long for the Holy Land, for the unity of Christians and for the evangelization of the world.
In past centuries, our [forefathers] built cathedrals; at the start of this third millennium, we hope to build Marian centers that will radiate the faith to today's world!
It is a privilege and a profound joy to participate in such a project. All of us volunteers and benefactors live it as such. The past years have demonstrated that Providence wills it.
Thousands of human beings in the world are waiting for the Gospel. The participation of all those who feel called to this project is truly necessary.
Contact
Catholic Online
https://www.catholic.org
CA, US
Catholic Online - Publisher, 661 869-1000
customerservice@catholic.org
Keywords
Evangelize
More Catholic PRWire
Showing 1 - 50 of 4,716
A Recession Antidote
Randy Hain
Monaco & The Vatican: Monaco's Grace Kelly Exhibit to Rome--A Review of Monegasque-Holy See Diplomatic History
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.
The Why of Jesus' Death: A Pauline Perspective
Jerom Paul
A Royal Betrayal: Catholic Monaco Liberalizes Abortion
Dna. Maria St.Catherine De Grace Sharpe, t.o.s.m., T.O.SS.T.
Embrace every moment as sacred time
Mary Regina Morrell
My Dad
JoMarie Grinkiewicz
Letting go is simple wisdom with divine potential
Mary Regina Morrell
Father Lombardi's Address on Catholic Media
Catholic Online
Pope's Words to Pontifical Latin American College
Catholic Online
Prelate: Genetics Needs a Conscience
Catholic Online
State Aid for Catholic Schools: Help or Hindrance?
Catholic Online
Scorsese Planning Movie on Japanese Martyrs
Catholic Online
2 Nuns Kidnapped in Kenya Set Free
Catholic Online
Holy See-Israel Negotiation Moves Forward
Catholic Online
Franchising to Evangelize
Catholic Online
Catholics Decry Anti-Christianity in Israel
Catholic Online
Pope and Gordon Brown Meet About Development Aid
Catholic Online
Pontiff Backs Latin America's Continental Mission
Catholic Online
Cardinal Warns Against Anti-Catholic Education
Catholic Online
Full Circle
Robert Gieb
Three words to a deeper faith
Paul Sposite
Relections for Lent 2009
chris anthony
Wisdom lies beyond the surface of life
Mary Regina Morrell
World Food Program Director on Lent
Catholic Online
Moral Clarity
DAN SHEA
Pope's Lenten Message for 2009
Catholic Online
A Prayer for Monaco: Remembering the Faith Legacy of Prince Rainier III & Princess Grace and Contemplating the Moral Challenges of Prince Albert II
Dna. Maria St. Catherine Sharpe
Keeping a Lid on Permissiveness
Sally Connolly
Glimpse of Me
Sarah Reinhard
The 3 stages of life
Michele Szekely
Sex and the Married Woman
Cheryl Dickow
A Catholic Woman Returns to the Church
Cheryl Dickow
Modernity & Morality
Dan Shea
Just a Minute
Sarah Reinhard
Catholic identity ... triumphant reemergence!
Hugh McNichol
Edging God Out
Paul Sposite
Burying a St. Joseph Statue
Cheryl Dickow
George Bush Speaks on Papal Visit
Catholic Online
Sometimes moving forward means moving the canoe
Mary Regina Morrell
Action Changes Things: Teaching our Kids about Community Service
Lisa Hendey
Easter... A Way of Life
Paul Spoisite
Papal initiative...peace and harmony!
Hugh McNichol
Proclaim the mysteries of the Resurrection!
Hugh McNichol
Jerusalem Patriarch's Easter Message
Catholic Online
Good Friday Sermon of Father Cantalamessa
Catholic Online
Papal Address at the End of the Way of the Cross
Catholic Online
Cardinal Zen's Meditations for Via Crucis
Catholic Online
Interview With Vatican Aide on Jewish-Catholic Relations
Catholic Online
Pope Benedict XVI On the Easter Triduum
Catholic Online
Holy Saturday...anticipation!
Hugh McNichol
Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.
-
Mysteries of the Rosary
-
St. Faustina Kowalska
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
-
Saint of the Day for Wednesday, Oct 4th, 2023
-
Popular Saints
-
St. Francis of Assisi
-
Bible
-
Female / Women Saints
-
7 Morning Prayers you need to get your day started with God
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lost Traditions, Hidden Agendas: How Rockefeller Reshaped Medicine and Erased Ancient Knowledge
-
Advent Reflection - Day 4 - The First Wednesday of Advent
-
Separation of Church and State: Myth, Reality, and Its Role in a Troubled Society
-
This Giving Tuesday: Help Rebuild After an Attempt to Silence Us
-
From Holy Ghost to Holy Spirit: The Evolution of Language in Catholic Theology
Daily Catholic
- Daily Readings for Thursday, December 05, 2024
- St. Sabas: Saint of the Day for Thursday, December 05, 2024
- Infant Jesus of Prague Novena Prayer: Prayer of the Day for Thursday, December 05, 2024
- Daily Readings for Wednesday, December 04, 2024
- St. John of Damascus: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, December 04, 2024
- Thanks for Family and Friends: Prayer of the Day for Wednesday, December 04, 2024
Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.
Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.