date: 02.08.2015.
On August 2, we had chance to hear a testimony of Gottfried Prenner, lay theologian from Austria. He experienced conversion during one of the apparitions in 1984 and graduated at the Faculty of Theology afterwards. For the last 13 years he has been working as a missionary in Eastern Europe, Germany, Kosovo, in Palestine, Brazil, Rwanda, and in many other countries. He received missionary blessing from his local bishop Ägidius Zsifkovics from Zeljezno, as well as from seven other bishops (Graz, Moldavia, Kiev, Odessa, Zaporožje, Jerusalem, Kosovo). He gives lectures in many countries about the apparitions in Medjugorje and is forming prayer groups. Gottfried said that he is really happy to be here in Medjugorje and added: „ 31 years ago Gospa touched me so deeply here. It was then when one engineer became a theologian, lay missionary who can work for Gospa today. I was never planning that. When I was student, I was going to the church because my mother wanted me to. I prayed, but only before the exams. I never had genuine, real relationship with God. I was searching for something, as I knew something must exist, but I was not able to find that. I did not find that in discotheque, not even in the relationship with one girl. When that relationship was broken, I did not want to continue my life. I was in Austria when I attended a lecture titled „Lourdes, Fatima, Međugorje“. I knew I needed to come here. I was struck by the fact that we live in the time of the grace when Gospa appears, it was not history, it was now. My plan was to come here and to attend one apparition. I came and asked a priest to join the apparition, but his answer was no. I was broken. It was after Holy Mass that the same priest came and told me I could come the next day. That priest was humble Fr. Slavko. I was so happy, full of joy. I came to the chapel very early the next day. Many people came along with the children and we all started to pray. In one moment all of them fell to their knees and I knew Mary was there with us. I could not see anything, but I felt Her. I only said one sentence: Mary, take my life and lead me. Once I said that, I felt such love, from top to toe, and it was in that moment that I found everything I was searching for all of my life. I became a new person. It was one sentence that changed all of my life. I found the purpose of my life, which was Heaven, not this world. The fact that Mary gathers us here, is because she wants us to bring us to Heaven“.
