Mary touched this priest’s heart and converted him at Medjugorje

In December 2002, Sebastien Brière converted in Medjugorje (1). Born into an ordinary family where faith, God and catechism were entirely absent, his only example of prayer was his maternal grandmother. Describing himself as very shy and introverted, Sebastien suffered a very serious accident at the age of twelve, in which he almost lost his life. This accident, he says, was incomprehensible to him and his family at the time. He spent normal teenage years, then experienced a great love that ended badly.

While working as a landscape architect in Switzerland, he realized that, despite the appearance of happiness, he was not at peace inside, nor did he understand the purpose of his life. He felt deeply empty and lonely.

In 2000, one of his uncles urged him to go to Medjugorje, a place that had left a deep impression on him. Sebastien finally agreed, and arrived on December 23, 2002, accompanied by his girlfriend of the time. Entering the cold, crowded church, he was at first put off by the scene. Then, when the moment came for the consecration and the whole congregation fell to their knees, he suddenly began to weep. During the few days he stayed in Medjugorje, he wept often. The people around him reassured him, but he couldn't understand what was happening to him. It was like being born again - the birth of an extraordinary love: "Someone had just touched my heart."

From that day on, he says, he has had only two desires: to pray his rosary and to go to mass - something he can't do without. All around him, his family and friends are shocked. With his then girlfriend, Isabelle, he returned to Medjugorje three times in 2003. The love of Jesus continued to grow in his heart.

A year and a half after his conversion, in 2004, Isabelle encouraged him to choose between marriage and the priesthood. The question had never crossed his mind. After a short period of rebellion against his vocation, he embraced it: the Lord was calling him to become one of His priests. He was confirmed in 2005 and immediately entered the seminary. He was ordained a priest in 2011 for the Diocese of Orléans, and has been sharing about his conversion story ever since.

Jacques de Guillebon 

Essayist and journalist. Contributor to the French Catholic magazine La Nef

www.1000raisonsdecroire.mariedenazareth.com

(1) Marian shrine in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the Virgin Mary has appeared since 1981.