Christian music artist Carman Licciardello has been diagnosed with cancer.
The musician and evangelist wrote on his Facebook page Thursday morning: “I have delayed
writing this but those of you I call friends and supporters, who have prayed for me and this
ministry need to know about this new battle that lies ahead. One week ago I was diagnosed with
myeloma cancer. It is incurable and I’ve been given a 3- to 4-year window of time.”
Often described as part evangelist, part Vegas showman, the 57-year-old’s concerts “are more
like a rock-and-roll Billy Graham crusade than a Christian music event,” his website says.
“We’re humbled this first ‘pre-event’ surpassed our expectations so early on,” said Sean
Bloomfield, the film’s director, whose work also includes If Only We Had Listened with
Immaculée Ilibagiza. “The excitement we’re feeling is a testament to the incredible power of the
story and the hunger to learn what’s really going on in this little-known, remote village in Eastern
Europe.”
Controversy surrounding the alleged apparitions of Our Blessed Mother is nothing new, but a
documentary exploring the cultural phenomenon with interviews from those who are witnessing
its effects first-hand is a journey that hasn’t been made in earnest until now.
“We’ve come to rely on information that’s based on hearsay and headlines and this film cuts
through all of that,” said Zaid Jazrawi, the film’s producer and co-creator. “Our principal goal in
bringing a film to theaters that explores this alleged phenomena is to offer a closer look at what
seems to be the Ground Zero of mass conversions to the faith.”
Since 1981, Medjugorje has received over 30 million visitors and remains the largest active
confessional in the world. Because the apparitions allegedly continue to this day through a
number of the visionaries, the Church has not authenticated the reported experiences. While the
Magesterium would likely not promulgate a ruling until the purported apparitions cease, that
hasn’t had any effect on the growing number of ‘informal’ pilgrimages from across the Globe.
Funded partly through a crowd-funding campaign at www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-
triumph, The Triumph’s March 18 pre-release will be in select cities across the U.S. Visit
www.thetriumph.org.
(Source: Christian Newswire)