The Queen of Peace and Christina Georgotas
Christina Georgotas
Mary, the Mother of God, has been appearing daily to visionaries of Medjugorje, in the former Yugoslavia, since June 24, 1981. More than 45 million people have traveled to the little village of heaven on earth and discovered a true love of Jesus by means of repentance, conversion, miraculous healing and spectacular visible signs.
There are times that God does not confine the miracles of Medjugorje to geographic location.
Christina Georgotas, a gifted filmmaker and producer, had traveled no further than her mom’s laptop when she first personally encountered the Queen of Peace as she appeared to visionary, Mirjana Soldo, in a previously recorded apparition. The fruit of that encounter is the newest and most compelling documentary of the events in Medjugorje appropriately titled Queen of Peace.
I was introduced to Christina by our mutual friend, Christine Watkins, best-selling author of Full of Grace. I was blessed to meet Christina in person at the Medjugorje Peace Conference in Irvine, California. Now, it’s my pleasure to share this interview and present Christina Georgotas.
CM: Christina, thanks so much for this opportunity. Please introduce yourself to our CatholicMom family.
CG: Hello CatholicMom family! First, I want to thank Brian for this amazing opportunity to share Medjugorje with all of you, for his tireless hard work, and for always making me laugh.
My name is Christina Georgotas, and I am just one of millions of people who have been deeply touched by a pilgrimage site called Medjugorje, where it is said that The Virgin Mary has been appearing to six individuals for over 31 years. My background is in Reality TV production and development, but I recently finished a documentary called “Queen of Peace” about the extraordinary events taking place in that small village in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Through Medjugorje and by the grace of God, my life has been completely transformed and this film is my way of sharing the very important messages of Our Lady with others.
CM: It’s likely that our readers are familiar with a show that you developed and several others that you produced. Tell us about your successful work in mainstream television.
CG: I was very fortunate to have been given so many opportunities in the entertainment industry at such a young age. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, I look back now and see God’s hand guiding me along every step of the way, because if it had not been for all of my experiences, I never would have been able to make “Queen of Peace”.
It wasn’t initially in my plans to go into the television industry. During my junior year of college, I did a study abroad internship program in London, where I sort of “fell into” an internship at a television production company. I learned so much from that internship and had so much fun that I decided to change my career track and make it my profession after I graduated. Back in New York that summer, I landed another internship at “Live! With Regis and Kelly” where I worked closely alongside producers of the show. It was during that summer that I also met Kelly Ripa and her husband Mark Consuelos. In the fall of my senior year of college, they contacted me about working for them as their personal assistant, which was an amazing opportunity. I started working in that position in the spring, and after about a year, they promoted me to Creative Executive of their newly developed production company Milojo Productions when I was just 22 years old. In my first year as Creative Executive at Milojo, I pitched and sold a television show to TLC called “Homemade Millionaire” which aired in 2010 and was hosted by Kelly. The show was a competition-reality that gave women with new inventions or product ideas a chance to launch their business and win a spot on HSN. It was the first show that I was able to be involved with on both the production and development sides, which was a great learning experience for me. I also worked on TLC’s “Masters of Reception”, “Jersey Cheer” for Lifetime, and traveled around the south working on a show called “BBQ Pitmasters” for Discovery’s new network Destination America.
CM: Your life took a sharp, unexpected turn at a most unconventional crossroad – YouTube. What happened and how did this experience change the course of your personal and professional life?
CG: When I was in High School, I had fallen away from my faith, and I was living for many years without really believing that God exists. On October 12, 2008, that all changed very suddenly when I first saw a video of Medjugorje.
I was visiting my parent’s for the weekend and my mom wanted to show me a video that she found on youtube. It was a video of an apparition to Mirjana – one of the six Medjugorje visionaries, who not coincidentally, is the visionary who prays for nonbelievers. I didn’t really know about apparitions at that time, but I politely watched it anyway.
The video showed a blonde woman (Mirjana) surrounded by thousands of people, completely focused in prayer. She began to breathe a bit heavier and clasped her heart…then in an instant, she looked up and was in ecstasy. The look on her face was so filled with emotion! I can’t really explain or describe the feeling that overtook me, but in that moment it struck me in a very profound way that God really exists, and that she [Mirjana] was really speaking with The Virgin Mary. It impacted me so deeply that I began to cry uncontrollably. That video was really the catalyst that sparked a very profound change in my entire life.
From that moment, I wanted to know everything about Medjugorje, and I wanted very much to go there. That June 24th (the first day Our Lady appeared in Medjugorje), my dad passed away very unexpectedly in Greece, and that event led my family and I to be able to visit Medjugorje for the first time one year later. It was during that trip that the idea was conceived in me to make a documentary to share Medjugorje with others, especially young people like myself who had fallen away from their faith. When I came back from my second trip to Medjugorje a few months after my first pilgrimage, I decided to leave my job and to make that thought a reality.
Queen of Peace
CM: Since your miraculous “re-awakening”, you have traveled to Medjugorje and dedicated your time, talent and treasure to producing and distributing Queen of Peace, which best-selling author, Wayne Weible, promotes as “A must see documentary” and journalist, Daniel Klimek, endorses as “a film of great depth, beauty, spiritual and intellectual prowess.” What is your hope and what is your vision for Queen of Peace and all those who view it?
CG: I believe the film, Queen of Peace, has truly been guided by The Queen of Peace. Every step of the way from conception, to production, to final product would never have been possible without Our Lady. There are too many examples of doors that were opened to even list here! The film was finished about the same time that I finished St Louis De Montfort’s Total Consecration, so I consecrated both myself and the film completely to Our Lady and gave everything over to her.
My hope for the film is that it will reach a new audience who has never heard of Medjugorje before (I’m always surprised by how many people that is), or who might be struggling with their faith, as I once was. Our Lady is touching so many hearts and she is always bringing us to her Son. I went from not even believing in God, to wanting to give my life completely to Him in any way He desires of me, and I thank Our Lady of Medjugorje for that. I believe that same transformation can happen to anyone and I hope when people see the film and realize that this is truly happening – that Our Lady is truly here – they will also desire to follow her and her messages to change their lives and start down the path of holiness that we are all called to.
CM: Christina, I experienced a miraculous healing while on pilgrimage in Medjugorje. The joy of that spiritual anointing was renewed in my heart while watching Queen of Peace. I’m very excited that our parish will host a screening with you in February during your Nothern CA tour. I’ve also shared the film with friends who have never been to Medjugorje and they were genuinely inspired. Please share some responses you’ve received from those who’ve already viewed this grace-filled documentary.
CG: Thank you for those kind words! I have been receiving many touching and beautiful responses from people from around the world who have seen the film and have been deeply moved. The greatest responses I receive are about putting into practice the messages of our Blessed Mother. Recently I was in Iowa for a screening at Holy Family Church in Davenport, and after the screening, a woman approached me to talk about fasting and how to begin putting that into practice in her life. She saw the film, heard the request of Our Lady, and gave her “yes” to start to really live what the Queen of Peace is asking from all of us. That was so amazing to hear!
I often have people tell me they were brought to tears during the film.
I’ve had people give the DVD to family members who have always been closed or cynical about Medjugorje who have completely changed their view on it. I’ve received emails from families who are now going on their first pilgrimage to Medjugorje after seeing the film. Recently, an Iowa mom shared a letter with me that her adorable six-year old daughter, Gianna, wrote to the Blessed Mother after watching Queen of Peace.
If a person was moved, if their heart was opened, if it penetrated them on a spiritual level – that is what makes the film powerful. And that has nothing to do with me, it is something that happens in each individual’s own heart connecting with God.
CM: What’s next? Do you have any other projects “on the burner?”
CG: For right now, my main focus remains promoting “Queen of Peace” and bringing the messages of Medjugorje to new audiences, but there are a few other exciting projects that are in the works!
When I was at the Medjugorje Conference in Irvine, California, I was introduced to an amazing, talented, inspirational and beautiful musician named Tajci (Tatiana Cameron). By her late teens, Tajci was a huge popstar in Europe, selling platinum records, and achieving a level of fame that very few people ever experience. With that fame came loneliness and emptiness. But unlike so many celebrities today, who often turn to drugs and alcohol as a means of ‘escape’ – Tajci turned to God. And at the height of her career, she literally left all of her fame and fortune, and came anonymously to the United States to rediscover herself. She now travels around the country with her husband Matthew and their beautiful children sharing the love of God through her music. Together we are hoping to make a reality show that will not only entertain, but inspire and change lives. She is the positive role model that we desperately need in the entertainment industry and I’m very excited to be working with her and her family on this project.
CM: Thank you for the gift of this interview, Christina! Do you have any closing thoughts or comments you’d like to share with our readers?
CG: I thank all of you for letting me share a bit about Medjugorje and the film Queen of Peace. For anyone who sees the film, I hope you will use it as a tool to bring the messages of Our Lady to all the people in your life and that it will bear much fruit through you. But more importantly, I hope every person who sees it will open their hearts to live the messages that Our Lady gives us in Medjugorje, through conversion of heart, prayer, fasting, Eucharist, Bible reading, and Confession. More recently Our Lady has asked us especially to pray for priests. Thank you and God bless you!
The Queen of Peace Northern California Tour
Dates are still available from Feb 2-17. Christina will travel to share her powerful testimony with your group or parish for a special Queen of Peace screening in Central/Northern California. Contact Anne Fultz at afultz1966@gmail.com or phone 209-484-2633 for scheduling and event details.
Win a Pilgrimage for Two to Medjugorje
Everyone who attends St. Patrick’s Miracles of Medjugorje Healing Conference in Merced, CA, March 16, 2013, will be entered in a drawing that day to win a pilgrimage for two to Medjugorje valued at approximately $6000.
Visit www.stpatrickconference.com for registration and event details. Winner must be present.
Visit www.medjfilms.com to purchase your copy of Queen of Peace
Watch Queen of Peace Trailer
Miracles of Medjugorje Healing Conference – Central California
+JMJ+
Copyright 2012 Brian K. Kravec
