Invitation to Life (often known as IVI) is a not-for-profit organisation founded in Paris in 1983 by Yvonne Trubert.
Régis Dericquebourg deemed the group as a “healing-oriented religion,” although it prefers not to be considered as a religion and includes members active in different religions.
History
Yvonne Trubert was born in
Laurenan,
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
in 1932 in a Roman Catholic family. While living in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, she discovered what her friends believed to be effective healing powers and she started gathering them in informal groups. By 1982, she had gathered some 60 members who decided that an association should be formally incorporated. This happened in 1983, and the association Invitation à la Vie (Invitation to Life) was born.
Eventually, IVI developed in several other countries, and by 2000 it had several thousand members. Most of them remained active Roman Catholics and IVI became known for its mass pilgrimages, mostly to Catholic centers such as
Lourdes
Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Châ ...
,
Fatima, and
Mont Saint-Michel.
In 1987, however, the French Catholic Bishops published a declaration claiming that IVI was a “
gnostic
Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...
” movement whose
syncretism was incompatible with orthodox Catholicism.
In France in 1995 and 1999,
[Assemblée Nationale]
“Rapport ‘Les sectes et l’argent’”
1999. IVI was included in
governmental lists of cults and sects
The application of the labels "cults" or "sects" to (for example) religious movements in government documents usually signifies the popular and negative use of the term "cult" in English and a functionally similar use of words translated as "sect" ...
(in 1995 under the name “Invitation à la vie intense”). On the other hand, in 2007 the association Invitation to Life has been declared of general interest in France: this means that IVI is recognised as a not-for-profit organisation with tax-deductibility status for donations.
Main doctrines
Déricquebourg believes that healing is the center of IVI, and the main reason it attracts members.
Healing, however, is seen by IVI as part of a larger process of “harmonization,” where members are seeking harmony with themselves, the nature, and God.
To achieve these aims, IVI proposes three “keys”: prayer, harmonization (intended as a specific technique), and vibrations. The Roman Catholic
Rosary is the main prayer suggested, but prayer and harmonization are often practiced together. In IVI’s harmonization, an experienced member called “harmonizer” asks the “harmonized” to lie on a table and focus on the prayers recited by the harmonizer, who also practices a soft massage. “Vibrations” are collective chants and sounds supposed to create harmony and peace.
References
External links
Official site
{{Authority control
Christian organizations established in 1983
Christian organizations established in the 20th century
Christian new religious movements
Christian denominations founded in France