Author: Sarah

Life After Death, Near Death & Shared Death Experiences on February 6th presented by CIA-Faith Mission Operatives

Near Death Experiences as Proof of Afterlife is Focus of Appleton Event

APPLETON – A retired engineer’s extensive research and analysis of near death experiences and what they tell us about the afterlife will be the subject of a free presentation and exhibit at Xavier High School on Monday, February 6th at 7 p.m.

The public is invited to “Life After Life” at Xavier’s Fine Arts Theatre to hear Richard Bernatchez make the case that near death experience (NDE) data confirms Christian teaching that a person’s soul survives the death of the physical body. His talk will be complemented by an exhibit viewable one hour before and after the presentation.

Bernatchez employed a “scientific, scholarly and faith-based approach” to compile thousands of years of NDE reports and decades of testimony from medical personnel. The latter shows a remarkable consistency of what patients experience during clinical death. 

“Hundreds of millions of people have had NDEs,” noted Bernatchez. “We explore the various ‘features’ of an NDE and how we know [they] are real…that ‘consciousness’ is something that exists independent of the human brain.”

He also incorporates stories of “Shared Death Experiences” (SDE) – when a living person shares in and confirms details of someone dying – and what Scripture and mystics reveal about the afterlife. SDEs are important, Bernatchez added, because they “can’t be dismissed as caused by the dying brain, lack of oxygen, etc.”.

Based on his research, Bernatchez says the most memorable aspect of an NDE is an encounter with what most describe as “The Light”, and the overwhelming experience of joy, peace, love and comfort it conveys. 

“These NDE experiencers no longer ‘believe’ there is a God; they ‘know’ He exists.” He added that many report dramatic changes in their lives for the better as they understand their purpose is to “love each other fully and unconditionally.”

 “We live in this secular world that’s trying to convince people that God doesn’t exist…and yet we have all this evidence that God has provided us.”

Since retiring, Bernatchez, co-founder of Faith Based Communications (www.faithbasedcomm.com), dedicates his life to researching and demonstrating how science supports the tenets of his Catholic faith. He and his wife, Pat, travel the US and Canada at their own expense from their home in Denver, CO, to churches, schools and interested Christian groups.

Bernatchez returns to Wisconsin less than a year after two Holy Week 2022 presentations, “Sacred Cloths of the Passion” and “Eucharistic Miracles”. Hundreds attended his talks and exhibits in person, and videos have registered almost 16,000 views on YouTube.

The event is sponsored by CIA-Faith Mission Operatives and is part of the 2022-2023 Investigate Your Faith series held monthly, Sept-May, in the Xavier Theatre, 1600 W. Prospect Ave. No tickets or reservations are required. A free will offering will be taken to help support future programs which are detailed on the organization’s website (web search ciafmo). More information is available at ciafmo@gmail.com or (920) 450-3025.

Exhibit Details: Brief summaries of Near-Death Experiences (NDE) and Shared-Death Experiences (SDE) based on the reports of adults, children, blind, medical personnel, NDE researchers, etc.  These reports are supplemented by facts and statistics resulting from 45 years of exhaustive scientifically based research of NDE experiences, including peer reviewed publications in the highly respected JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) and its British equivalent LANCET. Also included are reports of saints who raised the dead, and visions of hell and purgatory as reported by well-known saints.