A London criminal finds peace in a heavenly transformation

His London gangland life gained John Pridmore more money than he said he could spend. But he also knew the inside of youth and adult prisons and raged about being like a "caged animal."

Lawn Griffiths on Spiritual Life Blog

But 15 years ago, he made an radical transformation after nearly beating a man to death. It left him in shock and disbelief that he could get so out of control. He had his epiphany moment and turned to God. "I truly thought I killed him, and that led me to examine what I had come to," Pridmore said. "I could have killed someone to end his life, and I didn't care."

Last month, he told his story to separate audiences of 180,000 and 250,000 youth in Australia as part of World Youth Day, which is held every three years as the pope speaks to Catholic youth from around the globe. Pridmore, who is author of two books, "From Gangland to Promised Land" and "Gangster's Guide to God," will recount his experiences on Aug. 23 at the Arizona Marian Conference 2008 at Doubletree Paradise Valley Resort.

He is one of nine speakers for the conference Aug. 22-24, organized by the MIR Center of Arizona, based in Gilbert, which was established in 1988 "to spread the messages of Our Lady in Medjugorje to the people in the state of Arizona." Medjugorje is a town in Bosnia-Herzegovina where six young people in 1981 said they began seeing and receiving messages from the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. Since then, tens of millions have paid visits to Medjugorje, with some reporting miracles.

Pridmore, now a full-time evangelist living in a small Catholic community of five men in Ireland, travels the world using his story of crime and redemption to call people to God. "I fell away from the pain and misery of being a gangster," he said.

Born in London's East end and baptized Catholic, Pridmore said his parents divorced at 10 and "I made a unconscious decision that I wasn't going to be loved anymore because I really thought that if you don't love, you don't get hurt." His father remarried, and his stepmother was violent. "There was a lot of abuse that added to my anger and hatred." By 13, he was stealing.

When he was 15, he was put in a youth prison, and "I actually thought it was better than being at home," he said in a phone interview from Australia. He realized his only skill was purloining from others. Later, when he came out of an adult prison, Pridmore connected with the most powerful organized crime faction in London - "some guys who seemed to have everything - the money, the power, the best drugs, and I thought if I could obtain what they've got, that ought to fulfill me," he said.

"So to my shame, I was involved in major drug deals, protecting rackets, doing vicious crimes," he said. Pridmore carried a machete in a deep pocket and a small canister of potent CS gas in the other. "I had a flat, sports car and was earning thousands of pounds a week," he said. "I couldn't spend the money, but, inside, I was completely empty." He smoked cocaine, and "I was very promiscuous. I remember one girl I lived with for six month. She knew no more about me the day she moved out than the day she moved in."

On the night he nearly pummeled a man to death, he said "I became aware of a voice speaking to me, in my heart, and I knew that voice to be God, and I said the first prayer I had ever said." Until then, he said, he had always taken. "Now, I wanted to give, and as I said that prayer, I felt that love of God and the Holy Spirit." He calls the experience in Kent, England, when he was about 28 the "greatest buzz" he has ever felt.

From there, he met a priest who invited him to a religious retreat featuring another priest who came from Medjugorje. He went to confession for the first time in his life and spent an hour with that priest. "I just felt I wanted to dance, and I just felt so free."

He joined a Franciscans of the Renewal community and was assigned the Bronx in New York City. "I knew my mission - to love again," said Pridmore, 44. "So in the last 10 years, I have spoken to well over a million young people in secondary schools, churches and youth groups" in numerous countries.

"A great gift of my life is telling them that there is a God who loves them," he said.

For more information on the Marian Conference on the theme "Find Us Ready, Lord," call (480) 964-6111 or visit mirarizona.org.