Editing María Luisa Piraquive (section)

== Biography ==

=== Early life   ===
Maria Luisa Piraquive was born on February 10, 1949, in [[Chipatá, Santander|Chipata]], a town in southwestern Santander, Colombia. She was the third of ten children, six girls and four boys, and was raised in a Catholic home. Shortly after her birth, her parents moved to the town of Sachica, in the department of [[Boyacá Department|Boyaca]], and, subsequently, to [[Bogotá|Bogota]], where she worked making blankets. Piraquive shared that when she was seven years old she had a dream with the Lord Jesus Christ that changed her life. She met Luis Eduardo Moreno when she was 16 years old through her sister Beatriz Piraquive. He was pastor of a Pentecostal church called "Iglesia Pentecostal." She married him a year later.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=March 1, 2014|title=La prima ondata: (f) i movimenti nati in America Latina|url=https://cesnur.com/la-prima-ondata-f-i-movimenti-nati-in-america-latina/|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=Le Religioni in Italia|language=it-IT}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Torres|first=Cristina|title=¿Quién es María Luisa Piraquive? – LatinAmerican Post|url=https://latinamericanpost.com/es/17218-perfil-de-maria-luisa-piraquive|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=latinamericanpost.com|language=en-gb|archive-date=July 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712142139/https://latinamericanpost.com/es/17218-perfil-de-maria-luisa-piraquive|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Founding the Church of God Ministry of Jesus Christ International ===
In 1972, Maria Luisa Piraquive and her husband founded the Church of God Ministry of Jesus Christ International in Bogota. Five years later, the church opened its first location in [[Panama]]. Upon graduating with a bachelor's degree in linguistics and literature, she worked as a schoolteacher in the capital of Colombia. When [[Luis Eduardo Moreno]] died in 1996, Maria Luisa took on the leadership of the congregation, which included the spiritual roles as pastor, [[prophet]]ess, and [[apostle]] to her followers, among other roles. With the policies that she implemented after taking leadership, the Church of God Ministry of Jesus Christ International experienced remarkable growth.<ref name=":1" />

=== Founding the Maria Luisa de Moreno International Foundation  ===
In 2000, Maria Luisa founded the Maria Luisa de Moreno International Foundation, a non-profit organization that offers social assistance services to vulnerable populations through the development and implementation of educational, productive, and humanitarian programs. The organization is present in numerous countries in Latin America, and the [[European Union]] as well as Canada, with over 50,000 volunteers.<ref name=":0" />

=== Education ===
Maria Luisa Piraquive finished her elementary schooling in [[Sáchica|Sachica]] and her high school studies were conducted by radio at Colegio Normal Nacional in Bogota, where she also graduated as a schoolteacher in 1988. Subsequently, she pursued her long distance university studies and graduated in 1993 with a Bachelor in Linguistics and Literature from [[University of La Sabana|Universidad de La Sabana]]. In March 2000, she graduated with a degree in Educational Management from [[Free University of Colombia|Universidad Libre]]. In November of that same year, and in partnership with the Office of the Mayor of Bogota, she graduated from [[Pontifical Xavierian University|Pontificia Universidad Javeriana]] with a degree in community development and social management. On June 29, 2016, she completed her threefold master's degree in international law, human rights, and international cooperation from the Instituto Europeo Campus Stellae in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, and won an award for the high-quality investigative work she performed.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Biografía de María Luisa Piraquive|url=https://marialuisapiraquive.com/biografia/|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=María Luisa Piraquive|date=November 19, 2012|language=es}}</ref>

On June 20, 2019, she received her [[Doctorate|Doctoral]] Degree in [[International law]] from [[Central University of Nicaragua|Universidad Central de Nicaragua]] after completing her award-winning thesis titled "Method: Discover Abilities, an Opportunity" after five years of research at said Central American school.<ref>{{Cite web|date=July 2, 2019|title=Fotos de la graduación del Doctorado Académico en Derecho Internacional de la Hna María Luisa Piraquive en la Universidad Central de Nicaragua – UCN|url=https://marialuisapiraquive.com/fotos-de-la-graduacion-del-doctorado-academico-en-derecho-internacional-de-la-hna-maria-luisa-piraquive-en-la-universidad-central-de-nicaragua-ucn/|access-date=July 7, 2020|website=María Luisa Piraquive|language=es}}</ref>