Anniversaries
Fidesco Celebrates its 30th Anniversary!
This year Fidesco celebrates its anniversary! Fidesco, which was founded by the Emmanuel Community 30 years ago, has already sent out 1,100 volunteers to serve the poorest of the poor around the world. To celebrate this jubilee year, Fidesco invites you to several events April 10th Fidesco volunteers are running the 42 km Paris marathon. [...]
The Importance of the Recognition of the Community by the Holy See in 1992
Started in 1972, at first as a prayer group, the Emmanuel Community had the firm desire to work within the Catholic Church. This called for contacts with Church authorities, which happened quickly. The arrival of Jean-Marie Lustiger as Archbishop of Paris led, on 8th December 1982, to the recognition of the Community as a private association of the lay faithful in the Diocese of [...]
The 30th Anniversary of the Consecrated Celibate Life in the Emmanuel Community
On 3rd January 1981, during a retreat of the Fraternity of Jesus in Paray-le-Monial, 15 brothers and sisters committed themselves to “celibacy for the Kingdom”. Now, in January 2011, 30 years later, 131 consecrated brothers and sisters have answered this call (120 women and 11 men) and 65 are journeying towards consecration. As we open this Jubilee Year, the whole Community has many [...]
Testimonials
The Grace of the Jubilee in Sydney
For the Community here in Sydney, Australia the Jubilee Novena has been a special grace of renewal. Each month the teachings together with the Lectio Divina and the words of Pierre Goursat have helped us to focus on the essentials of the Christian life as reflected in the graces of the Emmanuel Community. Something that [...]
The Community : from Fraternal Life to Mission
Olivier Roussy, along with his wife Xristilla, has been journeying in the Community for 10 years now. In September 2010, Olivier (aged 38), father of 7 children, left his job as a police officer and agreed to take on responsibility for the School of Mission in Paray-le-Monial. He testifies to his commitment to service within the Community. How did you get [...]
A Young Engineer in Fukushima Touched by the Prayers of Emmanuel
A special prayer intention is circulated each week during the Jubilee Year. Here is a testimony that we have received from Japan. “We are very appreciative and touched that the Community prayed for Japan one week. We feel that this prayer has already born fruit. A non-Christian engineer from Fukushima, who is risking his life [...]
FAQ
What is an Emmanuel Young Person?
God is close to each of us and is interested in our lives. A young person in Emmanuel is primarily a young person who wants to live with God. The young people experience together Christ’s love for each one of them, which calls them to be signs of Hope for the world and for other [...]
What is the Fraternity of Jesus ?
One day Pierre Goursat said to those with whom he formed the first residential household of the Community: “We will call ourselves the Fraternity of Jesus”. We felt, as Pierre used to say, “like Jesus with his brothers. We were really brothers of Jesus.” The Fraternity of Jesus was born and, from the start, was like the heart of what was to become the Emmanuel Community. At [...]
What is Lectio Divina?
Lectio Divina is a method of prayer on the Word of God which has been shaped in the medieval monastic tradition. “Seek while you are reading and you will find in meditating; call while praying and it will be opened to you in contemplation.” (St John of the Cross, Dichos 157) It is a prayer [...]
What is the “Outpouring of the Spirit” ?
It is often forgotten that the Holy Spirit dwells within every person who has been baptised and confirmed. The step of the “outpouring of the Spirit” is when, after becoming aware of His presence within us, we open our whole hearts and our whole lives to Him so that the Holy Spirit will guide us [...]
How did it Start ?
The seventies were marked by a questioning of moral, social and religious values. A new world was being born. The new values were: individualism, a desire for freedom, or even liberation from the traditional structures. At that very moment the Catholic Church decided to summon the Vatican II Council (1962-1965): a gathering of the [...]
Who was Pierre Goursat ?
From his birth in Paris on 15th August 1914, until the age of 58, Pierre Goursat led the ordinary life of a committed lay Christian in the world. At the age of 19, he experienced a radical personal conversion: he realized how proud he was and became a humble adorer of God in the Blessed Sacrament. He burned with the [...]
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