The Emmanuel Community is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

association of the faithful of pontifical right, founded in 1972 by Pierre Goursat and Martine Lafitte-Catta, starting from a prayer group belonging to the

Catholic charismatic renewal The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a movement within the Catholic Church that is part of the wider charismatic movement across historic Christian churches. The Renewal has been described as a "current of grace". It began in 1967 when Catho ...

History

The Emmanuel Community (Communauté de l’Emmanuel) was founded in Paris, France 1972 by Pierre Goursat and Martine Lafitte-Catta. It developed from a charismatic renewal prayer group. While the numbers of persons participating increased, it was felt that the prayer groups alone did not provide enough in the way of spiritual growth, so weekend retreats and catechism instruction were added. The first collective household formed in 1974 when Goursat formed a shared-living arrangement with two like-minded individuals and found that community living could be an aid to spirituality. In June 1977, leaders of the prayer groups invited members to join a committed community life of prayer and service. About fifty people responded.Oliver, James M., ''Ecumenical Associations'', Gregorian Biblical BookShop, 1999, p. 116
/ref> It has been called "one of the most dynamic French ecclesial movements".Dolbeau, Samuel. "Politicisation of French Catholics", ''Religion, Law and the Politics of Ethical Diversity'', (Claude Proeschel, David Koussens, Francesco Piraino, eds.) Routledge, 2021, p. 176
/ref> Its success can be attributed, in part, to the support of some of the French bishops in the late 1970s, who welcomed it as an alternative to far-left movements in the French Catholic community at the time. In 1986,

Jean-Marie Lustiger Aron Jean-Marie Lustiger (; 17 September 1926 – 5 August 2007) was a French cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Paris from 1981 until his resignation in 2005. He was made a cardinal in 1983 by Pope John Paul II. His life ...

, Archbishop of Paris, granted the group recognition as a Private Association of the Faithful, in the Archdiocese of Paris. In 2017, the

Congregation for the Clergy The Dicastery for the Clergy, formerly named Congregation for the Clergy (; formerly the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy and Sacred Congregation of the Council), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regarding ...

erected the Clerical Association of the Emmanuel Community for priests and deacons.

Organization

The Emmanuel Community is headquartered in Paris. Internationally, the community is led by a general moderator, helped by an international council, both elected for a three-year mandate. Its members are from all walks of life. According to its statutes, the community strives for an approach that is both contemplative and apostolic. As of 2021, it has around 11,500 members in 67 countries on 5 continents, about half of whom live in France. The members include 270 priests, about 100

seminarian A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

s and 200 people, both males and females, living in consecrated celibacy.

Activities

The Emmanuel Community publishes the periodical ''Il Est vivant''.Csordas, Thomas J., ''Language, Charisma, and Creativity: The Ritual Life of a Religious Movement'', Univ of California Press, 2021, p. 26
/ref> It has been entrusted with the task of animating various

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

sites such as

Paray-le-Monial Paray-le-Monial is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Since 2004 is Paray-le-Monial part of the Charolais-Brionnais Country. It is nicknamed the "city of the Sacred Heart" ...

and L'Île-Bouchard in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Altötting Altötting (, Bavarian: ; ''Oidäding'') is a town in Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest G ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

and so on. Once

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

s entrust a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

to a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

belonging to the Emmanuel Community, the members in the vicinity are themselves entrusted with animating and helping parish activities. The Community operates international, 9-month formation programs called Mission Schools in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, and

Manila, Philippines Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

, as well as evangelization evening schools in various locations around the world. The Emmanuel Community in

Lecce Lecce ( ); el, label=Griko, Luppìu, script=Latn; la, Lupiae; grc, Λουπίαι, translit=Loupíai), group=pron is a historic city of 95,766 inhabitants (2015) in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Lecce, the provinc ...

operates as a non-profit organization that works with individuals and families in difficulty. The Organization also runs a treatment centre for drug addiction."Pope to Emmanuel Community: Being with people in difficulty is the key", ''Vatican News Service'', 26 September 2019
/ref>

Fidesco

Founded in 1981 by the Emmanuel Community following a meeting in the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

with African bishops, Fidesco is an

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

for international solidarity which sends volunteers to countries in the South to put their professional skills at the service of development projects, to help local populations or humanitarian actions. Volunteers who leave with Fidesco are singles, couples or families, young people, adults or retired, wishing in the name of their faith to work for the marginalized: this explains the name of FIDES - CO : faith and co-operation.

References

Bibliography

* Fire and hope : Pierre Goursat, founder of the Emmanuel Community (translated by Michelle K. Borras). Paris : éditions de l'Emmanuel, 2005. 216 pp.-16 pp. de pl., 24 cm. . * *

External links

Official site of the Emmanuel Community

Fidesco official site

Emmanuel Schools of Mission
{{Authority control International associations of the faithful