International Association of Faith and Light

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The founder Jean Vanier (foreground)

The International Association of Faith and Light ( Italian : Associazione Internationale Fede e Luce ; French : Foi et Lumière International ) is an ecumenical association of believers in the Roman Catholic Church . Faith and Light , as it is also known, was founded in France in 1971 and recognized by the Holy See as an international association of papal law. It has 1,452 groups around the world among its members.

history

The founding spark passed over to Jean Vanier and Marie Hélène Mathieu during a pilgrimage in Lourdes . The parents of two handicapped children approached Vanier with the request to found an institution for families with handicapped children to help them organize and conduct pilgrimages. This resulted in a project which led to the fact that at Easter 1971 over 4,000 disabled people from 15 countries came to the grotto in Lourdes . The laying of the foundation stone arose out of groups that built connections and relationships with one another. Finally, in 1982 at the assembly in Wetherby ( England ), the charter and a constitution for the "International Association of Faith and Light" were adopted; in 2010 this was revised and approved again. Since then it has professed itself as an ecumenical community.

Self-image

The community movement seeks to win trust and affection among its members. In their community life, they want to include handicapped people in particular - mainly children - in order to offer them a life that God wills and that is dignified. To do this, they support the parents and encourage them to take on the tasks and dedicate themselves to their talents. In mixed denominational groups, members are encouraged to deepen their faith in their own church and to realize it in love for Jesus Christ .

Organization and expansion

"Faith and Light" badge

Faith and Light currently exists in 79 countries and counts 1,452 groups. The countries are spread across Africa (20), Asia (11), Europe (28), the Middle East (5), North America (7), Oceania (3) and South America (4). In Germany there are eight internationally recognized Faith and Light communities with members of different denominations . Together with the communities of Austria , Luxembourg and Holland they form the province (zone) "Heart of Europe." A community consists of 15 to 40 people; she works in her local parish and is accompanied by a pastor . The core of a community is the group, it is accepted into a community after a probationary period of at least one year and is obliged to follow the constitution. The communities are divided into zones (provinces) and are managed by a board of directors. The coordinators of the continents and from this the International Council are formed from the national administrative boards. The International Council includes the founder Jean Vanier, a coordinator, a vice-coordinator and an ecclesiastical assistant. The highest body is the general assembly, it brings together the national coordinators and ecclesiastical assistants , the coordinators of the zones and the international council. The association's headquarters are in Paris and the quarterly magazine "Ombres et Lumière" appears in French and Italian. The association works closely with the International Ark Federation and the Office Chrétien des Personnes Handicapées (OCH).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Biography: Marie-Hélène Mathieu [1]
  2. ↑ Based on the average size of a group (i.e. about 20 people) that means that the association consists of about 29,040 individuals.
  3. ↑ See for example: Parish St. Josef in Weisendorf archive link ( memento from November 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), Catholic parish to the Holy Apostles in Erlangen-Büchenbach [2] or Diocese Innsbruck [3]
  4. ↑ "Ombres et Lumière" (Online) [4]
  5. ↑ OCH website [5]