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Foundation and history
Fr. Caffarel PDF Print E-mail


Fr. Caffarel, Founder of the Teams of Our Lady

The man

Caffarel.jpgHenri Caffarel was born on the 30th July 1903 in Lyon. He was baptized on 2nd August 1903 and ordained in Paris on 19th April 1930. He died in Troussures on the 18th September 1996, in the diocese of Beauvais where he is buried.

" Come follow me!". These words of the Lord are inscribed on his tomb, for, in March 1923, an event occurred which was to determine with certainty the direction taken by his whole life : :"When I was 20, Jesus Christ, in a flash became Somebody for me. Oh! It was nothing spectacular. On that day in March, now far distant, I knew that I was loved and that I loved, and that henceforth between Him and me it would be for life. The die was cast ".

The young Henri Caffarel met "Somebody".So everything he is going to found or organize will develop in the way the Lord will show him.

Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger refers to Father Henri Caffarel as "a prophet of the 20th century". He was conscious that he was doing "a work of renewal for the Church".
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History

Important dates in the History of the Movement

  • 1939-1945
  • 1947
  • 1950-1969: Expansion
  • May 1970
  • June 1973
  • February 1975
  • September 1976
  • enom 1982 onwards
  • 1988: 7th International Gathering at Lourdes (France)
  • 1992: Decree of Recognition (Provisional)
  • 1994: 8th International Gathering at Fatima (Portugal)
  • 1996: Death of our Founder
  • 1997: Fiftieth Anniversary of the Charter
  • 2000: 9th International Gathering in Santiago de Compostela (Portugal)
  • 26th July 2002: Decree of Recognition by the Pontifical Council for the Laity
  • January 2003: John-Paul II talk to the movement responsibles during ROMA meeting
  • 2006 : 10th International Meeting of the Teams of Our Lady in Lourdes (France)
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Origins

Caffarel-equipeIt began in 1938. Four young married couples, rich in their new found love and convinced christians, wanted to live their love in the light of their Christian faith. They asked Fr. Caffarel to guide their search. "Let us journey together", he replied. The very first meeting took place in Paris on the 25th of February 1939. It was to be followed by other exciting meetings. Gradually, the special place of marriage in God's plan unfolded before the eyes of these young couples: a living image of the love that unites Christ to his Church. At the same time, they experienced community life, in which Christ's promise to be present is fulfilled (Mt 18 :20). And so, their lives progressed in three directions: union with God, union between husband and wife and between couples, and openness to others.

 

Listen to the father Caffarel

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Thought for Today

photo chemin enneigé

'Being on the road' means letting oneself be carried along by the events and by things without necessarily being able to make sense of them. ‘Taking to the road', in contrast, means opening oneself up to new demands because it implies the decision to start a trip, to think about the route to be taken, to experience the preparation time that brings alive the sensation of expectation and waiting, and above all, it allows one to realise that ‘being on the road' is our new state of being. This state of being creates different behaviour in us. It gives us new words to tackle everyday life in its little and large aspects and to look at the way history is unfolding around us and how we are actors within that history."
Carlo & Maria Carla Volpini


Calendar

The meeting of the International Leading Team

A meeting of the International Leading Team (ERI) took place in Lebanon from October 23rd to November 1st, 2009.

The next meeting of the International Leading Team (ERI) will be held in Paris from February 18th to 23rd, 2010.

 

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