Together (lay people & priest), we serve God through adoration, compassion and evangelisation. The Emmanuel Community is an international Catholic community recognized by the Holy See as a ‘Public Association of the Faithful’. It is formed of lay people (including those committed in celibacy) and priests who together follow Christ in the service of the Church’s mission. The Community was founded b
y Pierre Goursat and Martine Laffitte, who in 1972 experienced an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They then formed a prayer group as part of the Charismatic Renewal. This gave birth to the Emmanuel Community which now has 9000 members in 59 countries on 5 continents. Of these members, 240 are priests and 200 are men and women committed in celibacy.
‘Look! the virgin is with child and will give birth to a son whom they will call Emmanuel, a name which means “God-is-with-us”’ (Mt 1:23)
The vocation of Emmanuel is to make God known to all men and women, who may be far or near to the Church. Its members together commit to live a life of Adoration, compassion, and evangelization. They choose to live in the world without being of the world and depend on one another for support in their path towards sanctity. Over the years numerous works of compassion and evangelization have been initiated. These works respond to the calls and needs of our time. In particular, the Community offers to all the experience of God’s love in the ‘Sessions’ it organizes each year at Paray-le-Monial and in numerous other shrines and dioceses throughout the world. Since 1990, a growing number of bishops have entrusted parishes to the priest members of Emmanuel. These parishes are centers of fraternal life and evangelization. More info on http://en.emmanuel.info
