Association With an Ecumenical Dimension
VATICAN CITY, 15 MAY 2006 (ZENIT)Here is the description of the "Fondacio.
Christians for the World," which appears in the Directory of
International Associations of the Faithful, published by the Pontifical
Council for the Laity.
* * *
Official name: Fondacio. Christians for the World
Also known as: Fondacio
Established: 1974
History: Fondacio was established in France under the name of Christian
Formation Community, in the wake of Catholic Charismatic Renewal and at
the initiative of Jean-Michel Rousseau, a young married layman.
It was originally intended to provide Christian instruction for young
adults, but from 1980, with the admission of people with social
responsibilities and lay persons engaged in parish activities, it
decided to broaden its sphere of activity and to become international in
character. It was in those years that the new name was adopted,
Foundations for a New World.
In 1991, following a serious internal crisis, Rousseau and some of the
membership quit the association. Many others were convinced that it was
a work of God, and under the guidance of Gerard Testard they revived it
with a more collegiate government. The foundations were given
recognition as an association of diocesan right by the bishop of
Versailles in 1995, the archbishop of Santiago, Chile, in 1996, and by
the archbishop of Brussels in 1998.
"Fondacio. Chrétiens pour le monde," the present name which it adopted
in 2002, is a member of the Catholic Fraternity of Charismatic Covenant
Communities and Fellowships.
Identity: Fondacio is a Catholic association with an ecumenical
dimension, bringing together members of the laity, married and
unmarried, who are committed to a pathway of personal growth and
conversion giving pride of place to their relationship with God, human
and spiritual development, and community life.
Its missionary work, which aims at evangelizing men and women of our
age, revolves around five focal points: young people, to whom the
association offers the experience of God's unconditional love; couples
and families, with guidance for deepening their faith in order to
discover the presence of God at the center of their lives; seniors and
older people, whom it invites to share their experience and their
wisdom; people with social, political, entrepreneurial, and educational
responsibilities, whom it helps to combine their professional
commitments and their family, personal and spiritual life; and forms of
affective, psychological, spiritual and material poverty, with reference
to the words of St. James, "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:26).
Organization: Fondacio is headed by a president elected by the
international congress, which every four years convenes the delegates of
the countries in which the association is present, to lay down its
guidelines for action. The decisions of the congress are implemented by
an international council, which expresses the unity of all the component
parts of Fondacio.
The national branches are autonomous in the way they operate and in
their missionary choices, and are each headed by a council and by a
pastoral assembly.
There are fellowship members who wish to experience a living
relationship with God and form small groups, through which they take
part in the association's missionary activities; community members, who
wish to learn more about the faith and to strengthen their membership of
the association, concluding a covenant with God and their fellows, and
committing themselves to implementing specific missionary projects;
permanent members, who respond to their calling to follow the school of
Christ by placing all their energies and skills at the service of the
mission for one or more years; members committed for life, who after a
period of at least seven years' membership of the association fully take
on its spirituality, living a radical Gospel life in key areas of human
existence.
Membership: Fondacio has about 3,000 members in 20 countries around the
world.
Works: Fondacio performs its specific vocation of announcing the Good
News through evangelization projects and initiatives to support
development in parts of the world afflicted by poverty, where the
association has established activities to restore more-humane living
conditions and the dignity of children of God to the poor: homes, for
reintegration into society; dispensaries; schools; and vocational
training centers.
It has also established CIRFA (Centre International de Recherche et de
Formation Appliqueés), which has two departments: the Faith and
Commitment Institute, which provides instruction for those who wish to
place themselves at the service of the Church, and the École Orientation
Projet Engagement, which prepares people to serve in the world and
provides training for humanitarian project leaders; and PNE (Partager
Notre Espérance), an ecumenical group for parish evangelization work.
Web site: www.fondacio.org
Headquarters:
Fondacio. Chrétiens pour le monde
27/ rue Exelmans
78000 Versailles
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France
Tel. (33) 1.3907.2934
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Fax 1.3907.0022
E-mail: g.testard@fondacio.org
© Copyright 2006
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Libreria Editrice Vaticana [adapted]
ZE06051526
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