Who is hiding behind all the mail that you receive? Who answers your phone calls? Who manages all the administration? Who updates the directory of 1648 communities in 79 countries across the world? Who manages the internet site? Who organises the Board of Directors, the International Coordinating Team meetings and  the general assembly? Who ensures simultaneous translations? Who takes the minutes? Who manages the Guidelines teams, carries out the final editing, the printing  and the dispatch ? Who drafts and types the newsletter? Who translates them? Who does the accounts for the international association?…Quite a small team.

You know Céline (Doudelle), at least by name. Céline is married to Kazu who is Japanese. They are members of the Notre Dame du Magnificat community and Céline is part of the coordinating team. Those of you who attended the Coordinators Council in Lourdes were able to see her always smiling, extremely kind, enthusiastic and tireless. And that is without mentioning her abilities! She wasn‘t like that only in Lourdes, she was as she is every day and everyday I give thanks for her presence and all she does for Faith and Light.

Guénaël Reynaud joined the little team since January 2010. She has three children aged 24 ,22 and 18 years old. I will let her speak for herself:
“For ten years I had been a volunteer at the “Valentina‟ association that was involved with children abandoned in Romania. I also did the reception at the Restos du Coeur. Today I get back to Faith and Light as I joined in Lourdes in 1971, singing " Amis chantons notre joie " at the founding pilgrimage of Faith and Light, whom we celebrate the 40th anniversary".

As for me, I have had the pleasure of being called as secretary general a few months before the 2001 pilgrimage, after having been community, region and zone leader… Each week, the TGV takes me from Lyon to Paris. I leave my husband and 21 year old son for three days. In Paris, I have the joy to find my 26 year old daughter who is a Parisian. Céline and I are in the same community, which is also Marie-Hélène's.

Even three of us cannot manage it all.

Jean-Claude Teynié, former coordinator of the France Entre deux Mers province is our new volunteer accountant. And that is no small task!

Joyce Irish (from UK sud) translates documents into English, Valeria Ibarra (from El Salvador) into Spanish. Finally for the international meetings we have a team of interpreters, also all volunteers. Amongst the most regular: Father Xavier Nys (Belgian provincial chaplain) for French, Jose Antonio Alberola Campello for Spanish and Joanna Paluska for Polish… A huge thank you to you all ! Now you know our mission a little better, we entrust it to your prayers.

In the tiny chapel, we carry in our hearts the troubles and sorrows but also the joys of each person and each event that is entrusted to us, sometimes far away at the other side of the world.

Corinne Chatain
General Secretary

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