We strive to live out our specific vocation — married, single, consecrated, or holy orders — to know, love, and serve God by serving others. That call takes shape through a handful of shared, daily practices.
What We Do
As members of the Emmanuel Community, we are on mission for holiness in our daily lives.
Our Daily Rhythm
A Life Ordered
Toward Holiness
All members — priests, married, single, or consecrated in celibacy — share the same calling and the same simple, daily commitments.
✦
Adoration
✝
Daily Mass
☀
Morning Praise
✎
Confession
🤝
Praying for One Another
◈
Tithing & Service
How do we serve others? By being Emmanuel — "God with us" — and bringing God's Word into the world through our everyday lives. Whether at school, work, the market, or within our own families, we are called to evangelize, so "that all men shall be saved" (1 Timothy 2:4). But we can only strive for holiness when we are accompanied on this journey by other like-minded brothers and sisters. So we receive in abundance through community life — in prayer and sharing — so that, in return, we may go out and be the light of Jesus to others.
How Community Life Unfolds
Locally, Nationally
& Around the World
Locally
On the local level, we gather regularly in small groups — called "households," or maisonée in French. This is the primary place where we live community life: sharing confidentially how God's Word has touched us, how we seek to evangelize, and carrying one another's prayer intentions from meeting to meeting. Groups meet weekly or semi-weekly, ideally in person.
Local communities also host monthly "Community Days," inviting non-members to come and see the richness of community life through praise, Mass, teaching, adoration, and a shared meal — with activities planned for children whenever possible.
See Where We Are →Nationally
Beyond weekly small groups and monthly Community Days, members take part in the annual regional retreat (Spring), the annual national retreat (Fall), and Companionship — a form of spiritual accompaniment in which each member is paired with a companion of the same sex to walk alongside them on the journey toward holiness.
We also offer a range of other ministries: Mercy Night evenings of music, prayer, and adoration; the Zacchaeus Course on Catholic social teaching; Love & Truth, a school for married couples; the SOS Prayer line; a School of Adoration; a School of Charity and Mission; and street and door-to-door evangelization.
Internationally
Founded in Paris in 1972 during the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, the Emmanuel Community has grown from a small prayer group into a multinational lay movement. Headquartered in France, it now spans 60–70 countries across every continent, with over 70 parishes worldwide and ministries that include mission schools, evangelization programs, retreats, and development work through Fidesco.
Other Ways We Serve
Ministries &
Ongoing Programs
Mercy Night
An evening of music, prayer, adoration, and testimonies held in local parishes.
Love & Truth
A school for married couples to discover, or rediscover, Christ and the profound meaning of the Sacrament of marriage.
Learn more →SOS Prayer
An anonymous service where anyone can send prayer requests to a group of prayer warriors.
Learn more →School of Adoration
A program teaching adults, youth, and children how to adore the Lord, rooted in Scripture and the teachings of the Saints.
School of Charity and Mission
A nine-month program preparing married couples and young people to know their faith and go out on mission locally.
A Global Family
Sent to the
Ends of the Earth
1972Founded in Paris
60–70Countries Reached
~11,500Members Worldwide
70+Parishes Worldwide
- Emmanuel Schools of Mission Located in Africa and Germany, forming young missionaries for the Church.
- Paray-le-Monial The community's pilgrimage site in Bourgogne, France, hosting international summer sessions that draw thousands.
- Fidesco An NGO sending volunteers abroad on two-year development missions.
Fidesco
Fidesco is an international non-governmental organization that recruits and trains volunteers before sending them for two-year missions to under-served areas of the world.
Retreats
Retreats at
Paray-le-Monial
Paray-le-Monial is one of the community's main centers, located in Bourgogne, France, where the community gathers throughout the year — and especially in the summer — to offer retreats for families, youth, couples, children, and individuals.
A Call Within a Call
Formation of Priests &
Consecrated Life
Because the Emmanuel Community is unique in welcoming all states of life, we also walk with young people discerning a call to consecrated celibacy for the Kingdom, or to the diocesan priesthood, for both men and women.
Online
The Emmanuel Community
on the Internet
The Emmanuel Community runs a number of projects in the electronic media space, including dedicated music channels on Spotify and Amazon Music, and a video channel on YouTube. For more, visit our international websites in your language.
"We receive in abundance through community life, so that in return, we may go out and be the light of Jesus to others."