Governance of the Emmanuel Community
“The Emmanuel Community is governed by the Moderator General, assisted by the International Council of the Emmanuel Community, the Council of the Society of Jesus, and the International Office. Together they constitute the International Government. They are responsible for the common good of the Community and the people and fundamentally for the charism of Emmanuel. A College of Prayer and Election elects the International Council and the General Moderator. (Statutes n°33)
From Sunday 22 July to Friday 27 July, 157 members of the Emmanuel Community gathered at Notre-Dame de l’Ouÿe (91) for six days of prayer, exchange, discernment, and election. This college of prayer and election was electing a new International Council of the Emmanuel Community and a new General Moderator for five years. This election took place with Father Frédéric Louzeau, who represented the Archbishop of Paris, Mgr Michel Aupetit, ecclesiastical assistant of the Community.
Michel-Bernard de Vregille was elected General Moderator of the Emmanuel Community. His election was confirmed on Monday 30 July by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life.
Michel-Bernard de Vregille is married to Catherine. He is 60 years old and the father of 6 children. He has lived in L’Ile-Bouchard for 20 years (Indre-et-Loire department). After 13 years in the retail sector and 18 years in logistics, he has been responsible for the Emmanuel Community in France for the last four years.
The 15 elected members of the International Council are: Laurent Albisetti (married, Canada), Nestor Attomatoun (priest, Benin), Marc Benoit (married, France), José-Mario Brasiliense (married, Brazil), Faustine Carron (married, France), Jean-Régis Catta (married, France), Marie-Pierre Dabadie (single, France), Martin Fenkart (married, Austria), Pierre-Yves Gomez (consecrated lay person in celibacy, France), Pavel Kalcik (married, Czech Republic), Albert Kayigumire (married, Rwanda), Jocelyn Martin (consecrated lay person in celibacy, Philippines), Otto Neubauer (married, Austria), Gabriel Priou (priest, France), Myriam Terlinden (married, Belgium)
This week was an intense moment of prayer and sharing. We thank God for this election which took place according to the new statutes of the Association of the Faithful of the Emmanuel Community, approved by the Holy See in 2017 following the creation of the Clerical Association of the Emmanuel Community. The new Council and Moderator entrust themselves to the prayers of all friends of the Emmanuel Community.