Answers to frequent questions
Registration
There are 3 stages for Online registration:
- Registration for the session (compulsory)
- Accommodation (or you can make your own arrangements to book accommodation)
- Meals (you can choose to have your meals on the site in the canteen at the sessions, or you can make your own arrangements)
Online registration remains open up to 8 days before the session, unless the session is fully booked (registration will then be closed in advance).
You need to create your account using a valid email address.
If your email address is already known to us, you must use this email address to identify yourself.
You can set a new password by clicking on the link: "Request a new password".
Are you sure you entered your password correctly?
Maybe the "shift" key has been activated?
You can set a new password by clicking on the link: "Request a new password".
We do not send your registration documents by post. At the end of the registration process you receive an automatic email summarizing your reservation. You will be able to collect your complete file from the reception desk at the sessions when you arrive.
Yes, however, it is obligatory for the child to be accompanied by someone you know who is at least 21 years old, and who is registered for the same session as your child. This accompanying person agrees to be accommodated with your child.
It is also obligatory that you provide signed parental permission when you register.
Download parental discharge-ENG
An adult may be responsible for a maximum of 3 minors.
- By bank card: payment is secure.
- By French cheque: You must pay within seven days from the date of registration, cheque made payable to "Association EMMA" with the number of your registration (received by email after you registered) written on the back of the cheque.
- By holiday vouchers: Yes, but it is not possible to pay an amount in holiday vouchers that is greater than the actual cost of the session. You will need either to pay the correct amount in holiday vouchers, or to make up to the amount with a French cheque made payable to "Association EMMA". You must pay within seven days from the date of registration.
- By bank transfer: Yes, payment must be made within seven days from the date of registration. The bank details are given at the time of your registration.
If you have chosen a payment method other than by bank card, your registration will be confirmed upon receipt of payment.
Payment by restaurant vouchers and CAF vouchers is not accepted.
Yes, as long as he/she is accompanied, either by you, or by his/her own carer.
Moving about
The site of the sessions is located in the ‘Parc du Moulin Liron’, a 10-minute walk from the train station, near to the centre of Paray-le-Monial.
See information on public transport
There are car parks located near the site of the sessions. We encourage you, as far as possible, to park your car close to your accommodation for the whole of the session and to come to the session site on foot.
We do not provide any transport for getting between the session site and the accommodation. You must make your own arrangements for this.
Meals
We offer you the possibility of taking your meals on the site of the sessions. A canteen is set up on the site of the sessions. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served there throughout the session. You must be registered for the session to use the canteen and be wearing your badge or wrist band. At the entrance to the canteen you will be asked for a meal ticket. When you register you can purchase meal tickets for breakfasts, lunches and dinners at a preferential rate. It is possible to purchase meal tickets on site at the normal rate, at the session reception desk.
You can also make your own arrangements for your meals.
Times of meals served in the canteen:
Breakfast: 7.45 am - 8.30 am
Lunch: 12.00 noon – 2.00 pm
Dinner: 6.30 pm - 8.30 pm
A canteen is set up at the location of the sessions. Breakfasts, lunches and dinners are served there throughout the session. You must be registered for the session to use the canteen. At the entrance to the canteen you will be asked for a meal ticket. You can buy meal tickets at the session reception desk.
No, for health and safety reasons, the fridges are reserved for use by the organizers of the session.
Yes, unless they eat the same meals as the adults.
If your child aged less than 3 eats the meal offered in the canteen, you must present a child’s meal ticket as you pass the serving counter.
Special menus are offered for the following diets only:
- gluten free
- lactose free
To benefit from these menus, indicate your requirement by ticking the appropriate boxes when you register. During the session, you go to the canteen like all the participants. If at the serving counter, a particular food does not suit you, you will be able go and get a substitute menu from the kitchen staff.
If you have other food allergies, we ask you to provide your meals for yourself.
Accommodation
When you register, we offer you various types of accommodation: in a boarding school, gymnasium or tent (tents organized by us). Your accommodation is allocated when you register. The various types of accommodation are allocated as and when registrations are made. Accommodation closest to the location of the sessions is allocated first.
You can also make your own arrangements to book accommodation.
All the accommodation in Paray-le-Monial is located within 5 to 20 minutes' walk from the site of the sessions.
Accommodation outside Paray-le-Monial is located within a radius of 10 to 25 km. It is therefore necessary that you have a car to get there.
No, the site of the session is located in a public park in Paray-le-Monial. It is not possible to camp there. There are campsites in Paray-le-Monial and Volesvres.
- Standard: The rooms we offer for families, couples or individuals provide 3 to 6 beds in boarding schools in Paray-le-Monial (places are limited), Charolles (10 km from Paray) or Digoin (10 km from Paray).
- Budget: Budget accommodation is located in gymnasiums, converted classrooms or tents (for families and couples). These tents are equipped with 6 bunk beds, and fitted with wooden flooring and lighting.
We do not provide transport between the location of the sessions and the accommodation. Participants make their own arrangements for travel to and fro. Car-sharing is often organized spontaneously between participants.
Yes.
We do not provide sheets or towels. If you are accommodated by us, you must bring: mattress cover and fitted sheet for the mattress, duvets or sheets and blankets, pillow and pillowcase as well as your towels.
In the boarding schools, showers and toilets are on the same floor.
In gymnasiums and tents, showers and toilets are located in nearby Portakabins.
Yes, if you are on your own or registered as a couple in budget accommodation.
No, if you register as a family with children who are minors, in budget accommodation.
No, you are not permitted to cook in the accommodation we offer. No equipment is provided on the premises. Cooking is strictly forbidden for security reasons.
Financial questions
Yes, it is possible to write several French cheques, payable on the 14th or the 28th of each month.
All the cheques must be dated with the date they were signed. To identify your payment, it is essential that you remember to note on the back of the cheque your registration number and the dates of the session. The last cheque must be paid in before the start of the session.
Yes, it is possible to pay for your stay with holiday vouchers. However, if the total of your holiday vouchers does not correspond to the total of your session, you will need to make up the amount with a French cheque, made payable to "Association EMMA". We cannot reimburse any surplus received in holiday vouchers nor accept it as a donation to our Association.
If you do not yet have your holiday vouchers at the time you register, send a French cheque as a guarantee (identified as such on the back, together with your registration number) for the precise amount of your payment in holiday vouchers (and if necessary a separate cheque to make up the amount). On receipt of your holiday vouchers we will exchange or destroy your cheque.
Children and adolescents
The ‘Emmanuel Kids’ teams welcome your children and invite them to experience a genuine session adapted to their age.
The aim is to enable each child to have a personal encounter with Christ.
During the sessions, the children therefore spend:
- Time devoted to games, friendship, and workshops,
- Times of Christian formation, with personal testimonies for the older groups, puppet shows for the younger children,
- Times of spirituality: prayer, Mass, Reconciliation, Adoration, etc.
Each child takes part in the session with the other children of his/her age, in a place specially provided for them. He/she wears a bracelet of a different colour, according to his/her age.
Younger children can take a nap or rest in the afternoon in a well-secured room. 0-2 year olds have a well-sheltered and well-enclosed space set aside for them.
- Music groups to lead them into praise and set them on fire,
- Sports and team activities to foster a fraternal spirit,
- Teachings with speakers trained in speaking to teenagers,
- Nourishing spiritual times to give them a firm foundation in Christ,
- Opportunities to talk personally with priests of the Emmanuel Teens team.
- A suggestion that they make a commitment at the end of the session to nourish their faith from day to day.
- 12-14 year-olds: those entering the 2nd, 3rd and 4th years of secondary education
- 15-17 year-olds: those entering the 5th, 6th and 7th years of secondary education
Children’s session: from 8.50 am to 12.15 pm and from 2.45 pm to 5.30 pm (Times slightly modified for the session 16-19th July).
Teenagers’ sessions: from 9.00 am to 12.30 pm and from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm and for their evening programmes, from 8.30 pm to 10.00 pm.
The evening programmes for adults as well as those for adolescents are not suitable for children.
Yes, for 0-2 year olds, you must bring everything that might be useful and necessary for the child: travel cot, push chair/buggy, lunch, snacks, nappies and spare clothes, his cuddly toy/comfort blanket, etc. All these will be labelled with your child's name when you first arrive at the service.
Teenagers who are musicians are invited to come with their musical instruments to take part in the music during the session.
They have lunch as a group, particularly on the first day - remember to give them a meal ticket.
Remember to bring a pen and notepad, a pocket New Testament, and a bottle of water or a water bottle.
Finally, we thank you for ensuring that your teenagers are dressed suitably, out of respect for everyone: no very short shorts, provocative tops or necklines - let us teach them not to reveal too much!
Thank you for your understanding.
Our desire is to enable every child and adolescent to experience in Paray-le-Monial a special time of encounter with Christ, whatever their handicap or their problems.
In order to offer a real welcome to your child, we ask you to be kind enough to fill in a short form specifying your child’s problems, the things we should or should not do, the action to take in the event of a problem. (form and link to come)
If your child needs special personal assistance, we will be happy to welcome them together with their carer, who may be someone you know and who knows the child or adolescent well. We will do everything possible to help him/her to integrate, but our teams are not large enough to devote a person to caring for an individual child.
The morning activities are generally suitable for all children: praise, talks, Mass, etc.
For the afternoon, the programmes may be unsuitable for children with a disability: these are often active sports and competitions, etc. Depending on your child’s particular condition, it may be better for him/her to remain with you.
For teenagers, from 12 years old, at the start of the session please go and see those responsible for the teenagers’ sessions to check the programme with them, and so that you know the times when your teenager will be able to fully participate in the activities proposed.
Children's sessions led by ‘Emmanuel Kids’ are offered to children aged:
0-2 years; 3-4 years; 5 years ; 6 years; 7 years ; 8-9 years; and 10-11 years
The sessions for teenagers led by ‘Emmanuel Teens’ are offered to young people aged:
12-14 years: for teenagers who are entering the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years of secondary education
15-17 years: for those entering the 5th, 6th, and 7th years of secondary education.
For those entering the 7th year of secondary education and for students, who will be at least 18 years old in the coming year and who have already come to Paray-le-Monial in previous years, it is possible for them to join the ‘Cap’Tain’ team, to help in leading the 12-14 year olds.
They will then be in charge of a ‘crew’ of about ten teenagers. According to their talents, they may be able to take part in leading the session. (Click here for more information)
It is also possible to serve as a volunteer on the session reception desk, in the kitchen, or in communications. This is a time of service as part of a team, of deepening in the faith (prayer, a course of talks of your choice), sharing fraternal life with the other volunteers and the J2S (Accommodation and meals included). Plan to arrive the day before the session starts, and to leave on the last day of the session. (Click here for more information)
The sessions
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The day usually begins with praise at 9.00 am. Mass is celebrated each day. Vespers are offered every evening.
Priests are available throughout the session for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Personal prayer is possible at any time, in the Adoration tent and at night in the Chapel of the Apparitions and in the "Chapelle St Jean".
During the teaching each morning the theme of the session is explored by an invited guest speaker.
Some sessions offer specific series of talks which may be attended in the afternoon.
These talks are aimed at a specific audience: engaged couples, professionals in education, divorced persons involved in a fresh relationship, single parents, etc.
- “What if we were to get married?” a series of talks for unmarried couples, from 9-14th July
- A series of talks: the world of education, from 21st-26th July
- A series of talks for those divorced and involved in a fresh relationship, from 21st-26th July and from 4-9th August
- A series of talks for lone parents - single, separated or divorced, from 21st-26th July and from 28th July to 2nd August
The sessions offer various talks each afternoon in the form of workshops on different subjects; at the time, you choose which to attend: education, sexuality, bioethics, prayer, compassion, mission, Christian commitment in society, etc.
The evening programmes consist of times of prayer, testimonies, and times of celebration. They are not intended for children.
Take advantage of the spacious ‘Parc du Moulin Liron’, the bar, etc., Also explore the largest religious bookshop in France!
I would like you to contact me
I need help registering
Call us on 00 33 (0)3 85 81 56 00 (press “1” then “2”)
Monday to Friday (except public holidays) from 9.00 am to 12 noon and from 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm (4.30 p.m. on Friday)
or leave your contact details on sessions@paray.org and we will get back to you.