Bruno & Anne-Marie COUTELLIER have come to Chad to join the CANA Fraternity for the formation retreat on the discovery of the Bible. Brigitte & Valentin MBAYADOUM, leader couple of CANA Chad, introducing the fraternity.
Photo above: Diocesan CANA leaders and the CANA Chad National Team
The Word of God in our hearts
In March 2023, we joined the CANA Chad team in Moundou, in the south of the country, on the site of Ku Jericho, one of the houses of the Chemin Neuf Community, to participate in a CANA Bible week. We were accompanied by Vincent Lecallennec, father of a family, biblical scholar, member of the Community in Marseille. This retreat was aimed at couples newly arrived in the CANA Fraternity and who had not been able to make the CANA Retreat this year, as well as a training proposal for couples in charge of the fraternity.
We were touched by the willingness of some thirty couples, many of whom came from far away, to respond to the proposal. Throughout the week, we walked with the Gospel of Luke and witnessed the work of the Word of God in hearts. A week that will continue to bear fruit!
Bruno & Anne-Marie COUTELLIER
Brigitte & Valentin testifying
As leaders of CANA Chad, we are witnesses that this CANA Bible Retreat (3-9 March 2023) was fulfilling and genuinely answered the expectations of the retreatants.
All along our journey, CANA has touched Brigitte and me personally through the years:
+ Lessons learned,
+ Personal and couple prayers,
+ The forgiveness and reconciliation experienced between us,
+ Testimonies from couples,
+ Services together.
For us, the fruits gathered in CANA during our journey are:
- The joy and beauty of living as a couple in sharing and transparency,
- The ability to listen to the other person’s wishes to the end,
- The joy of serving others and sharing,
- Forgiveness and reconciliation,
- Listen to children and take their views into account.
The fraternity CANA in Chad
The Republic of Chad is a Central African country located in the heart of Africa with an area of 1,284,000 km2 and an estimated population of 17,975,326. Chad has 8 dioceses (Doba, Goré, Laï, Mongo, Moundou, Pala, Ndjamena and Sarh). The CANA Fraternity is present in 5 of the 8 dioceses in the country.
The first CANA session for couples in Chad dates back to 1996, at the request of Archbishop Charles Vandame of N’Djamena.
Since then, the Community’s mission towards couples has continued through sessions, training weekends and retreats in various dioceses.
The CANA Mission allows couples who wish to do so, to take time to deepen the vocation of marriage and to lay the foundations for a solid, lasting and fruitful union.
The CANA Weeks, organised in several cities, are a time of rest and conjugal encounter: a week to break the rhythm imposed by modern life, and during which the couple can find themselves and recharge their batteries through sharing and prayer. It is in fact a week for prayer, sharing and forgiveness.
Some dates to remember:
+ 13 to 19 April 2023: Ku Jericho / Moundou CANA Week
+ From 04 to 10 May 2023: CANA Week in Doba
+ From 07 to 13 July 2023: CANA Week in Ndjamena
In these CANA Weeks, many couples open themselves to the presence of Christ, the Creator and Saviour. Through this journey of dialogue and reconciliation, couples experience a true “renewal” of their covenant and the grace of their sacrament of marriage.
After the CANA Week, couples who wish to walk in the CANA Fraternity commit themselves for a renewable year within this fraternity which gathers 3, 4 or 5 couples to share once a month and to live 3 weekends throughout the year.
There are 222 couples in Chad who are on the CANA Fraternity journey, divided into 52 fraternities.
