On September 26, Sophie and Jérôme, Agnès and Xavier, and Daphnée and Matthieu, the three couples leading CANA in France, joined together at Place de la Concorde in Paris to attend the Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV. As part of the delegation from the Chemin Neuf Community, they came to express their commitment to the Church and to its mission among couples and families, but also to be renewed by the Pope’s words and the fervor of the immense crowd.
A place, a crowd, a alive church
There was something striking about that Saturday, September 26, at Place de la Concorde. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the heart of Paris—flags, songs sung in unison, faces from all walks of life… For the visit of Pope Leo XIV, the capital was transformed for a single day into a vast gathering place and a place of prayer. According to the Vatican, nearly 800,000 faithful attended the Mass presided over by the Holy Father.
Among this impressive crowd were six familiar faces from CANA: Sophie and Jérôme, leaders for the South; Agnès and Xavier for the West; and Daphnée and Matthieu for the North. The three couples had made the trip to experience this exceptional event together as part of the Chemin Neuf Community delegation.
Their presence was not merely that of the faithful who had come to welcome the Successor of Peter. It also expressed their commitment to serving couples, their attachment to the universal Church, and their desire to draw anew from the source of the mission that inspires them.
For in the day-to-day life of CANA, meetings, weekends, sessions, and the accompaniment of couples require a great deal of energy. We must embrace each couple’s unique story, accompany them through both their joys and their struggles, devise programs tailored to today’s realities, and support those who commit themselves to and carry out the mission. Taking the time to come together on a broader scale, at the heart of a celebration that unites the entire Church, allows us to rediscover the profound meaning of this commitment.
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.”
Pope Leo XIV based his homily on these words of Jesus from the Gospel according to Saint John: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink” (Jn 7:37).
The Pope invited the faithful to reflect on their deepest thirst. We all long for happiness, love, and fulfillment; but where do we seek to quench this thirst? In a society that often pushes us to seek immediate gratification, this question resonates particularly in the lives of couples and families.
The CANA mission aligns precisely with this aspiration. Over the years, couples may experience burnout, misunderstandings, communication difficulties, or trials that weaken their relationship. Others simply seek to give greater depth to their life together, to understand one another better, or to rediscover God’s place in their story.
By offering spaces where everyone can step back, dialogue, pray, and meet other couples, CANA seeks to open paths so that love may grow and married life may regain its fruitfulness. The Pope’s homily reminds us that this source is not found primarily in formulas or ready-made solutions, but in a living encounter with Christ.
Thus, Leo XIV encouraged Christians to draw water from the heart of Jesus, so that they, in turn, might become sources of life for others. This invitation resonates deeply with the vocation of couples committed to CANA: to welcome what they receive, to allow it to transform their own lives, and to share it with those around them.
Families: agents of the Church’s mission
During the Mass, the Holy Father addressed a particularly powerful message to families. “I am thinking of you, dear families, who, despite the many difficulties you face every day, courageously persevere in your mission,” he said, before thanking them for all the good that is accomplished through them.
These words offer valuable insight into CANA’s mission. Families are not merely people to whom the Church offers support or activities. They themselves carry out the Church’s mission through the way they love, forgive, pass on the faith, raise their children, and care for the most vulnerable.
This is also what Pope Leo XIV elaborated on a few days later, on October 7, by reminding us that families participate in the Church’s mission within the ordinary context of their lives. Their witness is expressed through daily fidelity, acts of kindness, efforts to resolve conflicts, care for the elderly, and service to society.
For CANA, this vision is essential. It is not merely a matter of helping couples live better together—even though that goal is already valuable in itself. It is also about helping them discover that their love, with all its richness and fragility, can become a place where God makes himself present and a witness of hope for others.
Accompanying couples, therefore, means caring for them, but also recognizing their ability to nurture life around them. It means enabling them to become active participants in the mission—within their families, among their friends and neighbors, in their Christian community, and in society.
Popular enthusiasm, a sign of hope
Beyond the words spoken, the power of this day also lay in what it revealed. A vast crowd gathered to pray, sing, and listen to the pope; enthusiastic young people, families, and people who had sometimes come from far away; a diversity of faces and life stories united in a shared spirit.
In his homily, Leo XIV also highlighted the commitment of many young people in Christian communities and spoke of the catechumens and the newly baptized, who are called to bear witness to their spiritual journey to those they meet.
This popular fervor challenges certain perceptions of a Church that is aging or turned inward. It does not make the difficulties disappear, nor the questions to which Christian communities must respond. But it reminds us that a spiritual thirst remains, that men and women are seeking meaning in their lives, and that the Gospel continues to inspire commitment.
For CANA leaders, this experience is an invitation not to lose confidence in the mission to serve couples. Expectations are many, marital situations are sometimes complex, and paths of faith are very diverse. Yet so many people long to experience lasting love, to find their place in a community, and to pass on something precious to their children.
The meeting with the Pope and this extraordinary gathering serve as a reminder that CANA is part of a mission that transcends itself: that of a Church called to reach out to the men and women of its time, to proclaim God’s love to them, and to offer them places where that love can be received and shared.
Back to the beginning to keep giving
For Sophie and Jérôme, Agnès and Xavier, Daphnée and Matthieu, this trip to Paris was much more than just a special event on CANA’s calendar. It was an opportunity to demonstrate together their commitment to the Church, to allow the Pope’s words to touch their hearts, and to witness the vitality of a community gathered around Christ.
In a mission that relies heavily on the commitment of missionary couples, it is invaluable to be able to broaden one’s perspective, encounter other faces of the Church, and remember that we never carry what has been entrusted to us alone.
At the end of his homily, Leo XIV prayed that springs of living water might gush forth among the people of God and cause the seeds of faith, hope, and charity to blossom in France.
This is a beautiful way to reinterpret CANA’s mission: to help couples rediscover the source of their love, to support them through the seasons of their journey, and to encourage them to become, in turn, sources of life for others.
Back in their home regions, the three couples in leadership roles continue their commitment with this renewed conviction: at the heart of the joys and challenges of married life, there is good news to proclaim, hope to nurture, and paths to open so that love may bear fruit.