Sophie and Olivier give their testimony as the organising couple of a CANA Welcome programme in France.

An organising couple

We felt that the 2 years of confinement were complicated for many couples because they had to manage their own work, the children and their homework, and the logistics of the house. When we talked to the couples around us, we realised that they had no more time together and that this was not their priority. Moreover, most of the couples were living together 24 hours a day: presence, but not quality.

So, we felt the need to organize the CANA Welcome programme in order to give them the opportunity to take time for themselves.

We also wanted people from the same parish and neighborhood to meet and get to know each other through fellowship. The idea was that they could then become one body, a church together in the parish.

The priest of our parish gave us ‘carte blanche’ and during this launching year, we have 6 sharing groups with 25 couples registered: there was a real need! This initiative is now part of the parish’s program and we hope that it will become one of its pillars!