A milestone reached before the big departure: our future volunteers are completing their training.

A milestone reached before the big departure: our future volunteers are completing their training! Over the coming weeks, five young French and Italian students and professionals will head to various mission posts within the communities where our sisters live and work. They will take part in an international volunteering experience. Who are these new volunteers for the summer of 2026? . Clémence, a young student from Caen, will set off at the beginning of June for a three-and-a-half-month mission in India with our sisters in Bangalore. The project she is involved in is in line with her studies in information technology and cybersecurity. . Alexis, a young winemaker from Alsace, and Joulia, a student in Bergerac, will arrive in Rome in mid-July to offer their time and skills to help the refugees at the Arrupe centre. . In Italy Rebecca, a young actress, will travel to Chad alongside Simonetta, an experienced volunteer who has been involved in missions with our African sisters for several years. Following a series of online and in-person meetings, our future volunteers have just completed their training program. This preparatory period, which lasted several months, represented a crucial step before embarking on their generous commitment to the adventure that awaits them. The training program was not only a matter of logistical or administrative training, but a genuine journey of human, intercultural, and spiritual growth alongside a significant group dynamic. During the meetings, everyone had the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of their commitment. Through themed talks, moments of personal and group reflection, listening and discussions with former volunteers, these young people came to realise that the mission begins long before they set off. It is rooted in a heart that knows its own desires and concerns, is willing to set out on the journey, to let go of its certainties and enter into the culture of the another with generosity and trust.

They were able to experience the invaluable support of the volunteer team, who were able to guide them, reassure them, and encouraged them at times. The team will be by their side for the entire duration of their stay. A key moment was the video call with the sisters who will be welcoming them at the mission. This opportunity to get to know one another and exchange ideas enabled them to refine their project. The volunteers could compare it with the reality on the ground and with the expectations of our sisters. Many other points were also addressed: some of the human and cultural challenges they will face in the various locations; simulations of real-life situations that helped them understand the importance of targeted intervention; life in a group and within the community, alongside our sisters and professionals; safety issues and the precautions to be observed in certain countries; and the various roles of the volunteer within a Christian project following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.

At the end of this training, these new volunteers are well aware that they are not simply tourists preparing for a leisure trip, but men and women called to live a profoundly human and spiritual experience. One that is characterised by simplicity, mutual trust, and sharing in the mission of our sisters. As the time of their departure draws near, we entrust these young volunteers to the Lord. May this mission be for, each of them, a journey of discovery and deepening of their personal and professional vocations. Through every encounter, may they humbly bring a light of hope, fraternity, and peace to those who welcome them. A new chapter is beginning for each and every one of them – full of promise and unexpected developments. Let us also keep in our prayers the in-person gathering in Rome on June 13th and 14th. An invitation has been extended to volunteers who have recently set out or who have been on the mission for several years. If fraternity grows among them, it will undoubtedly be one of the driving forces behind this gathering. The challenge will also be to grasp how this transformative experience animates them and continues to work, in one way or another, within each of them even today. How it opens up new possibilities and desires to be brought to fruition within the movement of our charism and, why not, within the network of the “Thouret Family”. Sr Pascale Haratyk