Faith and Light USA East

Faith and Light is an international prayer community with over 1600 prayer groups in 81 countries made up of people with developmental disabilities, their parents and friends.
They meet monthly for worship as a community, and in small groups for friendship during the month. Members have found that fellowship in these communities has led to deeper spiritual enrichment in acknowledge meant of the presence of people with developmental disabilities in the center of the community.

Faith and Light was born of a desire to help people with an

intellectual disability and their families find their place within the

Church and society. This was the main purpose of the organized

pilgrimage to Lourdes at Easter of 1971. Twenty or thirty people from

the Protestant tradition were among those who participated in this

Catholic event.

In order that the gifts of this pilgrimage would not be lost, it was

necessary for the participants to be members of a community that

and friends, especially young people. Following this event, which was

a time of great blessings, a great number of communities maintained

and deepened the links that had been created between their

members. In the course of the years other communities were created

throughout the world, developing in different Christian denominations.

Thus, since its inception, the movement founded by Jean Vanier and

Marie-Hélène Mathieu, has been increasingly aware of its specific

vocation within the Churches and in society, and of its ecumenical

mission.

For more history visit www.foietlumiere.org the international website of Faith and Light.