In 1968, a retreat in Marylake, near Toronto, Canada, led to the foundation of the Faith and Sharing movement, which offers retreats and prayer time in North America. But the influence of Jean Vanier’s message did not end there. That same year, in France, Marie-Helene Mathieu introduced Jean to Gerard and Camille, the parents of Thadée and Loic, two boys with severe disabilities. A year earlier, the family had decided to participate in a diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes. “They convinced us not go, saying the boys wouldn’t understand any of it and might disturb other pilgrims. One hotel was willing to host us, but on the condition we ate our meals in our room. We felt marginalized.”* In response to the suffering of these parents, Jean Vanier and Marie-Helene Mathieu planned a pilgrimage for children, adolescents, and adults with intellectual disabilities, as well as their family and friends. Preparation was done in small groups who met regularly to forge ties and build relationships.

After three years of preparation, at Easter 1971, Lourdes saw a gathering of 12 000 pilgrims from fifteen countries, among them 4000 people with developmental disabilities. It was three days of indescribable joy and peace! Everyone discovered how people with intellectual disabilities, disadvantaged in mental capacity, are lack nothing in the capacity of the heart. With their thirst for unity, they break down barriers of race, age, language, social background and Christian tradition.

The final day, Easter Monday, the pilgrims could not accept it was all over. So Jean suggested to them, “Continue to meet in small communities and do all that the Holy Spirit inspires you.” With Marie-Hélène Mathieu, he then created a second international organization that would live out and share his vision: Faith and Light.

The experience in Lourdes was repeated in 1975 with an international pilgrimage to Rome, where Paul VI welcomed 5000 pilgrims from Faith and Light. He said to each person with a disability, “You are loved by God just as you are,” and confirmed the vocation of Faith and Light. Other international pilgrimages in 1981, 1991, and 2001 have been highlights in the life of the movement. Today there are more than 1400 communities flourishing in eighty countries on five continents. They meet regularly for sharing, prayer, and celebration.

*Marie-Hélène Mathieu, Marie accueille le handicap mental, La Croix, 13.08.2004 [Translation]