Language and identification of the various communities of the church has developed in recent years. Currently the Vatican and international language highlights ‘Associations of Lay Faithful, Ecclesial Movements and New Communities’. The NCE simply identifies Associations, Movements and New Communities.
“Ecclesial movements… represent one of the most significant fruits of that springtime in the Church which was foretold by the Second Vatican Council… Their presence is encouraging because it shows that this springtime is advancing and revealing the freshness of the Christian experience based on personal encounter with Christ,” (Pope John Paul II, Message for the World Congress of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities, 1998).
Associations, Movements and New Communities have arisen throughout the history of the Church. To meet specific needs of the time and to pursue mission-oriented purposes, the Holy Spirit has raised up from the lay faithful various monastic and mendicant orders, confraternities, sodalities, charitable and educational societies, social welfare organisations, and Catholic Action groups. In his 1988 Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici, Pope St John Paul II wrote of the Gospel’s call to be labourers in the vineyard and to transform the world according to God’s plan. This document also offered guidance for groups of lay faithful who wanted to “labour in the vineyard”, while remaining in communion with the Church and drawing upon the charisms gifted to them by the Holy Spirit.
Such ecclesial communities have long been an important element of the Catholic Church. In Australia, these communities have proven to be influential in bringing vitality and energy to the life of the Church.
Since 2016 the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life has provided guidance in governance, safeguarding and charism to Associations, Movements and New Communities around the world.
The Australian Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry is committed to supporting Associations, Movements and New Communities in Australia with a series of gatherings, networking and resources.
Further international resources can be found below from the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.
Australian DirectoryThe following directory lists only the Associations, Movements and New Communities that have registered their details with the National Centre of Evangelisation. If your community is not included in the list below, please register your details here [link to registration form].
Associations and Organisations
- Australian Cardijn Institute: https://australiancardijninstitute.org/
- Catalyst for Renewal: https://catalystforrenewal.org.au/
- The Catenian Association: https://www.thecatenians.org.au/
- Catholic Charismatic Renewal: https://www.ccr.org.au/
- Catholic Women’s League Australia: https://cwla.com.au/
- Christian Life Community Australia: https://www.clcaustralia.org.au/
- Communion and Liberation: https://au-nz.clonline.org/?flag=1
- Community of the Sons and Daughters of God: https://www.cfdaustralia.org/
- Australian Catholic Cursillo Movement: http://cursillo.asn.au/
- Focolare Movement: https://www.focolare.org/en/
- Knights of the Southern Cross Australia: https://www.ksca.org.au/
- Lay Camillian Family: https://www.camilliani.org/en/the-lay-camillian-family/
- Lay Carmelites of Australia & New Zealand: https://www.carmelites.org.au/about-the-carmelites/lay-carmelites
- Latin Mass Society Australia: https://lmsaus.org/
- Legion of Mary: https://legionofmary.org.au/
- Mariana Community: https://www.pallottine.org.au/pallottine-family/mariana-community.html
- Marist Association of St Marcellin Champagnat: http://www.maristassociation.org.au/
- Passionist Family Group Movement: https://www.pfgm.org/
- Schoenstatt Australia: https://schoenstatt.org.au/
- Secular Franciscan Order Australia: https://ofsaustralia.org.au/
- St Vincent de Paul Society: https://www.vinnies.org.au/
Movement and New Communities
- Bread of Life Fellowship: https://breadoflifefellowship.net/home
- Brisbane Oratory in Formation: http://brisbane-oratory.org/
- Couples for Christ Australia: https://www.cfc-australia.org.au/
- Disciples of Jesus Covenant Community: https://www.disciplesofjesus.org/
- Emmanuel Community: https://emmanuelaustralia.com.au/
- Jesus Youth Australia: https://jesusyouth.org.au/
- Marian Community of Reconciliation
- Neocatechumenal Way: https://neocatechumenaleiter.org/en/
- Risen Lord Community Australia: https://www.risenlordcommunity.com.au/
- Servants of Jesus Community: https://servantsofjesus.org/
- Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity: https://www.verbumdeiaustralia.com/
Disclaimer: The National Centre for Evangelisation (NCE) reserves the right to list the names and contact details of relevant individuals/groups on this website at its discretion.
Also, while this website provides contact details and links to other websites, the NCE has no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them. If you require further information about any individuals/groups linked to on this website, we encourage you to seek advice from your diocesan office or contact the individual/group directly.
Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life – Associations and MovementsSince 2016 the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life has worked to support and encourage Associations, Movements and New Communities.
It is the responsibility of the Dicastery to advance the vocation and mission of the lay faithful in the Church and in the world, both as individuals and as members of associations, movements and communities. It is to foster in them an awareness of their shared responsibility for the life and mission of the Church by virtue of the sacrament of Baptism and according to the various charisms received so that all can build up the Church together.
It also evaluates requests to the Apostolic See presented by episcopal conferences that ask for new ministries and ecclesiastical offices to be established according to the needs of particular Churches. The Dicastery erects associations of the faithful and international ecclesial movements, and approves or recognises their statutes. It examines administrative appeals relating to matters within its competence.
Governance - contacts and links
- General Decree on the mandates of government in associations of the faithful - promulgated on June 11, 2021.
- Explanatory Note that accompanies the above decree.
The Dicastery’s website contains news and information regarding Associations and Movements. Some recent news items are featured below:
- Pope Francis meets the Moderators of Associations of the Faithful, Ecclesial Movements and New Communities (June 13, 2024)
- On Mission with Peter: Apostolicity at the Heart of the Movements’ Identity (June 7, 2024)
- Between valorization and evangelization: the challenges and paths of the new communities (January 27, 2023)
- Governance in Lay Aggregations (February 2, 2022)
A volume awaited by many has seen the light of day, containing the text of the general Decree on mandates of government in associations of the faithful - promulgated on June 11, 2021 - and the explanatory note that accompanies it. In the same volume are the proceedings of the Meeting with the moderators of the associations, held on September 16 last in the New Hall of the Synod, at which Pope Francis spoke. And so, along with the new norm on the association of the lay faithful, in the book there are also useful texts for the interpretation of the Decree itself, which allow us to grasp the mens rationale underlying the pronouncement, centered on the correct meaning of authority in the Church and the exercise of government in lay aggregations. Read more here.
Resources and Articles
Jesus Youth celebrates 20 years in Australia
“Yes Lord: Let it be with me according to your Word” (Luke 1:38) is the theme of the Jesus Youth conference to be held from 25-28 April at the Belgrave Heights Convention Centre, Melbourne. The conference will also provide an opportunity for Jesus Youth Australia to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its arrival in Australia.
Lay Salvatorians rejoice at international recognition
Australia’s Lay Salvatorian community is celebrating its recent recognition by the Vatican as an international association of the faithful.
Sammantha Da Luz, chair of the Lay Salvatorians in Australia, said the February 8 ceremony in Rome, during which the decree of recognition was delivered by the office of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, was a moment of great joy for the community.
To Jesus through Mary: Legion of Mary continuing to thrive
More than a century after it was founded in Dublin, Ireland, the Legion of Mary continues to be a source of public witness, increased faith and evangelisation, including in Australia.
The largest apostolic organisation of lay people in the Church with several million members, the Legion of Mary seeks to increase the personal holiness of its members by imitating Mary’s virtues; to foster deeper devotion to Mary; and to undertake a range of apostolic works.
Renewing the Church, one family at a time
The Domestic Church Movement, which is the family branch of the Light-Life Movement (founded in Poland in 1954), officially arrived in Australia earlier this year, finding its first home in a parish in the Diocese of Broken Bay.
Couples on the journey together: The Teams Movement
In the late 1930s in France, four young couples asked their parish priest what help might be available to support their Christian marriage. Fr Henri Caffarel recommended they join with him to “journey together and see”. This simple plan to build stronger marriages was the beginning of Equipes Notre-Dame or Teams of Our Lady.
Spirit-led ecclesial communities unite
It is one of the strengths, and indeed the beauty, of Catholicism that we can embrace different expressions of our faith. Many people find that expression within the context of a parish community, while others find it within what we call ecclesial communities.
Ecclesial Communities Gather
Recently, the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry (BCELM) decided to bring together representatives from the many ecclesial communities operating in Australia. This event was in the form of an online consultation on July 20, hosted by that Commission’s chairman, Archbishop Christopher Prowse, and Archbishop Julian Porteous, Bishop Delegate for Ecclesial Communities.