The Emmaus program, a mentoring initiative of the Catholic Women’s Network (CWN), is launching officially after its successful pilot year.
The CWN is now looking for new mentors for 2025.
Last year Catholic women from of all walks of life answered the call to mentor younger women of faith, through wisdom and connection.
“There were mothers, there were single women, there were corporate success stories. And the strong feedback, particularly from the mentors, was that this program was needed,” said Helena Romanus from the CWN.
This intergenerational exchange saw real transformation and life-changing relationships emerge.
The success of last year’s pilot program also noted how the Emmaus program addressed a pervading sense of isolation in today’s society and within church communities.
Sally Hood, from CWN, believes the program emphasises the importance of having a spiritual companion.
“This is how Jesus modelled it and more recently has been made popular by Pope Francis,” she said.
In the fourteenth instalment of his Catechesis of Discernment, Pope Francis writes: “In the spiritual life it is better to be accompanied by someone who knows about us and helps us. And this is spiritual accompaniment.”
“This is part of our hope that spiritual accompaniment will become a verb in our parish communities through Emmaus,” Sally said.
“The power of having a ‘sister in Christ’, someone who’s just a season ahead, there’s a power in that accompaniment. Being an ear to listen, someone to hear you out and to give you space, to tell you what they’re truly feeling.
“I think there’s real power in that relationship.”
“We had a much more intergenerational, closely connected community in the past, and I think part of this program is getting us a little bit back to that concept of the wisdom that comes from intergenerational connection.
“Our churches are one of the places, probably one of the few places remaining in society, where you do see an intergenerational community.”
With the Emmaus program launching, Sally and Helena are now calling on “authentic” mentors, to join the program, to pass on their wisdom with their mentees on their faith journey.
The program will see mentoring pairs meeting monthly over an eight-month period, starting next March and ending in October.
“We’re looking for women who are leaders in wherever God has put them in this season of their life right now. You don’t need a degree in spiritual accompaniment, but it does require someone who has solid formation, who has a faith filled heart, and who has a desire, a missionary desire, to pastorally accompany someone else,” Sally said.
“We announced this in our newsletter just a couple of weeks ago, and there’s been a really strong, positive response,” Helena added.
“I’m excited to see how the Lord is going to use the gifts of our mentors for the other women that will join us next year.”
“The great commission is to ‘Go Make Disciples.’
“And it can start as simply as walking the spiritual journey, two by two. Taking that road to Emmaus alongside someone, and letting Jesus come and dwell within the midst of the two of you and lead you on that journey.”
Applications for mentors are open now, with mentee applications to follow later in the year.
The CWN are hosting an Online Information Session on Thursday 27th September for any woman interested in learning more about the program.