On 15 March, the Archdiocese of Sydney’s Catholic Women’s Network (CWN) officially launched The Emmaus program, an innovative spiritual accompaniment initiative that pairs Catholic women mentors with mentees.
This launch marks the first year of the program’s full-scale implementation, following a successful pilot in 2024.
Helena Roumanus, from the CWN within the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation and a key figure in the program’s development, expressed enthusiasm about the growth and potential impact of Emmaus.
“Now in its first year we’ve nearly doubled the number of mentors and mentees from our pilot program,” she noted.
“This expansion reflects the strong demand for spiritual companionship among Catholic women.”
The program has attracted a diverse group of participants, particularly among the mentees.
“We were surprised that while we had many looking for mentorship aged between 18 to 25, there were also women in their 30s, 40s and 50s,” said Helena.
“That was so surprising to us, and I was grateful that we were able to offer some of those women mentors.
“It shows that it doesn’t matter what season of life you’re in, accompaniment is always required.”
Mentees sought various forms of support, from motherly guidance to faithful witnesses in a secular world.
“Some mentees were looking for guidance on living their faith in secular workplaces, while others were new to the faith and sought companionship,” Helena explained.
“I heard from young women who were wanting the witness of a strong, faithful wife and Catholic mother. I had women who came in, who are working in the secular world, in workplaces that are quite antagonistic towards Catholics and Catholic values. They were struggling and wanted a mentor who could witness to how to live out your faith in the secular world.
“I also had women who were older but were very new to the faith, who were recent reverts and were feeling a bit isolated in their parish and looking for connection.”
The matching process, conducted prayerfully by the CWN, aimed to create connections that would foster personal and spiritual growth.
“We really discerned who was the right mentor for them, who was going to be the woman that could accompany them in this season. It was nice to see on Saturday the smiles on their faces and see the connections already forming,” Helena said.
The program’s structure allows for flexibility, with pairs meeting monthly either face-to-face or online. This adaptability ensures that mentors and mentees can build meaningful relationships that fit their lifestyles and needs.
Helena emphasised the potential for rich fruits from these pairings.
“There’s so much to gain from an experience like this. Our mentors have so much to give.”
As the Emmaus program progresses through its first year, organisers will continually evaluate and refine the experience.
“We’ll be checking in with them once a month. As the program begins, we’ll be touching base with every single one of them to see how it’s going,” Roumanus explained.
“I’m sure there will be natural growth for both mentors and mentees. I think that’ll be the fruits of these connections as they grow together throughout the year.
“We’re open to see what the Holy Spirit says, where he wants to grow this.”