About Friends of L'Arche St. Louis
In
May 2004 a small group of people first met to begin the process
of starting a L'Arche community in
Our
planning group contacted Fr. Len Kraus, SJ who agreed to host
a public meeting at St. Francis Xavier (College) Church at
Our planning group hosted a mini-Regional Conference in
We applied for Pre-project status and were accepted, incorporating as
Friends
of L'Arche St. Louis, Inc. in early 2007 and as a tax exempt 501(c)(3)
entity
effective later that year. Over
the past
two years, we have hosted social/spiritual gatherings for our members
and the
general public. These gatherings have helped
to share the
spirituality of L’Arche and deepen awareness of L’Arche in the
In early October 2008, Janet Ryan was hired as the founding community leader of Friends of L'Arche St. Louis. As a part of her formation, throughout the fall, she was sent to three L'Arche communities to shadow community leaders to gain a clearer understanding of the role of community leader. Janet spent time with community leaders, Keith Kalaukoa at The Arch in Clinton, Iowa: Alex Conroy at L'Arche Chicago in Chicago, Illinois; and with Amy Finn-Schultz at L'Arche Harbor House in Jacksonville, Florida.
Of her
formation Janet said, "The time spent with these communities was
invaluable. I was enriched just by being with them but I also made lots
of new friends, began looking at situations from a different
perspective and left with a deeper respect and better perspective of
the role of community leader."
We invite you to contact us and learn more about L’Arche in
About The International Federation of L'Arche
Jean Vanier, Founder of L'Arche is a French-Canadian whose father, Georges Vanier, was the 19th Lieutenant-Govenor General of Canada (1959-1967). Jean Vanier served in the British Royal Navy and was later an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy. He earned a Ph.D. in philosophy and taught at St. Michael's University in Toronto. In 1963, Jean accepted an invitation to visit his friend, Rev. Thomas Philippe, O.P. a chaplain at a small instituion for persons with cognative disabilities known as Val Fleuri in Trosly-Breuil, France.During this visit, Jean's experiences at the Val Fleuri were profoundly moving. As Jean began visiting other institutions, he discovered deplorable living conditions. The men and women in these places needed a home, a place of belonging where they would be loved and respected. The residents' mental and physical poverty mirrored Jean's own spiritual poverty. He saw the face of Jesus in the faces of these men and women and he felt his own soul being healed by being in relationship with them. When Jean returned to Canada, his friend Father Thomas encouraged him to, as Jean puts it, "Begin something."
Jean returned to France, and on August 4, 1964, the director of a local institution brought three men (Raphael, Philippe and Dany) into Jean Vanier's small home in Trosly-Breuil. Dany was able to spend only one day and night in the home before it was decided that this was not the best place for him. On August 5, Raphael, Philippe and Jean started their life together - a covenant life called L'Arche.
They named their home L'Arche, which is a French word meaning The Ark. In Christian and Jewish traditions, the ark symbolizes diversity, refuge and hope.
Visit Jean Vanier's web site or the L'Arche USA web site for more information.
L'Arche Abroad
More L'Arche communities began in France and also overseas. In 1969 the first L'Arche community in North America - Daybreak - opened in Toronto. This community was home to Fr. Henri Nouwen for the last ten years of his life (1986-1996). In 1970, a L'Arche community opened in Bangalore, India, which continues today as a place where Christians, Hindus and Moslems live together peacefully. The first community in the United States was established in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1973.The International Federation of L'Arche consists of 137 communities in 35 countries.
To learn more, visit the L'Arche International web site.
