Turin’s Inalpi Arena was a hub of activity as 8000 Catholics from across the globe gathered to focus on marriage, faith and family at the XIII International Meeting of Teams of Our Lady in late July.The event aims to enhance the spirituality of married couples and recognise that all vocations originate from the family.
Teams of Our Lady is a global Catholic lay movement that supports couples by fostering love and spirituality in married life. It offers couples opportunities to discover the presence of God in their marriage, to enrich their faith life together, and to enjoy fellowship with like-minded couples.
Seven people from Sandhurst attended the event. Among them, Eaglehawk couple Jane and Phil Bretherton, who have been Teams members for over forty years; Helen and David Gill, who are Teams members in Wodonga; Fr Jackson Saunders, chaplain to a Teams group in Shepparton; Fr Nathan Verallo, Chaplain to a Teams group in Wangaratta and Maria O’Donnell, who is a formator at Corpus Christi College, (the regional seminary for Victoria and Tasmania).
The Sandhurst contingency joined a group of thirty Pilgrims from Oceania to which Fr Jackson and Fr Nathan, (with Bishop Steve Lowe, Bishop of Auckland) were chaplains.
An array of inspirational guest speakers, including Cardinals, Religious and lay people shared their discoveries, knowledge and wisdom over the six-day event.
Key themes of the meeting were synodality and co-responsibility. Whether we are ordained, religious, or lay, we are all called by God to walk together as people of God in faith.
If you are interested in joining Teams of Our Lady in your parish, or community, please contact Fr Joe Taylor at St Brendan’s, Shepparton or go to the Teams of Our Lady website.
