It might seem unusual for the residents of the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn to see French missionaries walking their streets each afternoon reciting the rosary together.
And Catholics might be surprised to learn that the organization which sends out the missionaries encompasses nearly the full spectrum of Church vocations -- an order for priests, an order for nuns, a fraternity of consecrated lay people and lay volunteers.
Heart's Home, started in 1990 as strictly a volunteer organization by Father Thierry de Roucy, serves the poor and suffering in the world by letting these people know someone cares about them. Volunteers visit the poor, the sick, the terminally ill and the incarcerated.
The French priest found that after a few years, some of the volunteers wanted to continue in Heart's Home through a lifelong commitment.
So Father de Roucy founded the Servants of God's Presence, an order of religious sisters within the organization; there are 30 nuns in the order around the world. The Sacerdotal Fraternity of Molokai for the priesthood was founded in 1995 and currently has 28 priests and seminarians.
A fraternity was founded for men and women who wanted to pursue the lay consecrated vocation, and in 1997, at the request of former Heart's Home volunteers, the Fraternity of Maximilian Kolbe was founded to maintain the spirit of their mission in their daily lives and responsibilities in the
professional world.
But what has been most prevalent for Heart's Home is the vocation of the lay volunteer. They serve in 35 missions in 20 different countries, in places such as Peru, Senegal, Brazil, Thailand, Italy, Romania, Argentina, Germany and El Salvador.
Since 1990, the organization based in France has trained 1,200 volunteers. Community life is sustained by daily Mass and daily rosary. Father de Roucy said that while praying the rosary he received the call to found a "work of compassion and consolation" to send young people on
missionary work abroad for a year or two. Heart's Home requires a commitment of at least 14 months.
Its only mission in the U.S. was opened in 2003 in the South Bronx to minister to Spanish-speaking people.
"Many people couldn't believe it when they came," said resident Lourdes Renero Alvarez. "Here were young French people who left their careers behind to serve poor Hispanics in the South Bronx, becoming part of their family and becoming their friends."
The group spent five years there, relocating to Brooklyn in 2008.
The U.S. community currently consists of three nuns, a recently ordained transitional deacon, two lay consecrated women, a lay consecrated man and three volunteers. The only non-French citizen in the group is Sister Mariana Canteros, who became acquainted with Heart's Home in her native Argentina.
She was a volunteer in Brazil for two years and later joined the group's order of nuns. Similarly, the two other nuns in Brooklyn, Sisters Regine Fohrer and Blandine Paponaud, also were Heart's Home volunteers prior to joining the Servants of God's Presence.
Sister Blandine, who has a degree in statistics and computer science, was a Heart's Home missionary in Honduras. "The majority of Heart's Home volunteers do not become priests, religious or consecrated after their mission," she said.
But for her, the experience "of unconditional love in the community" and "of God's love" gave her "the desire to go on this mission of love and compassion," she said. "To give in my turn what I had received and in the same way that I had received."
Sylvie Muller, who was a volunteer in Argentina, is a consecrated lay woman. Many Catholics, especially in the U.S., do not know enough about the lay consecrated vocation, she said.
"Lay consecrated people are not as visible: they just try to live their baptism, without any signs such as the sisters with their habits," she said.
According to the U.S. Association of Consecrated Virgins, there are an estimated 150 consecrated virgins in the United States. France has the highest number of consecrated virgins with more than 600, while there are an estimated 3,000 consecrated virgins worldwide.
There are also consecrated lay men, though they are not too common throughout the world.
Heart's Home has three, all of them previous volunteers within the
organization.
Muller said consecrated lay people show their vocation through their life's
witness, example and friendship. "It is the way for the Church to reach all those who will not come to Her, to provide witness of God to many," she added.
The number of Heart's Home lay volunteers is currently 200, spread among its 35 missions worldwide. Last year saw the highest number ever of U.S. and Canadian volunteers.
"I have met nuns and consecrated people in Heart's Home, but it is important to not forget that the vocation of being a lay volunteer is the most common one," said Amy Koreski of Spokane, Wash., who graduated from Gonzaga University in 2007. She recently returned to the U.S. from 14 months as a Heart's Home volunteer in Honduras.
She noted that Heart's Home accepts volunteers any time of the year. "For me, my work among the poor and suffering was greatly complemented by daily Adoration, daily Mass and daily rosary and community life," Koreski said.
Editor's Note: More information about Heart's Home is available at the community's Web site, http://usa.heartshome.org, or by calling (718) 522-2121.
