Lay People Strengthen the Mission of the Redemptorists
In Ghent, Wittem, and Bonn, between September 2025 and January 2026, a total of around twenty lay people publicly and explicitly committed themselves to support the Redemptorists as partners in their mission. In this way, the connection to the CSsR is no longer merely a concern on paper; it now has a concrete face and a clear form.
The first step took place in Ghent on 14 September 2025, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. At Clemenspoort, people gathered for a simple prayer service, and about ten of them gave their commitment to partnership in the mission. This was not an occasion for grand speeches, but for a decision meant to endure. Anyone who binds themselves in such a setting is, in essence, saying: we are not leaving the mission “to the fathers”; we are sharing responsibility.
Wittem followed on 9 November 2025, the founding day of the Congregation. At the monastery there—familiar to many as a pilgrimage site—three people committed themselves to partnership. This service carried a quiet, serious undertone, as it also remembered two people who had died suddenly during their formation. Such moments break through routine. They make clear that mission is not about simply “functioning,” but about fidelity, hope, and carrying one another—also when life is marked by fractures. In Bonn, the journey continued on 7 January 2026, in the context of Epiphany. Six people made their binding commitment there. The feast, which speaks of setting out and finding direction, fits this step well. Anyone who embraces partnership in the mission does not remain a spectator, but walks along, shares burdens, and brings their own gifts. All three celebrations were marked by a deliberately simple form.
The Provincial, Fr. Jan Hafmans, led each prayer service; members of the PIM committee were present, as were some members of the local community and guests. Precisely this simplicity feels like a counterpoint to a kind of church activism that keeps many busy but binds few. Here it was about commitment, prayer, and community—about what remains when the moment has passed. At present, there are no further important updates from the PIM commission. That makes it all the more worthwhile to look closely at these steps. They show that partnership in the mission does not need to remain an idea for discussion; it can grow as a lived attitude. And they leave us with the simple, uncomfortable question that always remains in the end: where and when do we ourselves take responsibility?