Welcome

Welcome - GROUP FOLLOW ME

The lay group “Follow Me” (Seguimi in Italian) is a stable form of community life among consecrated lay persons, who want to have the necessary flexibility in order to fully value the originality of each person. The group Follow Me began in Rome, Italy on March 19, 1965, as a result of the initiative of Fr. Anastasio Gutiérrez, cfm and Paola Majocchi. It was approved on June 21, 1965 by the then-bishop of Sansepolcro, Italy, and obtained definitive pontifical approval by the Pontifical Council for the Laity on March 19, 1984.

            Follow Me is neither a religious institute, nor a secular institute. It is rather defined as a lay association of human-Christian promotion. Following Christ foresees a particular form of consecration that embraces the entire Gospel, which is difficult to summarize in the classic triad: poverty, chastity and obedience. For Follow Me, the integral embodiment of Gospel not only does not minimize the classic concept of religious life, but rather radically extends its implications, with the challenge of granting some of these dimensions absolute priority. Following Christ is based on the trusting adhesion to Him and is expressed by working in twos, paired with Him, in emotional maturity and in the awareness of the complementary quality between male and female natures. The choice to follow Christ and the juridical bond (be it may that its juridical validity consists in being a rule of behavior or membership regarding third parties, and it does not obligate under sin, unless with respect to Christian principles) are not considered additional norms to the commitment of a Christian.

             As laity, the members of Follow Me work in today’s world, personally choosing a profession according to their natural aptitudes; they feel born of and immersed in the world, as architects building the world from within. They recognize the value of temporal things and they respect the laws that govern them with autonomy;  but, as Christians, they propose to order them not according to one’s own design, but rather respecting the hierarchy of values established by God, Himself. Flanking the communities of consecrated members (in separate male and female communities) are other forms of membership:

  • committed married couples, who integrally embrace the Gospel within their marriage, become members of Follow Me by assuming its values as a rule of life;
  • affiliate members are lay people who choose celibacy, but decide to live it within their own families of origin;

  • aggregate members are single or married persons who live the spirituality of Follow Me;
  • volunteers of Follow Me are persons who come to know our ideals and collaborate in the activities and endeavors promoted by our communities.

 

            While maintaining its lay character, the group is also open to priests, who may choose their desired type membership (either as consecrated members in community life, or as affiliate or aggregate members). These diocesan priests who chose to join Follow Me in the context of community life, in actuality, live together with lay consecrated men, with a notable enrichment for both parties on a human, ecclesial, pastoral and social level.

For a better understanding of the types of membership in Follow Me, you may contact us at the following email address: seguimi.sede@iol.it .