Study Session at the Mother House, Ploërmel, Brittany

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I arrived at St. Malo, Brittany, on the morning of the 15th having taken the overnight ferry from Portsmouth (the ferry as opposed to the Southampton - Rennes flight as I had my bike with me). One of the Brothers from our St. Malo community met me and took me back to his community for breakfast and lunch, after which a visiting Brother from Rennes drove me to our Mother House in Ploërmel in readiness to begin that evening our 5-week study session for Brothers aged between 35 and 50.

There are 23 of us in the group, plus 2 Brothers leading the session and 2 Brothers doing the translating. The nations represented include France, Spain, Uganda, Tanzania, Congo, Togo, Indonesia, Haiti, Canada, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and England. There is a relaxed, fraternal atmosphere here that is typical of all the international Brothers events I've ever been to.

Tomorrow, we visit a place I know well, St. Malo, the birthplace of our Founder, Jean-Marie De La Mennais. For many of the Brothers in the group, it is their first time to France and I know they are keen to learn more about the origins of our congregation.

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