How do you help those who have been addicted to drugs most of their lives and have little – or no – experience of the love of a human family?
When Record journalist Mark Reidy travelled to France in March he went not to take in the traditional tourist sites this remarkable country has to offer but to learn about a new approach to dealing with one of the most difficult to solve of all social problems: drug addiction.
Near the world-famous pilgrimage destination of Lourdes, renowned for its miraculous healings, he found healing of a different kind. Just outside Lourdes is one of 60 new Catholic Church communities that have been established around the globe in the last three deacades, each part of the Cenacolo (Cenacle) movement established by a Catholic Religious, Sister Elvira, in the early 1980s.
The Cenacolo is the last stop on the trainline of hope for men and women addicted to drugs and alcohol, the last chance for life before succumbing to death from their addictions. The Cenacolo communities have established remarkable records of successfully helping those who come to them escape from the bondage of drugs and alcohol, and their unique approach is one hundred per cent rooted in faith, friendship, re-learning usefulness and prayer.
There are miracles happening in Lourdes every day – but the world will never hear of them. Those who were once blind can now see and those who were once dead have been given new life – but the Church will never investigate them. These miracles are not the kind that occur only a few kilometres away at the internationally-known Grotto where Mary appeared to the young Bernadette Subirous in 1858, and, unlike those which regularly occur at the shrine, they are not scientifically or medically inexplicable – yet miracles of a kind they are. And, one strongly suspects, the supernatural grace behind them is the same.
This haven of the miraculous is the Cenacolo Community, home to almost 50 young men, all at different stages of healing from traumatic lifestyles usually bound up in drug and alcohol addiction. Nestled within the confines of the famous Pyrenees mountains, this picturesque, five-hectare sanctuary seems a world apart from the busyness and activity of the pilgrim town nearby.
It is a place of restoration that offers a second chance at life to those who have become trapped in a shadow of death; it provides them with opportunities to see themselves and the world in a new light. The men, aged on average from 18 to their late forties, are mostly from France and Italy, but also from other European countries, the US and the Philippines and have been drawn to the Cenacolo by a common desire to escape lives of spiritual and emotional darkness.
After a twenty-minute walk from the Basilica in Lourdes, along the winding roads of the suburbs, it comes as a surprise to be greeted by the lush-green farming property of Cenacolo, which sits spectacularly on a hill overlooking the town.
An atmosphere of serenity gradually embraces the visitor as you stride up the steep driveway, giving you a sense of leaving behind, and rising above, the world outside. The sense of peace is reflected in the genuine welcome you receive from those who reside there, beginning with the warmth of Franco, the man responsible for the overall management of this refuge of hope.
But despite the peace that I, as a visitor, experience, Franco is under no illusions as to the difficulties and struggles that confront those who arrive here seeking rehabilitation. Having himself experienced the journey from addiction to freedom within the Cenacolo Community, Franco is well aware of the challenges involved in shedding the shackles of self-destruction.
“When I first arrived at the Community in Italy as a 38 year old, I was carrying the baggage of a 20 year addiction. I thought the place was some sort of cult. There was a lot of praying, it was isolated from the outside world – and everyone was smiling,” he says with a grin. Franco admits that if he had had somewhere else to go, he would have, but deep down he knew that this was his last chance at life.
It is one of the many beauties of the Community that those who watch over the newcomers have completed the journey themselves. They have received their own healing and have chosen to stay on to help those who follow.
Their experience provides them not only with empathy, but also with the wisdom and toughness required to deal with those coming from a lifestyle driven by selfishness and deception.
Behind the smiling eyes and peaceful nature, it is easy to forget that Franco knows intimately the self-absorbed past from which prospective residents arrive, but you are soon reminded of it as you watch him conduct introductory interviews.
Franco’s gentleness does not detract from the harsh realities he presents to those desperate to begin a new life. He emphasises that it will be a life of discipline and order that will be in stark contrast to the chaotic and uncontrolled lifestyles they have been used to until now. As well as abstinence from drugs and alcohol, there are no prescribed medications or cigarettes allowed, and no contact with family for at least three months. No television or newspapers are permitted on the premises.
Every day is a strict routine that begins with a 6am wake-up call for prayer in the chapel before breakfast. This is followed by manual work around the property that can include milking the cows (which begins at 4am), chopping wood, building (there are ongoing extensions as the community continues to grow), gardening, maintenance, agricultural production, baking, laundry, domestic and kitchen duties, woodwork and craft production.
Residents own minimal possessions, eat every meal in a communal dining area and sleep in dormitory style (five or six bunk beds crowded into each bedroom). They are expected to always be punctual, maintain healthy levels of personal and communal hygiene, shave every second day, join in physical activity such a soccer or jogging and participate in small group and, at times, communal sharing.
Foundational to the existence of Cenacolo is a daily prayer routine which includes Mass (depending on priest availability), Rosary, Stations of the Cross and Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. The daily life of being a member of Cenacolo is the complete antithesis of the tumultuous lives that have been led up to this point.
However, Franco emphasises, difficult as this regimented lifestyle may be, one of the greatest challenges – as well as the greatest graces – is the constant presence of individuals described as Guardian Angels. These are individuals who have already been living in the Community for an extended periodand are assigned to newcomers. They will stay by the side of a new arrival 24 hours a day for up to three months. They work, eat, socialise and pray with them. Like a boot camp seargant, Guardian Angels teach and challenge new arrivals in their attitudes, demeanour and behaviour. They will wait outside the bathroom while they toilet and wash and they will know where they are at all times. This is a great hardship at first, Franco acknowledges, because people usually come from a background where they have not been accountable to anyone, often for most of their lives.To have suddenly someone by their side at all times is physically and emotionally challenging. “When I first began”, recalls Franco, “I hated my Guardian Angel. I wanted to kill him and we would nearly come to blows. But today I consider him one of my best friends”. It is a life that is based on the three pillars of prayer, work and friendship. Many of the residents have tried other rehabilitation centres, other approaches, before they found themselves at Cenacolo.But the shorter-term secular programs, although helping addcits to chemically withdraw from their substance abuse, do not deal with the deeper spiritual and emotional issues that are often at the root of their addictions.
Through experience, those managing the Community have learned that most of those who arrive at their doorstep need at least three years to be released from the chains of their past lives. Not only do old habits, self-perceptions and ways of thinking have to be stripped away, but the pains and hurts in which these behaviours and lifestyles were rooted have to be healed. Not all last the distance, but the many who do have radically transformed their lives.
This success stems from the understanding that unconditional friendship, a disciplined work regime and a healthy diet can lead to spiritual, emotional, mental and physical healing, but it will only endure if it is built on a foundation of consistent and fervent prayer. It is only then that people are able to recognise their true identity in Christ. The journey to this new life can, at times, be painful. Once participants allow themselves to be embraced and supported by the Community, layers of their previous life are exposed, each aspect of their false self is confronted and challenged. Cenacolo is not a place where one can run away from the truth or live anonymously.
But through the processes of “tough love” a deep camaraderie is borne. Residents, who already share the experience of a traumatic past, are drawn together by the intimacy and confrontation that evolves from this intense form of communal living. It is a place where one can make the life-giving journey from focusing constantly on self to focusing on the needs of others, a fundamental change in orientation, discovering along the way their own true identity as well.
When asked about the importance of prayer in this process, Franco answers without hesitation. New arrivals are often hesitant to partake in any form of prayer, he says, but will usually join in with early morning Adoration once they realise that extra manual work is the alternative.
“Their initial motivation may be one of laziness”, he smiles, “But no one can sit before the Lord for half an hour every day for a few months and not be changed”. And there are many lives that can now testify to that.
A 30-year pattern
Beginning in 1983, 60 houses of the Cenacolo have been established around the world.
By Mark Reidy
For many years Sister Elvira Petrozzi, an Italian Religious, had been praying and waiting for the opportunity to fulfil the call in her heart – to lead broken and lost young people, especially those caught up in drug addiction, from lives of darkness into the light of Christ.
However when she was offered a derelict farmhouse in the northern Italian town of Saluzzo in 1983, even she did not dream that over the next 28 years God would open the doors to a further 60 houses around the world.
The most extraordinary aspect of the growth of the Cenacolo Community is that it has come without any financial assistance for its work from governments or agencies, relying totally on the providence of God.
“We arrived with the fervour of strain and the beauty of love”, Sr Elvira states on the Community’s website. “And love proved to be stronger than the fear, failure and hardships”. Sr Elvira and her co-founder, Sr Aurelia, stepped forward in faith and immediately began welcoming those who arrived on their doorstep.
“People came to us”, she shares, “Saying, ‘I am tired … I am dying … I want life’. They came to us with all their pain”. Sr Elvira’s response was an even deeper surrender to God, “You are the Father”, she cried out. “I will go wherever you want, do whatever you want – reveal Your will to me at any moment”. It is a prayer that both founded and sustains the work of Cenacolo.
However, while Sr Elvira may not have expected the rapid expansion of her ministry when she first saw the rundown premises in Saluzzo, she never doubted that God would always provide. So it came as no surprise that when the lost, lonely and addicted began to arrive, so too did the food and the work tools. It is a pattern that has continued for almost three decades.
New houses had to be opened across Italy to cater for the growing number of those seeking help. Men who had exhausted all other avenues of support knocked desperately at the only door that remained open. It was their last bastion of hope and many entered – albeit, at times, reluctantly – knowing that death was the only likely alternative.
Sr Elvira made it clear from the beginning that the journey was going to be one of extremes. Most were coming from a past of drug and alcohol addiction, violence, crime and sexual immorality and were entering into a communal environment, in which the needs of others needed to be considered. But, she reassured them, through the grace of God and the love and support of the community, their destination would bring them new life. While the intricacies of daily community life have evolved through a process of trial and error, the three pillars of prayer, work and friendship have remained central.
Those who enter live a simple, family-oriented lifestyle, but such is the depth of healing most residents require, that Sr Elvira soon realised that a minimum of three years of fulltime involvement was necessary. She also recognised that each day needed to be structured into a predictable and ordered routine to combat the undisciplined and self-indulgent lifestyles from which most of them had come.
Each Community is established to ensure that there is enough land and resources to allow a large degree of agricultural independence. This provides members with the opportunity to not only build their self-worth through manual labour, but also to contribute to the day-to-day and long-term survival of the Community.
It also ensures that they do not have to be distracted or burdened by bills, rent or the search for paid employment and allows them to focus on their own journey of inner healing. The Community prays for anything that it cannot generate for itself and its prayers, she insists, have always been answered.
After participants have completed their three-year recovery, many desire to give back to the Community and choose to offer themselves to already established communities or become pioneers for new ones.
In 1998 the Community was officially recognised as an Association of the Faithful and the first house to be opened in Spain later this year will become the 61st Cenacolo community established around the world. Most are based throughout Europe, but there are a number in the US and South America. Communities for women have also been established, as have mission houses in Brazil, Mexico and Peru which aim to offer new life to children who once lived on the streets.
There are now Priests, Brothers and Sisters who form a Consecrated branch of the Community, some of whom received their spiritual call during their own times of healing. Missionary families who choose to offer their lives to the Community full-time have also become an integral branch of the expanding network of support.
The emblem that has been adopted by the Cenacolo Community is the silhouetted image of a young boy and girl walking into a circle of light.
The picture is a graphic developed from an actual photo taken at the end of World War II by allied troops who were freeing prisoners of war from the horrific confines of Nazi concentration camps. The image is a symbol of new life – of hope reborn. It represents the beginning of the journey from darkness to light.
Those who arrive at the doorstep of the Community have one trait in common – they are searching for a place to belong so that they can be set free from their addictions and/or other personal struggles. Cenacolo has become not merely a place of residence, but a way of life, a journey and a family.
It is a sanctuary that offers those without hope a second chance – where those who are living in darkness can find a new life in Christ.
Three men who have found new beginnings in the Cenacolo Community shared their stories with The Record
By Mark Reidy
Tom
28, USA
“Selfishness is central to addiction”, Sr Elvira would reveal to those entering the Cenacolo community houses. It was a truth that became clearer with time as Tom gradually discovered his true identity over the next four years. “No one is born an addict”, he explains, “We become one by continually putting on masks to hide who we really are – that is, children of God.”
Tom says that he was generous as a child and would often give away what he had, however as he entered his adolescent and early adult years he became entrenched in a world of drugs and he lost his God-given identity. “My true self became buried beneath the masks of addiction”, he shares. “I would change according to the group I was with at the time – whether it was family, friends, work associates or strangers”.
Tom’s addiction evolved into a life of lies that almost destroyed him and his family. Although having no faith background, his parents heard of the Cenacolo Community house in Florida, and in their desperation, gave Tom an ultimatum – enter this programme or live on the streets.
Tom’s journey of self-discovery is in its fifth year and he now lives in the Lourdes Community serving newcomers with his knowledge and experience. He says that the process of recognising the extent of his self-absorption was a gradual one and began when others in the Community challenged him.
“For your first month in Community only your Guardian Angel (a fellow community member who would stay by his side 24 hours a day) is allowed to correct you”, he explains. “This is difficult enough, however after this time others in the community are then permitted to confront you about your attitudes and behaviour”.
Tom says that although this is always done in love, it is a challenging and humbling experience. “When you have a number of people telling you the same thing, you begin to recognise the areas in your life that you need to address.”
Tom says that his time within the Community has been one of constant growth. He believes the simple life adopted by the Community, in which all excesses, materialism and external distractions are removed and replaced with prayer, friendship and hard work, ensures that one’s recovery and growth are constant.
“There is never a chance to get too comfortable”, he says. “In my four years within the Community I have lived in four houses in three different countries”. The purpose of this itinerant existence is to ensure that residents continue to challenge themselves as they dismantle the facades that they have erected within themselves. If they are seen as becoming too comfortable they will be transferred to an alternative community house – usually in another country.
Tom, now a Catholic, is full of hope and enthusiasm for the future and is passionate about assisting others in discovering their true identities. “God is the reason why I was able to rediscover the generous and loving child that I once was, and I want to be able to help others do the same”.
Luca
39, Italy.
When Luca began smoking marijuana at the age of 14 he was able to become, for the first time in his life, the centre of attention amongst his peers. By the time he was 17 he was using cocaine on a daily basis, dealing in drugs and stealing from his mother.
It is difficult to connect this past with the well-adjusted and socially gifted man who today lives a life of prayer, work and a desire to assist others in their own journey of recovery.
But it is Luca’s own journey from the brink of death to new life that inspires him to continue reaching out. By the time he reached 35, after almost two decades of self-abuse, lies and immorality, Luca knew that he was on a path of self-destruction.
Fearful of overdosing as his usage increased, Luca begged his mother to help him. It was her frantic search through newspapers, the Internet and friends that led to Cenacolo and rescued him from what he believes was a certain death.
It was a difficult journey, Luca acknowledges. “It was hard coming from an existence of total selfishness to the regimented lifestyle of Community living”, he recalls. “I couldn’t eat what or when I wanted, couldn’t sleep when I wanted. I felt very frustrated and fearful and would have left if I’d had an alternative, but my mother said to me. ‘If you leave Community you cannot come home.’”
The first week was the most harrowing as Luca withdrew from his daily addiction. He spent the first week sweating, shaking and sleeping little, but with the unwavering support of his Guardian Angel, who never left his side, he was able to take the first step to his new life.
It was a journey that also reignited his faith, although not without a battle. “When I first tried to pray before the Blessed Sacrament I was overwhelmed with sexual images and thoughts of drug use. I approached a priest and explained the problem and he simply told me that I needed to become ‘like a tomato in the sun’. From that point on I would just sit there and allow myself to be drenched by Jesus’s love. It was only then that I was able to receive Him in my heart”.
Luca left the Cenacolo Community house in February 2010 and now lives in Lourdes. He works for a local hotel as a tour guide as well as assisting sick pilgrims. He also spends time assisting with the Community.
Today, Luca is a man full of joy, laughter and a zest for life, who especially identifies with Jesus’ first public proclamation: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me … He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed…” He has been set free into a new life and he is determined to make the most of his second chance.
Gerhard
50, France
When Gerhard entered the doors of the Cenacolo Community at the age of 44, he wore the masks that come with 25 years of drug and alcohol abuse. “I did not know who I was”, he says, “I felt trapped in a life of darkness and I thought I would never be free”. He said that, like most who find themselves in the Community, he did not love himself and it was reflected in the way he lived. “It is only when you discover God that you can begin to change”, he reflects.
Gerhard was so depressed when he began his Community journey in 2005, that he would hide in the Chapel, just for the opportunity to be on his own. He was suffering from alcohol withdrawal at the time and also carried the heaviness of being separated from his son.
For the first 12 days he sat in the chapel during prayer time, smothered by a blanket of darkness. On the 13th day, his son’s birthday, he broke down and began to sob. What happened next was to change his life forever.
“I felt as though my heart was opened – like a zipper. I then felt what I can only describe as the presence of a father and mother – like I was being hugged by loving parents”, he recalls. “I would never be the same again”. Gerhard shakes his head slowly, still moved by his experience. “It was a moment that was both beautiful and terrible”, he recalls. “Because one side of my heart was filled with darkness and heaviness and the other side was pure love. He immediately recognised the battle within him, but he knew that the love was far more powerful.
“After that I felt like a small flower and I knew that I needed to be watered and nurtured”, he recalls. “I would go to the chapel whenever I could, because I knew that if I didn’t continue to come to the source of this love, that my life would become like before”.
Gerhard now lives in the town of Lourdes and works as a painter. He exudes a presence of peace and gentleness that is in stark contrast to the life of addiction and torment that once imprisoned him. And he is in no doubt as to the source of his transformation. “I am only a little man”, he acknowledges humbly, “But I have been given a great treasure”. It is a treasure that he knows he must share with the world.