7 couples from all over the world and 1 Spiritual Counselor make the Team that serves all couples worldwide
Responsible Couple
Spain
We are Mercedes Gómez-Ferrer and Alberto Pérez, from Spain. We have celebrated our 33 years of marriage, the same number of years we’ve been in the teams. We have three children, the two eldest are married and the third lives with us, and we have a one-year-old grandchild. We are both teachers in the city of Valencia, where we live. Alberto teaches music at a high school and Mercedes teaches Art History at the University of Valencia. We share many things we like to do together: culture, travel, sports, walks. Our base team is Valencia 101, a team that sustains and supports us and to whom we owe so much. Our service as an international responsible couple will continue until 2030, accompanied by an extraordinary team that is presented below. In this brief introduction, if we can tell you anything, it’s that we love the teams and believe they are a grace from God. We have seen this in the different missions and services we have taken on, as trainers, pilots, leaders, and in the last stage as communication officers in the ERI. The call to service is for us a call to live truly and deeply the charism that Father Caffarel intuited, with the orientation for the next 6 years: “Called to live in communion.”
Spiritual Counsellor
Canada
At the recent international meeting in Turin, a question caught me by surprise: “What is your role or mission as Spiritual Counselor of the ERI-International Leading Team?” Despite the surprise, I found the question pertinent. In my response, I emphasized one of the dimensions that has always attracted me to the Teams of Our Lady movement: the co-responsibility between couples and spiritual counselors at all service levels. Thus, my mission as a counselor is to share with the couples of the new ERI the responsibility that the movement has entrusted to them.
This response was enriched through meditation on the Gospel passage of Luke about “The Disciples of Emmaus,” which we reflected upon each morning in Turin. I understood that my mission should reflect the style of the risen Jesus with his disciples, walking and accompanying couples in mutual listening to God’s will, as well as their concerns and hopes. My goal is to strengthen the collegial discernment process to deepen the movement’s charism and its mission in the Church and today’s world.
Finally, I wish to make our hearts burn to celebrate and announce, together with the Church, the truth and beauty of the sacrament of marriage, enriched by the charism given by the Spirit to our founding Father and to the Teams of Our Lady. As a priest of the Archdiocese of Edmonton and member of the Company of the Priests of Saint Sulpice, I have been involved with the Teams of Our Lady since 1990, founding the ENS in Edmonton in 2001. Currently, I am a member of the major seminary formation team and pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe parish, as well as spiritual counselor to several ENS teams, and I am fortunate to speak Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, and English.
Liaison couple for the Transoceanic Zone
United States
Liaison couple for the Central-Europe /M.Est Zone
Lebanon
We are Born and live in the sacred land of the Cedars, Lebanon. We have been married for 30 years, out of which 29 as devoted END Teams members. We have 2 daughters: Yara & Reem and 2 sons: Elias & Ziad. Georgina is a registered nurse in a well reputed community health institute and Youssef is a sworn surveyor. We are also committed in Faith & Light, a movement which aim to build friendship with people with disabilities.
Throughout our years of marriage, we have been serving in the END Teams and taken many responsibilities, which includes group piloting, sector responsible, information for couples and responsible for Lebanon Region. As liaison couple of the Central Europe and Middle East Zone. we will be accompanying: France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherland, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Austria, Mauritius, Seychelles, Poland, Hungary, Norway, Slovakia, Bella Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Lebanon. We believe that there’s so many experiences to share between all these countries in the coming years.
We are convinced that God doesn’t call the qualified but qualify the ones He calls for His mission. Throughout the coming 6 years of our mission, we aim to be witnesses of His love, and reflect God’s real purpose of marriage: A marriage that glorifies Him.
Glory be to God.
Liaison couple for the Eurafric Zone
Togo
We are Edith and Jérôme EKOUE KOVI. Married in 2002, we joined Teams of Our Lady in 2004. We have three children. We live in Lomé, the capital of Togo, a country in West Africa.
Humbly and completely surrendering ourselves to divine providence, we have accepted the call to the Responsibility of the Eurafrica zone which, as its name suggests, spans 2 continents. It consists of 4 super-regions: Francophone Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Guinea Conakry, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Chad, and Togo. Eastern Ghana, having been piloted by Togo, as well as Nigeria, being piloted by Benin, are also part of our zone although English-speaking), Spain, Italy, and Portugal. Five languages are spoken there. This linguistic diversity may appear at first as a barrier that prevents us from reaching out to one another, but in Christ, we are united. What matters is being of one heart and one spirit.
We believe we can help blend the different cultures of our zone and enrich one another through sharing good practices in team-building. We also hope to reflect together with the different components of our zone to find ways to strengthen team members’ capabilities through training and team development.
May the Holy Spirit assist us in our approach and may the Lord help us honor our commitment!
Liaison couple for the American Zone
Brazil
Couple responsible for Communication
Spain
We are Ricardo and Carmen Rodríguez-Marín from Torrent, Valencia , Spain. We have been married for 26 years and since then we have been members of Teams of Our Lady. We have got three children, two girls and a boy.
We have a strong sense of community which has led us to participate always in our parish. We have also had several responsibilities in our SR, but belonging to a Satellite team broadened our international view of the Movement.
Our latest service is being the responsible couple for communication and satellite teams in the current ERI. We believe that God calls us to serve by doing our best with our skills.
We hope our mission will help every single team in the world to feel part of a great community which has mutual support and Jesus’ love as a way of life.
Couple Responsible for the Secretariat
France
We are Catherine and Christophe Bernard, we have been united by the sacrament of marriage for 40 years and have 4 children. Two are married and have given us 6 grandchildren, and our second son is a priest. We live in eastern France and have been members of Teams of Our Lady since 1988. We are the secretary couple, with Christophe also being the treasurer of the END International association. We bring to the International Leading Team our love for the Teams and our experience of ten years within the Leading Team of a large Super-Region.
Contact Catherine & Christophe
