On Thursday morning, 16 October 2025, as I opened my computer to participate in the third meeting of the Commission for Eymardian Places (CLE), the sky was low and dark; it was cool – suggestively calling to mind Saint Peter Julian Eymard walking in the depth of winter toward the three crosses or toward Paris to begin his project of founding a new congregation. The Commission for Eymardian Places comprises:

• Father José Antonio Rivera Ruiz, a General Consultor who is in charge of this Commission,
• Father Roel Dela Cruz, the General Treasurer,
• Father Peter Dowling, Provincial of Saints Peter and Paul,
• Father Eugène Van Heyst, Provincial of Saint Peter-Julian Eymard,
• Maria Valdebenito, Directress of the Servitium Christi,
• Sister Teresa Dinh Thi Anh Dao, 1^st Assistant General of the SSS Sister Servants,
• Edith Grimaud, a SSS Associate.

Our Commission met for the third time, remotely via Zoom, the first two meetings having been on 8 and 9 June 2025. It was an edifying picture of members from various backgrounds, reflecting the mosaic of the diverse riches of the Eymardian Places.

At each meeting, Father José Antonio, the person in charge of this Commission, recalled the theme indicated in the message from the Superior General, Father Philip Benzy Romician: "To assist in the implementation of the guidelines and recommendations of the 36^th General Chapter, to propose concrete and meaningful ways about using the Eymardian places for the fostering of Eucharistic spirituality, to preserve and make known the Eymardian places, ensuring that they remain sources of inspiration and renewal for our Congregation and for the Church at large."

Each day had its particular feature: the first day consisted in listening to reports, including the Superior General’s message, the "Status quaestionis" and the recommendations of the 36^th General Chapter, the message of the Eymard Spirituality Centre in La Mure, the presentation by Ms. Edith Grimaud, and discussion; the second day involved identifying priority areas and developing a project to promote Eymardian Places and widely disseminate Father Eymard’s Eucharistic message; finally on the third day, setting up two sub-committees for the promotion of these places and indicating ways to set up and maintain relationships with them.

The new element was the creation of two sub-committees: one more practical, to promote the Eymardian Places, the other more spiritual to spread their Eucharistic message, and the composition of these committees was also formed. A range of suggestions and ideas, the fruit of the discussions, was proposed each day to preserve and make known better the Eucharistic riches of the Eymardian Places. Thus, the more practical sub-commission for promoting these places, composed of Father Roel Dela Cruz, Sister Teresa Dinh Thi Anh Dao, and Father Thaddée Mupapa, has the following tasks:

• to encourage pilgrimages (contacting those responsible for the places of welcome, especially the mayors of small towns)
• and to publish a list of contacts of people in charge of the places,
• to raise awareness of the importance and interest, especially among members of the Eymardian Family, about participating in pilgrimages, and to do so through the SSS Major Superiors,
• to facilitate the work of the Association of Friends of Father Eymard in Matheysine,
• to use the mass media,
• to plan convivial occasions between members of the Eymardian Family.

And the more spiritual subcommittee for spreading Father Eymard’s Eucharistic charism, composed of Father José Antonio Rivera Ruiz and Father Eugène Van Heyst, has the following activities: to gather existing material related to Eymardian Places and create videos for pilgrims, propose an annual theme for the whole Congregation, to collect documentation for publication and produce a video or PowerPoint presentation on the life of Father Eymard for pilgrims who are unable to visit Eymardian Places, set up means to enkindle young people’s interest in Father Eymard’s Eucharistic spirituality.

Thus, may the setting up of these subcommittees and these ways of maintaining relations with the Eymardian Places contribute in some small way to keeping alive the memory of Father Eymard and the spreading his Eucharistic message.

Father Thaddée Mupapa, sss
Superior, La Mure