Père Beaupère - Obituary

Melanie Carroll • January 30, 2023

Père Beaupère - Obituary

Père René Beaupère (1925 – 2022)

‘Apôtre et artisan de l’oecuménisme’

We were sorry to hear that Père René Beaupère, Dominican priest from Lyon, France, founder of the Association Française des Foyers Interconfessionaux Chrétiens (AFFMIC), the equivalent of AIF in France, and a major player in ecumenism, died on 10 December 2022.

Growing up and studying in Lyon, Père Beaupère met Paul Couturier, founder of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 1939, which brings together all baptised Christians including Orthodox, Anglican, Roman Catholic and other Christian traditions to pray for unity. From the early 1950s, Père Beaupère found a vocation to develop ecumenism. He became a member of the Groupe des Dombes, a gathering of RC and Protestant theologians which has met regularly since 1937 to visit holy places and to share fellowship, theological insights and different experiences of prayer and worship. In 1953 he founded the Centre St Irénée in Lyon for the study of ecumenism, which has been the source of many ecumenical initiatives.

Père Beaupère organised the first ecumenical pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1961, followed by numerous trips to many countries in the Middle East and elsewhere, including places behind the Iron Curtain. These trips brought together Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran and other Protestant Christians who shared their beliefs and their prayers and grew in their faith and their commitment to unity. He had a particular interest in the pastoral care of ‘mixed marriages’, bringing couples and families together to discuss their situations and to learn more about each other’s shared lives of faith. He started a regular review ‘Foyers Mixtes’, sharing the experience of such families and containing articles on theological subjects and their pastoral care. Ecumenical catechesis of children in these families developed, led by priests, pastors and couples, in parishes around Lyon and elsewhere. Their work inspired the World Council of Churches and the Second Vatican Council.

Ruth and Martin Reardon met Père Beaupère as AIF was beginning to grow from its early roots in the late 1960s, and gradually they began to share more and more of their experiences and insights, leading to visits by members of AIF to meetings in France and Switzerland, and to various international ecumenical conferences in different countries, where their relationship developed further. This in turn led to the first international gathering of interchurch families at the World Council of Churches HQ in Geneva in 1998, organised mainly by the French and Swiss groups, and with many AIF members attending, and the second international gathering in Rome in 2003, which brought together couples and families from the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and beyond. The planning group PREPROMA for this gathering had members speaking French, English, German and Italian, and meetings were held over two years in Lyon, where we received warm hospitality from local families and the Centre St Irénée. Theological exchange and documents such as the so-called ‘Rome Document’ followed this meeting, and this led to a group of 12, both lay and clergy, representing interchurch families from 10 countries, to talk with members of staff at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, where we were warmly received.

Père Beaupère was always at the centre of activities at the very interesting and enjoyable meetings of French interchurch families in Lyon, Paris and Lille. These always included social times as well as the usual talks, discussions, shared prayer and worship such as AIF has at Swanwick. One year there was a blind magician who kept us all fascinated, especially the children. Another year when the meeting was held in December members were invited to bring food and drink from their region, which as you can imagine meant a wonderful buffet. I took a Christmas cake, which divided opinion. One French-Swedish couple brought some smoked reindeer salami, and I had to remember not to mention that when I returned home to quite small children! Père Beaupère would often do a party turn with a twinkle in his eye, such as a comic verse or reading, and and also one year he treated us to an extended lecture on his particular field of specialist knowledge, the writer Antoine de St-Exupéry (author of ‘Le Petit Prince’), whose family he knew very well in Lyon.

Some of you may remember that Père Beaupère came over from France to attend Martin Reardon’s funeral. He took the TGV to Paris, and one of the AFFMIC members drove him through the tunnel and round London to Turvey, returning soon after the service, a real whistlestop tour. Ruth was very touched that they had made the journey. The last time she met him was at an AFFMIC weekend in Lyon in 2015, when Margaret Minoletti accompanied her on the journey and I joined them there. The two ecumenical friends and colleagues were really delighted to see each other, and it was very moving to see them embracing each other and talking for a long time together.

Another well-loved ecumenical mentor to interchurch families who will be very much missed. May he rest in peace.

Melanie Finch

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Happy New Year! January —The Courage to Begin Again

By Melanie Carroll • January 1, 2026

JANUARY — The Courage to Begin Again January is a month often framed by fresh starts, renewed hopes, and the desire to step into the year with intention. For many interchurch families, however, the idea of “beginning again” is not simply about turning the page on a calendar; it is a rhythm woven into their very way of life. Interchurch families live at the intersection of traditions, expectations, and identities. As a result, the courage to begin again is not seasonal — it is habitual. Yet January gives us an opportunity to name that courage, honour it, and recognise the spiritual depth it carries. Beginning again may be as practical as shifting Sunday worship patterns because a child’s schedule has changed, or as emotional as revisiting conversations about belonging that have long been sources of tension. It may involve addressing unresolved experiences from last year — a moment when a priest or minister misunderstood your family dynamic, or when extended family expressed opinions about your choices to raise your children in both traditions. For some, beginning again may be choosing to return to church life after a season of being stretched thin or feeling spiritually exhausted. The idea of “courage” can sound dramatic, but for interchurch families it is often quiet, steady, and almost unnoticed. It is the courage of showing up in a church that is yours but not fully yours. It is the courage of continuing to pray for unity when you feel the strain of disunity most sharply. It is the courage of teaching children that they are not divided but doubly enriched, even when the world struggles to understand that reality. January invites us to reflect on the difference between courage as a moment and courage as a practice. A single moment of bravery can be powerful, but interchurch life asks for something more: a patient, ongoing willingness to step forward, again and again, even when the way is uncertain. Beginning again in this context is not naïve optimism; it is a spiritual discipline rooted in hope. For many interchurch families, hope is what sustains the courage to begin again. Hope that the churches we love will continue to grow closer. Hope that our children will be able to live out their faith identities freely and fully. Hope that our own callings — lay or ordained, formal or informal — will be recognised and supported in both of our traditions. January reminds us that these hopes need tending, and tending requires courage. Scripturally, we often turn to passages that speak of new beginnings — “Behold, I am doing a new thing” or “His mercies are new every morning.” But for interchurch families, it may be equally valuable to reflect on the stories where God’s people must take small, faithful steps into uncertain territory. Abraham setting out “not knowing where he was going.” Peter stepping onto the water with trembling confidence. The disciples returning again to the upper room to pray and wait when they did not know what God would do next. These moments resonate deeply with interchurch experience. Beginning again is not about control; it is about trust. It is about trusting God with your family’s decisions, your children’s spirituality, and your own dual belonging. It is about trusting that unity is not only a prayer but a promise — one that will unfold over time, even if we do not yet see the full picture. January also encourages us to reflect on the internal dimension of beginning again. Many interchurch families carry memories of past experiences — some beautiful, some painful. The courage to begin again includes the courage to forgive, to heal, to remain open. Unity in the home requires unity of heart, and unity of heart requires the bravery to keep loving generously across difference. Perhaps you find yourself this January feeling hopeful, or perhaps tired. Perhaps you are longing for clarity about church commitments, or simply grateful for the stability your family has found. Whatever this year begins with for you, hear this blessing: Your courage is seen. Your hope is holy. Your faithfulness is part of the very story of Christian unity that the whole Church longs for. As we enter 2026, may you find the gentle strength to begin again — not because January demands it, but because God is already ahead of you on the path, welcoming you into the year with grace. Melanie Carroll - Executive Officer

A Christmas & New Year Prayer

By Melanie Carroll • January 1, 2026

Eternal God, at Christmas we give you thanks for the gift of your Son, born among us to bring light into the world and to draw all people into your reconciling love. As the Association of Interchurch Families, we come before you as those who live daily across Christian traditions, seeking to hold together faith, family, and unity in Christ. We give thanks for the churches and friends who walk alongside us, support us, and share in this calling. At this turning of the year, we pray that the light of Christ, first seen in the manger, may continue to shape our shared life. Grant to your Church and all people a generosity of spirit, patience in difference, and a deepened commitment to the unity we share through birth and baptism. As one year ends and another begins, renew our common resolve to listen well, to learn from lived experience, and to bear faithful witness together to the truth that unity in Christ does not require uniformity, but is grounded in Love. May the joy and hope of Christmas remain with us in the year ahead, strengthening our partnerships, guiding our discernment, and drawing us ever more deeply into your peace. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, the Word made flesh, the light of the world, now and for ever. Amen.