OFFICIAL NAME
Adsis Communities
ALSO KNOWN AS
Adsis
ESTABLISHED
1964
HISTORY
The Adsis Communities were founded in Bilbao, Spain, by Father José Luis Pérez Alvarez. The members include men and women from all states of life, and from the beginning it was intended to provide a community Christian presence among young people and the poor. On 30 August 1997 the Pontifical Council for the Laity decreed recognition of the Adsis Communities as an international association of the faithful.
IDENTITY
The Adsis Communities (from the Latin verb adsum, being present) bear witness to the loving and liberating presence of God, particularly in the service of the young and the poor. Their work takes careful account of different family, social and cultural situations in which contemporary men and women live, and is strongly missionary in character; it is nurtured by an intense personal and community prayer life that is reflected in the dimension of fellowship, typical of this experience. The educational route followed by the members comprises three stages (calling, pre-catechumenate, catechumenate, focusing respectively on formation in the interior life, formation in community life, and formation in commitment. The specific areas of activity are evangelisation and education in the faith for young people, social work among the marginalised and needy, and animating parishes and pastoral care centres entrusted by the Bishops to the Adsis Communities.
ORGANISATION
The main organs of service and government of the Adsis Communities are the General Assembly, which meets every six years and elects the General Moderator, who is responsible for the association and represents it in dealings with the Church and the various Communities; the General Council, comprising the General Moderator and eight General Councillors; the General Conference, which is a forum for meeting, communicating, studying and adopting resolutions, which meets every six years midway between one General Assembly and the next.
Members of the Association are the Brothers and Sisters and the Associates, who adhere to it according to their identity − married, single and clerics. They form part of a single community which is the basic setting in which they live and in which their charism is expressed.
Other forms of participation in the charism of the association are the Adsis Youth, the Volunteers and the Co-workers. They all participate in the life of the Association through the communities.
WORKS
Adsis Communities work in 26 parishes with a particular focus on youth and social pastoral work; they have a youth ministry department; they work pastorally in the field of education; they promote various social initiatives: vocational training centres for disadvantaged young people; guidance centres for migrants; programmes for children, minors and families; hostels for young people; development cooperation programmes; fair trade cooperatives in Latin America and Africa.
PUBLICATIONS
Comunión Adsis, an annual magazine
Presencia Adsis, a semi-annual magazine;
Cuadernos de espiritualidad;
various educational publications.
WEB SITE
HEADQUARTERS
Comunidades Adsis
c/ Miguel Aracil 54 - 28035 Madrid - Spain
Tel. [+34]91 3732595
Email: cjarque@adsis.org
