Integral Human Formation: Jeannine Guindon
Benedictine Institute,
74 Castlebar Road, Ealing W5 2DD
In 1992, over twenty years ago, Sr Marie McDonald MSOLA, who was at that time Provincial of the White Sisters in UK, and Sr Catherine Purdy LSJ invited Dr Jeannine Guindon to come to the UK in order to help sisters and others to work with the more needy in society. Soon after Jeannine accepted Sr Marie was made General of the White Sisters in Rome. Her place in organising was taken by the new Provincial, Sr Maureen Marchant.
Dr Guindon had worked with Sr Helen Kilimnik SNJM at the Institut de Formation Humaine et Intégrale de Montréal for about twenty years already. They travelled together to Ealing to give a presentation to over two hundred people. Fr Vincent Cooper OSB, associate pastor in St Benedict’s parish, who was engaged in the formation of Ealing Abbey Counselling Service at the time, assisted by organising parish accommodation for the large group.
Ever since that inspiring visit members of the London group have been meeting every six to eight weeks in the Benedictine Study and Arts Centre in Ealing and in Hackney to learn about and practise Integral Human Formation.
Sr Maureen Marchant MSOLA, the regional superior of the White Sisters, followed up the initiative and continued for many years as a faithful member of the London IFHIM group until early 2014 when, after having moved into a nearby retirement facility, found it too difficult to attend. Josette Wilmott of Ealing and Sr Jacqueline Rondeau MSOLA are also past members. Josette died in 2005 and Sr Jacqueline Rondeau SMOLA returned to Québec in 2006. Sr Marie is now returned from Uganda to take on the service of being Regional in the UK in March 2013, and we look forward to making contact with her once more.
We are an international group. Our shared task is to read and to build up each other’s human strengths (les forces vitales). We are usually six to eight in number and enjoy a shared lunch at about 12.00h. We practise what Jeannine taught, learn more about her analysis and we always welcome new enquirers.
for the Priesthood, ed. Jeannine Guindon, tr. T. Prendergast (Sherbrooke, QC: Éditions Paulines, 1993)