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Equipes Notre Dame Teams |
The Teams movement was started in Paris in the run up to the Second World War and the French title reflects its Parisian origins as well as the important place of Our Lady in the movement. The founder, Fr Henri Caffarel was asked by several young couples in his parish to help them to develop their spirituality. These couples started meeting in each other’s houses and the format has remained much the same ever since. In 1947 the movement was formalised with the publication of the Charter. The Teams movement has expanded ever since and is now active in more than 75 countries. There are now more than 50,000 couples in 10,000 teams worldwide. In 1997 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Charter, Teams couples from around the world returned to Paris. Three of the original team were there to join in the celebrations. In 1992 the Teams Movement received its provisional Decree of Recognition from the Vatican, and the final decree in 2002.
| 1939 | 4 young couples and Fr. Caffarel met together on a journey of faith that was to change their lives. |
| 1939-45 | During the second World War more groups were formed. |
| 1947 | The Charter of Equipes Notre-Dame was presented to the many groups of couples which had multiplied since the end of the war. |
| 1950-69 | Teams grew rapidly throughout the world. |
| 1970 | 2000 couples from 23 countries gathered in Rome. |
| 1988 | The VIIth international gathering took place at Lourdes. |
| 1994 | Over 5000 couples, priests, and spiritual counsellors from 40 countries met in Fatima. |
| 1997 | The movement celebrated the Golden Jubilee of the Charter of Teams of Our Lady. |
| 2000 | IXth International Gathering: More than 7,000 people (couples, widow(er)s, priests and spiritual counsellors attended the International Gathering in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. |
| 2002 | Vatican recognition for Teams |
| 2006 | Xth International Gathering of Teams; 5000 couples gather in Lourdes. |
Harry and Clotilde Meigh introduced Teams to Great Britain in 1959. Clotilde is French Harry half French, and on a visit to France, they discovered Teams and decided to set up the first Great Britain team. The original Cheltenham 1 team is still going strong with Harry and Clotilde at its heart. In 1999 to celebrate 40 years in the UK, Teams organised a Mass in Westminster Cathedral in support of Marriage. Teams couples were joined by many other Christian organisations all with a common concern for Marriage. In 2009 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee, Teams couples from across Britain met at the church of St Gregory the Great in Cheltenham (the Parish in which Harry and Clotilde have lived for all of those years). There are now more than 100 teams in Great Britain.