Retreats LIST OF OUR SPEAKERS

Father Olivier Sournia has been the priest in charge of the community since June 2018. Born in Béziers, he was ordained in 2000, then named students’ chaplain and priest for Montpelier while being trained at the, ‘Pastorale Liturgique et Sacramentelle’. In the spring of 2010, he joined the community, drawn by the coherence between the theology that was taught and how it transferred into the life of the community. Very quickly he acquired the role of speaker and undertook walking retreats. His testimony echoes the community, with a Johannine disposition and the Marian charm of our origins: a simple word of proximity that is passed on with authority and clarity.

Originally from Landes, he worked in the agro-food industry, and then in 1989 discovered La Roche d’Or and attended many retreats there. Here he discovered his vocation. Ordained in 1998 in the Besançon diocese, he was named parish priest and then placed in charge of young people and catholic teaching...He remained very close to the community and started speaking at weekends in 2001, and in September 2010 he became a member of the Community. His talks are testimony to a vulnerable, close God who wants to meet every person, regardless of their frailties, to reveal His true face to them.

Originally from the Belfort region, Hubert Allemend studied medicine in Nancy. He became a doctor in 1976, a professor for public health and a hepatogastroenterologist. Assistant director of CNAM and national medical advisor for twenty-two years. He has taken part in many retreats, weaving strong links with La Roche d’Or. Married with children, he has been hosting weekends and retreats at La Roche d’Or and in Fontanilles since 2004. Marked by his experience as a doctor, his testimony reveals a sensitivity to the issues of the current world and the way treatments and illness are experienced in the light of evangelical heritage.

Jacky Parmentier has known La Roche d’Or for many years. After ten years working in Christian communities, this trained engineer is passionate about the work of mankind from discovering fire through to computer technology and neuroscience and specialises in company life. Passionate about the Gospel, his testimony is his personal experience as a believer and shepherd as it drew him closer to La Roche d’Or. In 2012, father Roger Robert encouraged him to host weekends. Since then, he has been truly committed to the community along with his wife, giving himself fully over to speaking, happy to pass on his lively view of the mysterious creator.

Originating from the Paris region, Bruno Barral worked as a lawyer in Paris. An attentive reader of biblical texts, he obtained a degree in theology, philology and history of the Ancient East. He is a volunteer leader in the chaplaincy of several large secondary schools in Paris. Since 1990, links of friendship have been woven with the Community. In 2002, father Roger Robert asked him to facilitate some bible introduction groups and then speak at retreats. He develops biblical training on several levels, allowing everyone to have access to the wonderful heritage that is the bible and receive the taste for daily reading of the gospel.

A priest in the Bâle diocese, Father Bernard Miserex was ordained in 1981. La Roche d’Or, which he first discovered in 1982 following retreats run by father Florin CALLERAND has been a source that stimulated his thirst for the Word. Speaker, presenter, spiritual advisor, he was the director of the Roman Institute for Training Ministries in Fribourg for 7 years and priest in several Swiss parishes, including Belfort. For him, the Word is incarnated in our daily lives. It opens pathways towards the heart of each person and calls to every person looking for a pathway to freedom.