Membership

The communion of lay members of the Chevalier Family consists of members who are related to one of the Chevalier congregations and are, as individuals, committed to live a Spirituality of the Heart, while others belong to one of the local country groups.

A.Local Country Groups

• is free to organize its local administration according to needs and customs
• decides about its own program, while respecting the present Guiding Principles and Statutes
• accepts the accompaniment of the National Council of the Chevalier Family in a certain country.

B.The National Council

The National Council relies on the support and collaboration of the Provincial Administration(s) of the Chevalier Congregations in each country for its establishment. The National Council consists of one or more representatives of the local administration(s) of the Lay Group(s) in the country, together with one or more officially appointed representatives of the Provincial Administrations of the Chevalier Congregations, present in a certain country.

The task of the National Council is:

• to endorse the legitimate execution of the administration of each Local Country Group
• to provide ongoing formation of the members in Spirituality of the Heart
• to appoint one or more Spiritual Accompaniers for Local Country Groups
• to assure collaboration of the administrations of the Local Country Groups with the wider Chevalier Family
• to support the continuous presence of the laity of the Chevalier Family in the country
• to send, if possible, 1 (one) member with right of vote to the General Assembly, appointed by the National Council.

C.The General Assembly

The General Assembly officially represents all the members of the Laity of the Chevalier Family and has the right to make binding decisions.
The membership of the General Assembly is made up of the following persons:

• 1 (One) representative of each country, who has been appointed by election or nomination as an official representative from local groups in the country
• the members of the International Council
• other participants, who would like to attend but do not have voting rights

The following members of the General Assembly have the right to vote:

• One official representative of each country present at the General Assembly
• Every member of the International Council.

A person is elected or a proposal accepted by a simple majority of votes that means 50% plus one of the persons who have the right to vote.
The General Assembly will come together every 6 (six) years.
The task of the General Assembly is:

• to review the state of the Laity of the worldwide Chevalier Family
• to reflect on and to deepen the understanding of the Spirituality of the Chevalier Family
• to evaluate the functioning of the sitting International Council
• to make amendments to these Guiding Principles and Statutes by voting
• to elect the General Secretary and her / his first councilor or deputy as members of the to make recommendations for the program of the newly-elected International Council, including suggestions regarding the host country of the following General Assembly, to be held after six years

The International Council

The International Council is the executive body of the General Assembly. The General Secretary and her/his first councilor, who also acts as her / his substitute, are elected by the General Assembly. Other members of the International Council will be appointed by the General Secretary in such a way that at least each continent will be represented.
The task of the International Council is:

• to decide about the task of the General Secretary
• to carry out the recommendations of the General Assembly
• to promote unity-in-diversity among the various lay groups of the Chevalier Family all over the world, based on these guidelines
• to safeguard the communication and exchange of information among the various local lay groups in the worldwide Chevalier Family
• to provide resources of formation for the local country groups
• to promote the continuous presence of the laity of the Chevalier Family in a certain country, in collaboration with the National Council of the country concerned
• to call a General Assembly every 6 (six) years, and prepare its program in collaboration with the National Council of the country, which will host the General Assembly
• two years before the next General Assembly the International Council draws up the official list of National Councils who are members of the Laity of the Chevalier Family. Based on this list a quorum is established for the General Assembly
• to keep in regular contact with the Tri-Generalate that is, the three General Administrations of the Congregations directly related to Fr. Jules Chevalier, for evaluation and planning.