Anamcharadas is a movement primarily of lay people who are trained to engage in the ministry of listening to, and accompanying, individuals in their search for God. We have been involved in this ministry since the early 1980s.

• Do you feel drawn to this ministry?
• Do you feel called to be a spiritual companion for others?
• Do you have some experience listening to others, formal or informal?
• If so, this programme may be for you.

The programme is both theoretical and practical and is based on the Spirituality of St. Ignatius. It includes:

Theory: Listening skills, basic psychology, dream work, discernment and spirituality.

Practical: Meditation, reflection on your own life’s journey, group workshops, practice of listening skills, supervision, role plays, journaling, art work, film & guided imagery.

On successful completion of the training programme you will receive a certificate from Anamcharadas. This certificate is recognised towards full membership of AISGA, the All Ireland Spiritual Guidance Association.

Our Vision

We believe that, throughout history, God spoke through many prophets and, most fully in the person of Jesus. We believe that God speaks to us in all our life experience, revealing who God is and who we are. We recognise that, at the heart of each person there is a longing, which is a reflection of God’s own passionate longing to be with us. Our longing moves us to make the search for God, following Jesus and living in the Spirit, the heart of our personal collective history.

Anamchairde therefore, undertake a peer ministry of companioning, based on Ignatian Spirituality. We commit ourselves to facilitating others in attending to God’s call in the experience of their daily lives, and in their deepest longing.

We recognise the dignity and equality of all God’s people, and we seek to make the service of companioning available to all. Our commitment to this ministry is our way of contributing to the realisation of God’s dream for the wholeness of all creation.

We work in communion to foster this ministry by:

• Developing in ourselves a contemplative stance in life
• Providing training and supervision for those who are, or wish to be, engaged in this ministry
• Encouraging, supporting and challenging one another in our ministry
• Undertaking to develop our own knowledge and skills
• Seeking supervision
• Choosing to work in collaboration with other groups and individuals, out of a recognition that Anamcharadas is part of a wider movement in the church

In its structures and relationships, Anamcharadas seeks to model church as People of God, called to live justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with our God.