E-mail: Nomadelfia

THE FAMILY GROUPS

• The children are consigned to the families with Christ's words: Woman, here is your son; son here is your mother
• Joint "fatherhood and motherhood"
• 11 family groups of 4 or 5 families
• The group has a common house for the day with bedrooms located all around
• The family groups are changed every three years

THE FAMILIES. Nomadelfia presently consists of 50 families which are either "mothers of vocation" or married couples.
The "mothers of vocation" are women that have given up the idea of marriage to live a virgin motherhood and to welcome and educate abandoned youngsters. The married couples welcome the children in the same spirit.

Card. Martini consigns two children to a vocational mother, with Christ's words: "Woman, here is your son. Son, here is your mother".

THE CHILDREN. The president, in the name of the community, accepts children upon indication of the social services or judicial authorities and then entrusts them to the families knowing he can count on everyone's availability - one of the requisites to becoming Nomadelfians.
Since 1931, nearly 5,000 abandoned boys and girls have been welcomed into Nomadelfian families.
The children are consigned to the mothers of vocation or the married couples at the altar with the words spoken by Christ to the Holy Mother and John from the cross: "Woman, here is your son. Son, here is your mother".
One of the fundamental principles is a joint "fatherhood and motherhood". All men and women must exercise their motherhood and fatherhood on all the children, even to those that don't belong to their family. They must treat them as equals and use common rules of pedagogy which are inspired by the Gospel.
Once the children have become of age, they may decide whether or not to remain in the community. They are given assistance in case they should choose to leave.

Every family group prays before dinner.

THE FAMILY GROUPS. Fr. Zeno created the "family groups" because he felt that the selfishness which exists within family units is more harmful than individual egoism.
The families do not live in isolation. Each of the 11 groups is composed of 4 or 5 families for a total of 30 people each.
The families share a common house which is equipped with a dining room, kitchen and laboratories. The bedrooms are located in separate small houses.
The prayers said by every group before dinner include excerpts from the Gospel which recall the fundamental aspects of Nomadelfia.
News broadcasts may be watched freely whereas all other programs are chosen and transmitted via cable by the Nomadelfian transmission center.
Saturday afternoons are dedicated to "group work" in the garden, maintenance of the homes and other needs of the family groups.

THE NECESSITIES. There are no stores - only warehouses. Groceries are distributed by the food warehouse. A truck delivers the food to the families. The quantity depends on the number of people in the family. Clothing is provided by the warehouse as well.
Money does not circulate within Nomadelfia. The stewardship is in charge of providing for the families and must keep to the Gospel's spirit of poverty.

THE CHANGE OF GROUPS. Every three years the presidency dissolves the family groups to form new ones. This is done to avoid egoism within the family groups and to promote the capacity to live with others and to detach themselves from material things. Every family naturally remains united and each individual takes with him his most personal belongings.