Eight hundred Faith and Light communities span 53 nations across five continents. They are organized into eight zones: North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Northern Europe, Atlantic Europe, Alpine Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.
Faith and Light communities share the same character everywhere. They are a place where the most vulnerable are honored—in societies that would prefer to hide, even eliminate, people with disabilities.
They are a place of forgiveness and unity in nations torn by political violence, like Haiti and Ireland. They are a place of deep human connection in wealthy countries like North America, where people with disabilities often lack nothing materially, yet may be missing "what matters most." They are a place of joy and celebration, as in Manila, the Philippines, where a community gathers in the courtyard of a prison. They are a place of friendship most vital in countries where a disabled child is separated from parents at birth and institutionalized until death.
Yet Faith and Light communities also mirror the suffering world we inhabit. In some places they are so poor they cannot share even a handful of biscuits at their gatherings. In others, they carry the pain of Church divisions: they cannot receive the same bread of Christ together. Elsewhere, meetings must be hidden because Christians have no right to assemble.
Or again, gatherings and retreats are constantly canceled because of bombardment.
But in the midst of this world, they choose to be a sign of hope.
Love is stronger than hatred, stronger than poverty, stronger than loneliness.
Faith and Light Communities by Continent: 1990
NORTH AMERICA
CANADA
51
UNITED STATES
87
SOUTH AMERICA / CARIBBEAN
BRAZIL
48
CHILE
1
HAITI
7
HONDURAS
2
MARTINIQUE
2
MEXICO
12
PERU
6
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
11
NORTHERN EUROPE
ENGLAND
66
DENMARK
1
SCOTLAND
29
IRELAND
22
SWEDEN
1
ATLANTIC EUROPE
BELGIUM
26
SPAIN
11
FRANCE
191
LUXEMBOURG
5
PORTUGAL
5
ALPINE EUROPE
AUSTRIA
5
HUNGARY
10
ITALY
46
POLAND
74
FEDERAL GERMANY
2
SWITZERLAND
12
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
1
USSR
2
YUGOSLAVIA
10
AFRICA
SOUTH AFRICA
13
BURUNDI
1
GHANA
1
NIGERIA
5
RWANDA
4
SENEGAL
1
SIERRA LEONE
3
ZAIRE
1
ZAMBIA
1
ZIMBABWE
6
MIDDLE EAST
CYPRUS
3
EGYPT
8
GREECE
2
LEBANON
35
SYRIA
9
ASIA-PACIFIC
AUSTRALIA
17
SOUTH KOREA
1
HONG KONG
1
MAURITIUS
3
INDIA
2
JAPAN
3
NEW ZEALAND
5
PHILIPPINES
6
TAIWAN
2