History of Sentinels

On May 28, 2013 in Brussels a dozen women gathered at Aude Carré's home in response to this invitation: " it's time to get to work to pass on around us the Love, Tenderness and infinite Mercy of our Lord for everyone, as our Pope Francis invites us to do in his book, Seul l'amour nous sauvera : There is an urgent need to think anew, to bring something new, to knead life with the new leaven of justice and holiness (1 Cor 5:8).

At this meeting we decided to share the daily recitation of the Rosary: each would meditate on one mystery for a month. There were ten of us, and we just needed to find ten other women to cover the 20 Mysteries of Jesus' life.

We soon realized that we were destined to be much larger than twenty, as more and more people wanted to join us, simply by word of mouth. We understood that this project was prompted by the Virgin Mary: it went beyond what we had imagined, and needed to be taken seriously as we listened to what the Spirit would inspire in us.

We then called on various priests to accompany us spiritually. Brother Daniel Marie, a Conventual Franciscan, was the only one to accept our invitation. This seemed providential, as it was at the Convent of St. Anthony, in his church, that some of us had met and had had the idea of setting out to pray.

Five of us (Aude, Charlotte, Béatrice, Mariangela and Martine) followed in Mary's footsteps. This is how the Holy Family Sentinels came into being. The five, who will be named Bethlehem in the statutes, consecrated themselves to the Virgin Mary on June 21, 2013 at the foot of the grotto in the Franciscan convent of St. Anthony, guided by Brother Daniel Marie.

Here is the consecration: " Immaculate Conception, Queen of heaven and earth, refuge of sinners and most loving Mother to whom God wished to entrust the whole order of mercy, here we are at your feet, sentinels of the Holy Family .

We beg you to accept our entire brotherhood as your property.

Act in us according to your will, in our soul and body, in our life and death and eternity. Above all, dispose of us as you wish, so that what is said of you may finally come true the woman will crush the serpent's head. And also You alone will conquer heresies throughout the world. In your immaculate hands, so rich in mercy, may we become an instrument of your love, capable of reviving and fully opening up so many lukewarm, misguided souls. In this way, the Reign of the Divine Heart of Jesus will extend without end. Your very presence attracts the graces that convert and sanctify souls, since grace flows from the divine Heart of Jesus to all of us through your maternal hands. "

We quickly became very numerous in this call from the Virgin Mary to unite her daughters in a single prayerful fraternity.

In 2021 we dedicated our new consecration to the Holy Family:

Holy Family of Nazareth,
We consecrate ourselves to you
We, Sentinels of the Holy Family

Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Act in us and through us in the Power of the Spirit,
That our mission may be inspired and fruitful
And that the Father's Mercy
Dwell in the human family.

Amen.

There have been a thousand sentinels in our 10 years of existence, many in Belgium, but also in France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy, Lebanon, Colombia, Africa and the West Indies.