The Bonifatiuswerk is launching "SPIRIT EXPO|SURE", a new international exchange and encounter program for pastoral workers and committed volunteers. Interested applicants from Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Norway and Sweden can apply until 15 September 2026.
The program aims to bring together experiences from different diaspora contexts and to generate fresh impulses for missionary, synodal and everyday pastoral ministry through mutual exchange. The experiences and insights gained during the program will be presented and discussed at the "German Catholic Day 2028” in Paderborn.
A total of 28 participants will be paired into 14 tandems. Each tandem will consist of either two participants from Germany or two participants from Northern Europe or the Baltic States. The tandems will visit one another for one week each, giving participants first-hand insights into church life, pastoral practice and the lived experience of faith in their respective regions.
"Where Catholics live as a minority, creative and forward-looking responses to the pastoral challenges of our time often emerge. Through SPIRIT EXPO|SURE, the Bonifatiuswerk wants to make these experiences visible and accessible while fostering exchange across national borders. The central question is what the Church, as a universal Church, can learn from and with one another today," explains Monsignor Georg Austen, Secretary General of the Bonifatiuswerk.
The program is divided into two phases. Between November 2026 and February 2027, participants from Northern Europe and the Baltic states will travel to Germany to experience local parish life and be hosted by their German partners. In the second phase, from March to October 2027, they will welcome their German tandem partners in their home regions. Whenever possible, accommodation will be provided by host families, church institutions or educational centres.
Travel and accommodation costs, as well as participation in the “German Catholic Day 2028” in Paderborn, will be covered by the Bonifatiuswerk. Participants are responsible for their meals.
The program includes job shadowing in pastoral institutions, conversations with pastoral professionals and volunteers, meetings with church leaders, and insights into family, youth and social ministry. Church services, spiritual activities and discussions about the opportunities and challenges of church life in the diaspora are also integral parts of the program.
"SPIRIT EXPO|SURE addresses key questions about the future of the Church: How can the faith be passed on where the Church is no longer a natural part of society? What strengthens communities spread across large geographical distances? What provides support and guidance in personal faith? What sustains the local Church? And how can different languages, cultures and traditions come together to form a vibrant community? Together, we want to explore these questions and learn from one another," says Monsignor Georg Austen.
Further information is available at www.bonifatiuswerk.de/en/en/exposure/, where interested applicants can also register.