Chrétiens en Grande École
Chrétiens en Grande École (CGE) is a French Catholic association that federates Christian communities in French grandes écoles and universities, affiliated with the Conférence des évêques de France.
Last updated September 26, 2026
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Overview
Chrétiens en Grande École (CGE) is a French Catholic association loi de 1901 whose mission is to federate the Christian communities (communautés chrétiennes, CC) of French higher-education institutions, particularly the grandes écoles. It operates as a national network that supports local chaplaincies and student communities, helping them to grow and to bear witness to Christ on their campuses. The association is attached to the Conférence des évêques de France (the French Bishops' Conference), specifically within its service for student pastoral care, and it describes itself as being at the service of its member communities. CGE's stated pillars are to gather (rassembler), to serve (servir), and to evangelise (évangéliser). It organises national events throughout the year, including formation and spiritual weekends, pilgrimages, and national gatherings. It provides resources, training tools, and financial support for missionary projects through initiatives such as the Concours Mission Campus. The national bureau remains available to students in leadership roles within the communities, offering support and assistance. The network's roots go back to 1892 with the creation of the Union d'Étudiants Catholiques in a few schools. Over the 20th century it evolved through the Fédération française des étudiants catholiques (FFEC, 1922), the Jeunesse Étudiante Chrétienne (JEC, 1929), the Action catholique des Grandes Écoles (ACGE, 1947), and the Mouvement des Chrétiens en Grande École (MCGE, 1967–1980). In 1985 the MCGE became an association under the name CGE. In 2007 CGE was attached to the Conférence des évêques de France. Today CGE reaches roughly 3,000 to 4,000 students across France, according to its own website and Wikipedia, and brings together around 100 communities. Its flagship annual event is the Rencontre nationale (now Week-end national), a weekend of formation, reflection, sharing, and prayer that gathers hundreds to over a thousand students. Every three years since 2012, the national meeting has been replaced by Ecclesia Campus, a larger gathering open to students of all disciplines, organised with the Conférence des évêques de France. CGE also runs the Labos de CGE, a Paris-based weekend of theological reflection and formation held since 2014. As a religious non-profit association, CGE is not a commercial company; it is a membership-based organisation funded in part through partnerships with Church movements and other partners. Its activities are focused entirely on French higher education, and its national bureau coordinates the network from France.
History
The history of Chrétiens en Grande École (CGE) reaches back to the late 19th century. The first signs of a CGE network date to 1892, with the creation in a few schools of the Union d'Étudiants Catholiques. In the context of the time, the goal was twofold: to sustain a chaplaincy in the schools and to combat anticlericalism. These were described as "œuvres de persévérance, destinées à promouvoir parmi leurs membres le goût d'une foi vive et d'une pratique solide et régulière, articulée sur la prière quotidienne et une récollection annuelle." Since that era, schools have always hosted organisations of Christian students. In 1922 the first national association was created: the Fédération française des étudiants catholiques (FFEC), grouping about 30 schools and meeting annually. In 1929 the Jeunesse Étudiante Chrétienne (JEC) was founded, close to Catholic Action. In 1947 the Action catholique des Grandes Écoles (ACGE) emerged as an autonomous branch of the JEC Universitaire, to ensure a Church presence in the student world. In 1966 the Mission étudiante was born. From 1967 to 1980, the ACGE became the Mouvement des Chrétiens en Grande École (MCGE). In 1985–1986 the CGE network was created; the MCGE became an association under the name CGE. In 2007 CGE was attached to the Conférence des évêques de France. The association's flagship event, the Rencontre nationale (later Week-end national), has been held annually since 1985, when the first national meeting took place at HEC on the theme "La morale, pour ou contre l'homme, avec ou sans le Christ ?" Subsequent meetings were hosted by various schools and cities, including École polytechnique (1986, 1993, 2005), Supélec (1987, 1990, 2001), Agro Grignon (1988), École centrale de Paris (1989, 1995), ENS Cachan (1992), Télécom Paris (1994), ESSEC/IPSL (1996), INPL Nancy (1997), ESCP Paris (1998), ESIEE/Ponts et chaussées Marne-la-Vallée (1999), ENSTB Rennes (2000), ISAB Beauvais (2002), HEC (2003), EM Lyon (2004), Reims (2006), Paris Arts et métiers (2007), Nantes (2008), Cergy (2009), Toulouse (2010), Paris-Saclay (2011), Lille (2013), Paris (2014), Angers (2016), Lyon (2017), Cergy-Pontoise (2019), Strasbourg (2020), Rouen (2021), Paris (2023), and Paris-Saclay (2025, 2026). In 2012 the first edition of Ecclesia Campus was held in Rennes, gathering 2,500 students from grandes écoles and universities on a model close to the Rencontre Nationale. Ecclesia Campus returned in 2015 in Grenoble (2,600 students, theme "Ose la confiance") and in 2018 in Lille (3,000 participants, theme "S'engager pour s'épanouir"). It is renewed every three years and is organised not only by students but also by permanent staff of the Conférence des évêques de France. Since 2014, CGE has organised the Labos de CGE, a national event held in Paris around March, dedicated to reflection and theological formation on a chosen theme. The 2014 edition addressed transhumanism; 2015 addressed truth around the phrase "Je suis le Chemin, la Vérité, la Vie"; 2016 "Du cœur de Dieu au cœur de l'Homme" on the theology of the body; 2017 "Ainsi parle le Seigneur"; 2018 God and violence; 2019 "La Trinité, une équation impossible ?"; 2020 "La souffrance : de la croix à la résurrection"; and in 2024 the Labos took place in Toulouse at the couvent des d… (Dominicans). Attendance figures recorded in the history include 860 students at the RN de Saclay in 2011, 1,000 at the RN de Lille in 2013, 1,200 at the RN de Paris in 2014, 2,600 at Ecclesia Campus Grenoble in 2015, and 1,100 at the RN d'Angers in 2016. Today CGE reaches roughly 3,000 students across France according to its website, while Wikipedia states it brings together about 100 communities and around 4,000 students in all French student cities. It forms part of the "annonce et accompagnement de la vie chrétienne" pole of the Conférence des évêques de France.
- 2026
Week-end national at Paris-Saclay on the theme 'Baptisés d'un jour et de toujours, en route vers le Christ !'.
- 2025
Week-end national at Paris-Saclay on the theme 'La folie des grandeurs ! Quelle ambition pour ma vie ?'.
- 2024
Labos de CGE held in Toulouse at the couvent des Dominicains.
- 2018
Ecclesia Campus in Lille gathers 3,000 participants on the theme 'S'engager pour s'épanouir'.
- 2016
1,100 students at the Rencontre nationale d'Angers on the theme 'Dans la Fragilité, la Joie ?'.
- 2015
Ecclesia Campus in Grenoble gathers 2,600 students on the theme 'Ose la confiance'.
- 2014
Rencontre nationale de Paris gathers 1,200 students; first Labos de CGE on transhumanism.
- 2013
1,000 students at the Rencontre nationale de Lille.
- 2012
First edition of Ecclesia Campus in Rennes, gathering 2,500 students.
- 2011
860 students at the Rencontre nationale de Saclay.
Products and positioning
Catholic student network for French grandes écoles and universities, affiliated with the Conférence des évêques de France.
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