FNE

Atlanta Website: http://atlantafne.org

North-American Website: https://www.fneexplorers.com

Federal Website: http://uigse-fse.org/

Contact e-mail: info@atlantafne.org

What is the Federation of North-American Explorers (FNE)?

The FNE is an international association in the Catholic Church for youth and young adults that builds its members into saints through an adventurous outdoors program. We create a space of freedom where we live simply and in contact with nature, become stronger and healthier, and grow in virtue and character. It is here where we learn that the greatest adventure of our lives is the one we live with God.

What is the FNE Mission?

Our mission is to save souls by bringing the Explorer program of Venerable Father Jacques Sevin, father of Catholic Scouting, from Europe to North America so that youth and young adults may become ordinary saints as they explore their faith and God’s creation.

What do you believe?

We are Catholic. We accept the Magisterium in its entirety, and we are in full communion with the Pope and the Catholic Church founded by Christ and His Apostles. Our movement is consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Believing in the Real Presence is most important for us. We receive communion kneeling and on the tongue.

What is the FNE’s relationship to the Catholic Church?

The FNE is a member of the UIGSE-FSE, which was recognized on August 26, 2003 as an international Lay Association of the Faithful of Pontifical Right. This means our organization has been granted “official recognition and explicit approval” by the Holy See. It also means we fall under the authority of the Pope, and are overseen by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life.

Who can join?

The FNE has separate programs for boys and girls, grouped in units by age:

Otters: 6 to 8 years old

Timber Wolves: 8 to 12 years old

Explorers: 12 to 17 years

Wayfarer Explorers: 17 to 24 years

Is the FNE for boys and girls?

Units are all male or all female. One of the requirements of our educational and formational program is that “the men teach boys to be men, and the boys remind the men how to be boys.” Likewise for the girls and women. In practice, that means that the uniformed leaders of the boys’ programs at meetings and overnight activities are all male, and for the girls, all female.

FNE like its parent organization, the UIGSE-FSE, considers a differentiated education for boys and girls within equivalent units an essential aspect of its teaching. A parallel and mutual enrichment of both sexes, male and female, enables a full development of the aptitudes and propensities given to each sex by God’s providential plan. FNE therefore gathers boys and girls in two sections, male and female, perfectly separated in their hierarchy and in their program structure.

Are you affiliated to any other youth programs?
We are members of the UIGSE-FSE. We are not affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America, WOSM, WAGGGS, the Girl Scouts of the United States of America, Scouts Canada, Girl Guides of Canada, Trail Life USA, Troops of St. George, or any other youth group.