FAQs

Lord Baden-Powell developed a scouting method for boys 12-15 year-old, focused on camping, observation, woodcraft, chivalry, lifesaving and patriotism. In August 1907, Baden-Powell successfully tested his scouting method in a camp on Browsea Island bringing together 20 boys from various social backgrounds.

On the heels of this success, Baden-Powell published Scouting for Boys in 1908, in which he frames scouting from the viewpoint of outdoorsmen and explorers. The book includes the Scout Oath, Scout Law, honors and games for young people. Sparking immense interest, the book motivated many to embrace the scouting method, which rapidly became an international phenomenon.

Early on many girls registered officially as Scouts. By 1910 they were officially installed as Girl Guides under the leadership of Baden-Powell’s sister, Agnes.

Simultaneously, boys under 12 expressed great interest in joining the Scout movement. As a result, Baden-Powell launched a temporary method for young boys in 1913. As demand grew, Baden-Powell enlisted Vera Barclay to develop a scouting method catering to the younger generation. Vera Barclay published the Wolf Cub’s Handbook in 1916.

Impressed by Baden-Powell’s scouting method and movement, Father Jacques Sevin - a French Jesuit - adapted scouting and created Catholic Scouting in 1920.

By 1922, there were more than a million scouts in 32 countries, and in 1939 the number was over 3.3 million.

Originally positioned as a method centered on observation, tracking, woodcraft, self-discipline and self-improvement, the scouting method also embraces 5 core “aims”:

1. Health and Strength: how one relates to one’s body. A child learns to develop and protect it. To do this, the child learns safety, hygiene and first aid rules. Life in nature and physical activities are a major lever.
2. Character Training: how one relates to oneself. Through effort, a child learns what will is, and through duties and responsibilities, what accountability is.
3. Practical Sense: how one relates to the world. A child is able to transform natural elements into objects, and to use them without destroying them.
4. Practical Sense: how one relates to the world. A child is able to transform natural elements into objects, and to use them without destroying them.
5. The Sense of God: how one relates to God. A child develops its love for God by taking part in the sacraments and by praying either with its patrol or alone.

Founder of Catholic Scouting

Fr. Jacques Sevin (1882-1951) was a French Jesuit priest who is considered the “Father of Catholic Scouting.” Fr. Sevin was intrigued by the Scouting Movement that was founded in 1907 by Lord Robert Baden-Powell. After its initial success, scouting was criticized by many Catholics. Despite this, Sevin spent the summer of 1913, while he was still a Jesuit novitiate, in England seeing the movement for himself. He met and befriended Baden-Powell, spent time in scout camps, and dreamed of taking the movement to France.

By 1919 Fr. Sevin was a Jesuit priest and had produced a handbook on scouts called “Le Scoutisme.” In this book he laid out his vision for a distinctly Catholic form of Scouting. In 1920 he founded the Scouts de France using this model. Baden-Powell said of Fr. Sevin’s efforts: “He made the best realization of my own thoughts”. Fr. Sevin’s vision was for scouting to develop the faith of young people and integrate them into the Church. It would be a means to develop committed lay people and religious vocations.

Fr. Sevin’s own spirituality was largely influenced by the spiritualities of St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. In 1944, Fr. Sevin founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem with some Girl Guides from the Scouts de France. His last words to the Sisters of the Holy Cross were: “Be saints. That is all that matters.” On May 10th, 2012, Benedict XVI declared Fr. Sevin venerable.

Venerable Jacques Sevin taught his scouts this prayer attributed to St. Ignatius of Loyola:

Teach us, good Lord

To be generous

To serve You as You deserve,

To give and not count the cost,

To fight and not to heed the wounds,

To toil and not to seek for rest,

To labor and not to look for any reward,

Save that knowing the I do your Holy will.

Amen

We are a Christ-centered youth movement that remains true to its ideals and principles and the teachings of Christ even though the values of society are changing.

In 2024, we have more than 2.500 members in 33 groups throughout North America. The UIGSE-FSE that we belong to has 73,000 members in around 27 countries. Visit the map of UIGSE-FSE member associations for more information.

The F.N.E. 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.

The F.N.E. has separate programs for boys and girls, grouped in units by grade/age:

• Otters: 1st and 2nd grade (6 to 7 years old)
• Timber Wolves: 3rd to 6th grade (8 to 12 years old)
• Explorers: 7th to 11th grade (12 to 16 years old)
• Wayfarer Explorers: 12th grade and College (17 to 24 years old)

Units are all male or all female, with the occasional exceptions made for Otters depending on local group constraints. 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.

F.N.E. 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. F.N.E. therefore gathers boys and girls in two sections, male and female, perfectly separated in their hierarchy and in their program structure.

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

The F.N.E. is a not-for-profit organization. All funding comes from donations and membership dues. There are no paid employees. Everyone is a volunteer.

Yes! We are a uniquely and proudly uniformed movement. Our youth and their leaders wear a uniform that their brothers and sisters wear in Europe, one for girls (light blue tops, navy blue skirts/skorts, and navy blue knee socks) and one for boys (khaki tops, navy blue shorts, and navy blue knee socks).

Timber Wolves wear berets while Explorers and leaders wear Four-Dent hats (aka: Stetsons or campaign hats). Special belts are worn with a one decade rosary on the right. Timber Wolves also wear a pouch and rope on the left of their belt.

This unique uniform is worn by all youth and leaders without exception. Leaders wear the same uniform as the youth in their charge, including shorts for male leaders.

The FNE uniform is part of an established and proven pedagogical method that also includes the use of handbooks, badges, symbols, and many activities that bring these all together.

Christian youth who, together with their parents, are supportive of the Catholic nature of the program delivered by F.N.E., and accept that they will be expected to participate in these Catholic activities, can join our movement. This program includes Catholic elements such as praying the Rosary, the veneration of saints, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Because our program acknowledges Jesus Christ as our Savior and that we are children of the Holy Trinity, youth and families who profess non-Christian beliefs cannot be admitted as members out of respect for their beliefs and religious practices.

All our activities strive to integrate the 5-aims of our movement:

• Strength: a sense of health
• Nature: a sense of concrete things
• Character: a sense of self-control
• Service: a sense of others
• Spirit: a sense of God

Some examples of F.N.E. activities are:

• Meetings
• Camping
• Caoneing
• Hiking
• Backpacking
• Mountaineering
• Cooking
• Pioneering
• Archery
• Games and competitions
• Local excursions
• Pilgrimages, international travel, and international meetings and encounters
• Masses, prayers, and other Catholic sacraments and devotions
• “Works of Mercy Projects” (volunteer work)

We get together approximately once a month. Outings take place in the woods, protected wild sanctuaries, parks in New York, St. Paul’s RC Church or elsewhere depending on activities.

In general, Otter and Timber Wolf units camp once a year for two nights at the beginning of summer. Explorers camp more often; between 4 to 10 times annually, for a weekend or a whole week.

Ranks from other youth organizations cannot be transferred. Progression through the F.N.E. program incorporates not only the development of different skills, but more importantly considers each individual’s spiritual and moral progress in ways that are not found in other programs.

Mothers and Fathers are very welcome to help!

The delivery of the educational and formational aspect of the movement is limited to uniformed leaders who have made an Explorer promise. We maintain units that are all male or all female. This applies to the youth as well as the uniformed leadership. Uniformed leaders for male units must be men, and likewise, leaders for female units must be women.

Mothers or fathers not involved as uniformed leaders can participate in many other activities, such as Masses, ceremonies, fundraisers, promotions, family picnics, field trips, etc. They can also play a supporting role behind the scenes by providing transportation, purchasing food and supplies, coordinating uniform orders, etc.

We are in need of volunteers, both in and out of uniform. Volunteers must undergo a criminal background check and attend the local diocesan Safe Environment training.

We also need monetary donations, as well as donated items.

And most important of all, we need your prayers!