Founded in 1994 in Campinas, the "Toca de Assis" called attention because of its ability to attract the youth for a life of radical poverty devoted to the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the caring of the homeless. In 2009, the removal of its leader/founder provoked a crisis and a huge amount of members left the group. Carried out in 2010/11 in a male house, this study focuses on the remaining members' speeches, and seeks to identify meanings endowed to the referred crisis. Valuing the Catholic Church, and trusting its hierarchy, the interviewees adopt the concepts of "maturity", "humbleness", "Divine Providence" and "purification" to give coherent interpretations to these changes identifying them with the founders' initial proposal.
catholicism; new religious movements; religion and youth