In Mumbai, India, there will be several events aiming at understanding more fully the contribution of the charism of unity to dialogue between religions. They will be like a journey that begins with Chiara Lubich’s visits to India in 2001 and 2003 and finishes with the present day. At the same time in Avellaneda, Argentina, the charism will be looked at in terms of its dialogue with contemporary culture. In Tanzania, on the other hand, at the Catholic University of Iringa the leading figures will be young people in commemorating the special relationship that linked them to Chiara. And it would be possible to outline many more events throughout the world that will commemorate Chiara Lubich (22 January 1920 to 14 March 2008) five years after her death.

There will be conferences of a cultural and academic nature, the launching of social initiatives, Eucharistic celebrations, moments of artistic expression. Across the world hundreds of events will be held to look at Chiara’s charismatic impact and to understand more of her thought. Of particular note is the international meeting that will take place in Rome, called Chiara Lubich: Life, Light and Culture. It will take place in the Great Hall of the Sapienza University of Rome on 14 March and in the hall of the Mariapolis Centre in Castel Gandolfo on 15 March.

This year the anniversary of Chiara Lubich’s death takes place in a historic moment of particular significance for the Roman Catholic Church, which is focused upon the important task of choosing a successor to Benedict XVI. The Movement’s members are very aware of it and they will take this opportunity to witness still more to the vitality and effectiveness of the Ideal of Unity in every aspect of human life, in every point of the earth. It is a treasure that can be offered to the whole Church, possibly with greater decisiveness now more than ever, to put into practice what two popes, first John Paul II and later Benedict XVI, have wished for the Movement, namely to make “the Church always more the home and the school of communion.”

There will also be events of a particularly ecumenical character, for instance, in Geneva, Swizterland, where the event has the full backing of the city’s Ecumenical Centre, and in Oslo, Norway, where participants representing the various churches will come together in a spirit of communion. And, to give another example, in San Antonio, Texas (USA), on 23 February there has already been conference looking specifically at the spirituality of communion. Furthermore, in Thailand, Korea, Melbourne in Australia, and in the whole of Europe there will special occasions where it will possible to say ‘thank you’ and speak about a person who is recognized as one of the leading figures of the twentieth century, one who opened previously unexplored ways of dialogue to promote cohesion among individuals and peoples of different religions and cultures, and so promote peace and universal brotherhood.

To find out more about these initiatives across the world, click here: https://www.focolare.org/anniversary