Sofia from Italy told us, “At the “School of Fire”, I was able to build a stronger connection with God and I began to see faith from a different point of view”. José from Panama, “For me it was an extraordinary experience, living every moment together with everyone, I experienced the promise of Jesus who is present among us when we love one another and that, even in diversity, we can live unity and bring it to others”.

These are two of the testimonies of boys and girls who, over the years, have participated in the “School of Fire”, the annual meeting for teenagers of the Focolare Movement. This year it will take place from 30th December 2025 to 7th January 2026 at the Mariapolis Centre in Castel Gandolfo (Rome). There will be 250 participants from 15 countries: South Korea, Lebanon, Jordan, Austria, Great Britain, Portugal, Italy, Nigeria, Burundi, Ivory Coast, USA, Panama, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Brazil.

Over time, this type of experience has proved to be a dynamic and exciting encounter that has provided an ideal space for the young people to build real relationships with Jesus; a unique opportunity to be in contact with peers who share the same interests and who ask the same questions despite coming from very distant realities, with different linguistic, cultural and experiential backgrounds. This dimension, the possibility of being able to understand the way others see reality, the commitment to live the Charism of unity proposed by the Movement together, supports and encourages the participants, encouraging them to seriously work to achieve the ‘testament’ of Jesus, ‘May all be one ‘(Jn. 17:21).

The “School of Fire” took place for the first time in 2020, on the occasion of the Centenary of the birth of Chiara Lubich, founder of Focolare, who always encouraged the “Gen 3” (the teenagers of the Movement) to live out that evangelical love that has radically changed the lives of many. In her speech in Washington in the year 2000, referring to the origins of the Movement, Chiara explained, “From the beginning, we said that we were students at the “School of Fire”, to underline the power of that Teacher who, because of our mutual love, was present among us and was teaching those who would bring this new current of life to the whole world”.

The exchange of testimonies on actions of solidarity often gives rise to other ideas and initiatives among the young people. The participants from Croatia said, “We wanted the “School of Fire” to be more than just a memory and, encouraged by what we had heard, when we heard that in Bosnia and Erzagovina, countries close to ours, many people were suffering due to a terrible flood, we decided to help. What did we do? We held a charity concert in Krizevci to raise funds for those affected. We were interviewed by the local radio where we were able to explain the initiative and invite people to participate in the concert. It was a great success. To our great joy, the city’s music school and the music group Klapa Leggero joined the initiative. During the concert we were also able to sell some paintings that the Mayor of Krizevci had given us for the purpose of raising funds for the people affected by the flood.”

In the Czech Republic, for some years the young adults of the Focolare have been helping people in need, carrying out all kinds of work in homes and gardens. Encouraged by the testimonies of proximity heard at the “School of Fire”, the Czech youth wanted to do something similar. They said, “We found out that in our country there are some abandoned rectories that are being repaired through a project called ‘living rectories’ and so we offered to repair the one in Křivoklát that can now be used by families, children and young people from several communities”. 70 boys and girls aged 12 to 18 took part in the project, together with some parents and other adults. “We knocked down walls, repaired walls, painted windows and tidied the garden. In Křivoklát there is a beautiful castle and, to involve the people who live around it, we invited people to a conference and a high-level charity concert performed by our friends from the Prague Cello Quartet”. In the end, there was no shortage of surprises: thanks to the Mayor, the young people were able to spend the night right inside the castle!

This year the “School of Fire” is part of the celebration of the conclusion of the Jubilee and it aims to rekindle hope in the hearts of many. In addition, it will start the year in which the young generations of the Focolare Movement celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Gen Movement, an acronym for New Generation. 2026 will be the year in which we look at what has been achieved: the lives of many children, teens and young people who have generated closeness and change in them and around them, a concrete way to work together with many others to build a more united and peaceful world.

Ana Tano, Paola Pepe, Fiorella Tassini