1994-2014: Remembering Klaus Hemmerle
Chiara Lubich and Bishop Klaus Hemmerle. Synod of the Laity, 1987.
‘Klaus Hemmerle is timeless, because it is was not so much he who lived, but Jesus lived in him. So I see him today as I was him while was still among us. I see him as another Jesus, but with all the qualities that stood out in his personality, ranging from the astuteness of the just to the wisdom of the elect, and ranging from a fatherlike and yet brotherly commitment, given with tremendous resolve to the portion of the People of God entrusted to him, to his freedom in following a charism from the Holy Spirit and his characteristic gift as an artist. That’s what he was like.’
Asked about her own relationship with the Bishop Hemmerle, Chiara Lubich described him as ‘a person called by God to found, together with [me as] its [overall] founder, a specific part of a Work of God. Hence it is a unique relationship known only to those who were in it, a relationship of the purest friendship, full of the charity of Christ.’ Indeed, Chiara called him a ‘co-founder’, and said, ‘He helped me to bring in being two important things within the Focolare Movement: the branch of the Bishop Friends of the Movement, who share in the spirituality of unity, and the founding of the Abba School that translates the spirituality of unity, the fruit of a charism, into intellectual thought.
‘He had many gifts and they shone out from him. When you think of him, even while he is clothed in the dignity of a priest and a bishop, it is easier to see him as an angel than as a man, because of his sublime delicacy of mind, his freedom of spirit, his deep and enlightened intelligence, his constancy of temperament, his fervour, without exaggeration, when it was necessary to defend someone, and his firmness. I and we saw him as an example because of his complete detachment from himself and from all he was involved with. Only after his death, for instance, did I learn of his musical and artistic talents.
‘He was an example in his constant attention to love for every brother or sister he came across as well as for everything that, for him, represented God’s will.
‘And an example in his passionate attachment to the Word of God such that he lived it, for instance, for five years, one Word at a time for a month in depth, in preparation for the Abba School. He had heard of the experience of doing this at the beginning of the Movement before the Spirit gave us some particular intuitions, things that proved to be of immense value for studying the charism.’
A group of Bishop Friends ot the Focolare.
And with regard to being a bishop? Chiara Luibich recalled, ‘He once confided in me that, so far as he was concerned personally, he would have preferred to have been a theologian but, I think, becoming a bishop certainly made him useful to the Church, as indeed he was to the Focolare Movement, since to his immense learning he added the authority of the Church’s Teaching Office, and in this way he provided us with some important guarantees.’
From Wilfried Hagemann, Klaus Hemmerle, innamorato della Parola di Dio [Klaus Hemmerle, a Man in Love with the Word of God] (Rome: Città Nuova, 2013) pp. 288-89.
The day before the publication of the book, L-Arti tal Imhabba (The Art of Loving) Marisa and Mario from the
The speakers highlighted how the art of loving proposed by Chiara Lubich, is drawn directly from the Gospel and summarised in five points: loving everyone without discrimination; being the first to love; recognizing the presence of Jesus in every neighbour; becoming all things to all people as St. Paul says; and loving one another. The commitment to such a way of life is a constant daily effort, but it produces a spiritual disposition that is the first step towards a peaceful revolution capable of changing individual hearts and building a civilization of love. Rev. Simon Godfrey and Dr. J. Mifsud also highlighted the parallelisms between Pope Francis and Chiara Lubich. Following presentations by the speakers, a family, a young woman and a young boy recounted experiences of living the art of loving, and the Cube of Love was introduced. At the conclusion of the evening many expressed their joy at 
having discovered a new way to face daily life: “The message is simple, beautiful and strong,” said Fr. Silvestro, “within the reach of anyone.” Others appreciated something else: “Dostoevskij writes that beauty will save the world,” Stephanie recalled, “and today we have seen a moment of beauty and harmony, because what was being said today pertains to God who is Beauty.” Miriam commented: “There was neither believer nor unbeliever: in love we all felt like a family and were free to speak freely.” Ezio: “I knew this book in Italian, but here I discovered its value. I want to become better at living the art of loving and, with my heart and mind, find many ways to render it more beautiful, more efficacious, more intense, diffusive, more creative and never taken for granted.”
A “living dead” I was in the waiting room of the commissioner, it was hot and I was very tired when a poorly dressed lame man arrived. After he greeted me in a feeble voice, having realized that I was concerned about him, he shared with me his story: he was a homeless refugee, without friends and family, without documents; he was a “living dead”, as the policemen who had stopped him called him. As I greeted him I told him where I lived: if he would come, we would welcome him and give him something to eat and a place to sleep. In fact, a few days later, he came to see us, and so we were able to help him concretely before he went on his way to Yaounde. For our family, he was the image of of the suffering Christ, a gift for us. P. B.-
Ozieri, near the Sardinian town of Sassari, 
The workshop was all there, Anna Maria recounts: “There are thirty of us working with love and enthusiasm. We’re trying to build a positive relationship among us. We decided that the profits would be donated to the United World projects in Uganda. The parish priest also became involved, and the local population is kept informed through a diocesan newsletter. The sewing group attends markets and fairs where they sell their products. Egidia recounts: “Last year as we were preparing for a Christmas sale, we heard that the organisation in charge of the Sweets Fair – a local country feast whose profits are donated to the missions – was in difficulty. We all agreed to offer our support. Our sewing workshop was then transformed into an exhibition hall. It turned out a great success. This gesture allowed us to meet many more people who came to visit the exhibition and were taken in by the cheerful and harmonious atmosphere among us.” 
Anna Maria: “This is how we decided to call our workshop Laboramor (labour [of] love) which expresses our desire to live the