Founded in 1997, the initiative ‘They have evicted Jesus’ originates from a reflection by Chiara Lubich, foundress of the Focolare Movement, who, struck by the absence of any reference to the true meaning of Christmas, invited people to bring Jesus back to the heart of it.
All over the world, thousands of Gen 4 – the children of the Focolare Movement – have responded to this appeal and every year they produce small plaster statues of the baby Jesus, which are then given to people passing by on street corners during the Christmas period. The donations received are used for projects aimed at those children who are in need or who live in countries at war in various parts of the world.
Fifty years ago in Ascoli Piceno, a town in central Italy, two Focolare priests, Fr Pino and Fr Mario, decided to begin a simple apostolic activity together, proposing a series of meetings for young people. After just a few weeks, they were surprised to find hundreds of young people gathering around them, eager to live the Gospel in their everyday lives. It was the birth of the Diocesan Movement: an expression of the Focolare Movement, entrusted with animating the various expressions of the local Church through the spirituality of unity. Over these fifty years, it has seen works of God flourish in dioceses and many vocations emerge to priestly, lay and religious life.
On 13th-14th December 2025, a commemorative celebration took place in the city. It was attended by Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán, President and Co-President of the Focolare Movement, along with Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi who, with Chiara Lubich, was a co-founder of the Diocesan Movement. Several bishops, Focolare priests and focolarine from the area were also present.
During the meeting with Margaret and Jesús, Bishop Gianpiero Palmieri of the diocese said, “The relationship I have with the Diocesan Movement is a very positive one, because it is deeply rooted here in Ascoli. The priests, lay people and deacons of the Diocesan Movement contribute to the life of our diocese in its missionary and evangelising task. What the Diocesan Movement can offer—and will continue to offer, now and in the future—is precisely this contribution, according to its charism, which is unity, to evangelisation itself, with the ability to dialogue with everyone.”
On the afternoon of 13th December, the Focolare communities of Ascoli Piceno, Teramo, Fermo, Pesaro, Macerata and Cuneo—dioceses in northern Italy where the Diocesan Movement has recently taken root—gathered together. Margaret said, “I am always struck by the vitality and joy of your communities because you have been able to go beyond the doors of churches and parishes and build networks with people and secular organisations in your cities. You have shown coherence in your evangelical choices, multiplying initiatives of closeness to the poorest, migrants and those on the margins. Thanks to the faithfulness of so many of you, today we can say that the Diocesan Movement is a grace for the Church and for the Work of Mary.” Jesús added: “The Diocesan Movement is the fruit of Chiara Lubich’s ecclesial genius. It is the ability to give birth to the Church within a group of souls in the community. Here in Ascoli we have seen this lived experience. With her ecclesial genius, Chiara brought about a community that is fully Church, at the service of the Church.”
The Card. Giuseppe Petrocchi , known to all as Fr Pino, retraced some of the early stages of the Movement, identifying the signs of the Holy Spirit. He added: “The spirituality of unity that the Lord gave to Chiara Lubich, and her witness, offer an intense charismatic light for exploring new theological, pastoral and social horizons, with the humble Virgin of Nazareth at our side as mother, teacher and model. For her and with her, we raise our Magnificat of praise and gratitude. Today, you yourselves are this Magnificat.”
In the various testimonies shared by members of the local communities, the experience of Church-as-communion was evident: the ability to build bonds of charity among the structures and members of the local Church, between charisms and ministries, and with everyone.
On 14th December, a round table entitled “The Charism of the Diocesan Movement in the Church and Society Today” was held at the city’s prestigious municipal theatre. Representatives of both civil and religious institutions took part, including the mayor and the bishop, as well as members of Catholic movements and associations, representatives of other Churches, and many citizens eager to learn more.
Mons Piero CodaSecretary General of the International Theological Commission of the Holy See, stated: “The Diocesan Movement presents itself as an original and timely expression, a concrete ‘grounding’, of the renewal set in motion and guided by the Council. It begins with the recognition and appreciation of the local Church—the diocese—as the concrete and irreplaceable place of communal experience of the Gospel, lived in its prophetic incarnation at the cultural and social level. With hearts and minds open to all, in harmony with the spirit of Vatican II and the charism of unity, Christians of other Churches or ecclesial communities can belong to the Diocesan Movement and people of other religions or of non-religious convictions can also take part. Is this not exciting?”
The Diocesan Movement can therefore be a bridge between the Gospel and the city and among the various social components of society. Margaret added, “This is its relevance today: to safeguard and ignite relationships, to open paths of mission in our Churches and in the many civic and social contexts. Everything begins with mutual love which, when lived, generates greater communion in the Church, greater fraternity in our environments, and greater hope for the world.”
An experience born fifty years ago not by chance, but through a journey that nourished the soul of the local community in Christ. Jesús Morán emphasized, “Chiara Lubich did not found the Diocesan Movement sitting at a desk. Rather, she recognised in the experience unfolding in the Church of this city (Ascoli) in the 1970s the unmistakable mark of her ecclesial soul, of her charism. Chiara was able to recognise it because here, also through that group of priests and young people, the Church of Ascoli was experiencing Christ within itself. That is how it was—and that is how it must always be.”
Already in the 1970s, the Diocesan Movement was initiating a process of synodality in the local Church. Today, it can and must be an instrument to ensure that the synodal journey the Church is undertaking becomes lived reality in local Churches. However, “the synodality of the Church needs not only well-equipped doctrinal halls, but also existential gyms,” said Card. Giuseppe Petrocchi in his address. “In this sense, the Diocesan Movement can be a laboratory where we learn to live this communion as the Holy Spirit designs it before our eyes in the Church of today.”
Luigino Bruni, economist and university professor, said, “I am one of those young people who encountered the ideal of unity of the Focolare Movement in Ascoli through the Diocesan Movement. I went to the parish because I was searching for God. The experience of those years—there were about 200 young people—was very intense and rich in ideals. You didn’t become part of a movement but of the future of the Church and of the world. From Ascoli, we felt we were changing the Church, the world and the economy, so much so that I chose this path in the years that followed.”
Marie-Thérèse Henderson from the Ancona focolare added, “It is striking to see different generations living and working together to support and contribute to parish life in the everyday life of the Diocesan Movement and then to see, in the relationship between lay people and priests, that simple and prophetic reality the Church longs for and hopes for: the dimension of synodality and unity that belongs to the Church itself.”
The speakers’ contributions were interwoven with artistic moments featuring Alessandro Cappella, Enrico Mazzuca, Silvia Capponi, Elena Piermarini and Laura Ubaldi.
… “I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me to drink…” (Mt 25:35). “When Lord?” “Every time you did this to the least of my brothers andsisters, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40).
(…)
This love for the poor was always light for us, and the Spirit made us understand the need to love not only them, but everyone else too: “Love your neighbour as yourself,” whoever he or she may be.
And from this came a wonderful idea and a decision: to transform our daily lives into a wide range of material and spiritual works of mercy: in all the contacts we made, with all the different people we met. Because here too, we could apply the words: “You did it to me.”
In each neighbour we met, we saw Christ who was asking for help, for comfort, advice, correction, instruction, light, bread, shelter, clothes, prayers….
(…)
We hope that one day, to those … who will ask Jesus: “When, Lord, did I give you to eat, to drink, and when did I console you?” he will reply: “Every time you did this to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.”
The year 2025 has been a year full of ecumenical anniversaries and events. The meeting of Pope Leo XIV and Patriarch Bartholomew in Nicaea with the leaders of Churches and ecumenical bodies, followed by various appointments in Istanbul, bore witness to the desire and commitment of the Churches to continue on the path towards unity. Another ecumenical event of great importance, whose 60th anniversary was commemorated, was the revocation of the excommunications between Rome and Constantinople by Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I, which took place on 7th December 1965. It was an event that ushered in a new season of relations between Catholics and Orthodox. Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, holy men of broad vision and devoted solely to the will of Christ for his Church, had the courage to break the spiral of hostility and enmity by meeting as brothers in Jerusalem in January 1964, thus preparing the ground for the revocation of those excommunications exchanged between the legates of the Pope and the then Patriarch of Constantinople in 1054. This event marked the beginning of a dialogue of charity that saw the two pioneers engaged in a continuous and increasing commitment so that the two Churches, Catholic and Orthodox, might once again recognize each other again as sister Churches.
Given the importance of this anniversary, the Patriarch Athenagoras – Chiara Lubich Ecumenical Chair of the Sophia University Institute in Loppiano held a Seminar. The proceedings opened with messages from Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Pope Leo XIV (signed by the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin) and Margaret Karram, Vice Grand Chancellor of the Sophia University Institute and President of the Focolare Movement.
Pope Leo XIV stressed the importance not only of “reflecting on what happened in the past”, but also of “suggesting new concrete steps that we can take together”.
Patriarch Bartholomew, recalling the centrality of Christ’s Resurrection for the Christian faith celebrated at Easter, lamented the fact that we rarely celebrate this feast on the same date and noted how much he and Pope Francis have done to resolve the question of the common date of Easter.
Margaret Karram, in her video message, while looking back at history and thanking God for the miracles accomplished, invited everyone to look ahead and to renew our hope that the unity between the Churches will come in God’s time and in the way known to Him, echoing the thought of Patriarch Athenagoras: “Union will happen. It will be a miracle. When? We do not know. We must prepare ourselves because, like God, a miracle is always imminent ”.
The various inputs illustrated the historical, spiritual, theological and canonical aspects of this journey. Mons. Piero Coda, professor and Secretary General of the International Theological Commission; member of the Joint Commission for dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church and of the Commission of theologians for the synodal journey, emphasized that that prophetic gesture of the revocation of excommunications exhorts us to live, think, dialogue and act in that light and love in which together, we can all prepare for and welcome the blessed day when, through a miracle of his love, the Holy Spirit will enable us to transcend, under the tender and strong gaze of Mary, full of grace and the ‘Theotokos’, everything that still separates us from the overflowing fullness of our shared communion in Christ..
Sandra Ferreira Ribeiro, an ecumenist theologian and co-director of the “Centro Uno” centre of the Focolare Movement, outlined the historical context that preceded and prepared for the revocation of the excommunications and the acts that implemented it in 1965, inaugurating a new climate of dialogue.
Declan O’Byrne, professor and rector of the Sophia University Institute, co-holder of the Sophia Institute ecumenical chair, stressed the importance that the profession of faith proclaimed at Nicaea becomes a lived reality through charity among Christians and the pursuit of theological clarity.
Metropolitan Maximos Vgenopoulos of Selyvria, co-holder of the Ecumenical Chair and member of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, explored the theme of Primacy and Synodality in the second millennium and today, the theme of the most recent document of the Joint Dialogue Commission which met in Alexandria, Egypt in June 2023, concluding that while the two Churches are moving “in love and in truth” towards unity, the document opens up positive paths and perspectives for the future with regard to the authentic understanding of Primacy and Synodality, especially in the context of the ongoing official discussions on Synodality within the Roman Catholic Church.
Dimitrios Keramidas– professor of ecumenism and Orthodox theology at the Angelicum Institute in Rome, recalled that the sharing of the common blessing of the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch at Phanar, the recitation of the Our Father and the ecumenical prayer held in Nicaea were further signs of the recognition of the ecclesial nature of the two Churches: a true and visible spiritual sharing.
Augustinos Bairachtaris, Associate Professor of Ecumenical Studies at the Patriarchal Ecclesiastical Academy of Crete, emphasized the need for a theology of the cross and a spirit of metanoia that must always accompany ecumenical dialogue.
Highlighting the harmony that the unity sought among the Churches represents, the pianist Fr. Carlo Seno offered an exceptionally beautiful musical piece.
The seminar highlighted the indispensable role that the Patriarch Athenagoras – Chiara Lubich Ecumenical Chair can play in promoting ecumenism and the growing mutual knowledge and appreciation of Christians for one another, taking into account the exhortation of Pope Leo XIV and Patriarch Bartholomew in their Joint Declaration: “We strongly urge all the faithful of our Churches, and especially the clergy and theologians, to embrace joyously the fruits that have been achieved thus far, and to labour for their continued increase “.
Sandra Ferreira Ribeiro (Centro “Uno” per l’unità dei cristiani)
… On the 7th of December 1943 I went to church alone. There was a violent storm outside. It really gave me the impression that I had the world against me.
… A small kneeler had been prepared for me before the altar, and I had a tiny missal in my hands. The priest had me pronounce the formula to give myself completely to God forever. I was so happy that I probably didn’t even realize what I was doing, maybe because I was young. However, when I pronounced the formula, I had the impression that a bridge was falling behind me and that I could no longer turn back because now I belonged entirely to God, therefore, I could no longer choose. At this point, a tear fell on the tiny missal.
But my happiness was immense! Do you know why? I was marrying God, and I expected every possible good. It would be fantastic! It would be a divine, extraordinary adventure! I was marrying God! And then we saw that it was really like this.
… What is my advice? I would give this advice to myself: we have only one life. Let’s aim high. Let’s aim high. Let’s risk everything to gain everything. It’s worth it, it’s worth it. … But as far as you are concerned, make this act of generosity: aim high, don’t hold back!
