181 bishops, friends of the Focolare Movement, from 45 countries of the world and from 70 Churches and ecclesial communities participated in the conference “Dare to be one. The gift of unity in a divided world” that took place from 23 to 25 September 2021. The background and meaning of this meeting through interviews with five of the participating Bishops. https://vimeo.com/620771973
Sophia Web Academy (SWA) constitutes an original way of providing training in the culture of unity; it is an experiment that IUS (Sophia University Institute) has begun and it aims to respond to the needs that many people are experiencing now. The course provides an advanced level of training and consists of two specific elements – culture and leadership of unity. It targets both people who already know the Focolare Movement and others who do not. Michele Zanzucchi, professor of communication at Sophia and coordinator of SWA, tells us about it. What is the mission of Sophia Web Academy? Sophia Web Academy (SWA) proposes to investigate and present the main conceptual and practical expressions of the charism of unity. It explicitly attempts to examine and compare the work of all those who have initiated cultural reflection that has developed from the mystical intuition of Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement. How did this idea come about? It came about during the pandemic. There was an increase in the requests for formation on the foundations of the charism of unity and it became obvious that it was possible to give satisfactory training online. In the Focolare Movement, there is a need for a twofold formation course for people who have leadership roles, both at central and local levels. These courses should offer participants adequate preparation for the challenges of our times so that they can correspond appropriately bearing in mind the great gift of the charism of unity they have received. The courses should also equip some of members as “managers” of groups of varying numbers of people. How is it structured? The first year of the online specialist course consists of a total of 700 hours – 180 lectures, 60 hours of work under the guidance of tutors or in dialogue with teachers, and 460 of personal study – corresponding to about 30 academic credits, spread over 8 months, from 28 November 2021 to 3 July 2022. Starting from a common base of about 44 hours of teacher centred education, the following 120 hours will be divided into two areas: “culture of unity” and “dialogical leadership”. Then, during the last “three days”, there will be 16 hous of interdisciplinary teaching and learning. What are the entry requirements? You can enrol in the course as a student or as an auditor. Students need to have a degree, participate in the lessons, are entitled to a tutor, sit the exams and will receive a university certificate. Auditors, on the other hand, can enrol without any special qualifications, attend courses, are not entitled to a tutor, do not sit exams and will receive a university extension certificate of attendance. As auditors it is possible to enrol in individual modules. The full course of study can be completed in one or two years. One of the two areas of study that SWA offers concerns the “culture of unity”. What are the goals to be achieved? One of the qualities of a leader in a rapidly changing world is wisdom. The specific task of Sophia, according to Chiara Lubich, is precisely that of ‘teaching wisdom’, which is also acquired by listening to the voices – and entering into dialogue with them – of those who have sought the truth throughout the centuries. For a leader, this means acquiring the ability to see far ahead and also to think strategically about the processes to be put in place today to prepare a more humane tomorrow. An essential part of the course is dedicated to Chiara Lubich’s experience and thought in the context of the Focolare Movement, a very valid contribution to the integral formation of leaders. How can the topic of “leadership” be linked to the notion of unity? SWA offers a space to know and learn about leadership which is strongly characterised by dialogue and service, attention to the least, communion, active involvement and flexibility. This will lead to an increased capacity for strategic decision-making and choice, team work and communication. The leadership course is based on 5 didactic units that complement each other in an organic way, combining theoretical and practical aspects. “Fundamentals of leadership”, “Group management”, “Personal development”, “Flexible Work”, “Types and models of leadership” form the basic elements of this innovative and engaging course. For registration and further information, contact: https://swa.sophiauniversity.org
Maria Grazia Berretta
New academic year of the University Institute inaugurated in Focolare’s little town of Loppiano (Italy) with integral ecology and its implications for the university being the central theme. The Sophia University Institute has one ambition: to reintroduce the pedagogical model used by Greek philosophers before Christ, like Gymnasium or Lyceum, into the university system where coexistence between teachers and students formed the fundamental educational impetus, but adding Christian values of the person and communion. This is no mean feat in a place of research and “integral ecology”. As Federico Rovea, a former student of Sophia, now a teacher, said: “Sophia means doing university, seeking the truth in an atmosphere of friendship”. This was experienced on 29 October 2021, at the Sophia University Institute in Loppiano (Italy), during the inauguration ceremony of the 2021-2022 academic year. Theme: “What are the implications for the university in an age of integral ecology?”. 
The President of the Focolare Movement, Margaret Karram, who is vice-grand chancellor of the Institute, reiterated in her address that “the objectives that Sophia proposes are high and engaging. They require everyone to give the best of themselves in a continuous openness to dialogue and listening, a place where intellectual commitment always looks for new ways to respond to the cultural needs of our time”. Speaking with some emotion the new rector, Giuseppe Argiolas, recalled the great challenges linked to the pandemic: “We have accomplished what in the past we imagined we would do over several years: 1) complete the 2019/20 academic year via Internet; 2) create the conditions for a high-level offer, with a professional platform; 3) offer a specific diploma for those who would like to study at Sophia but don’t have the means to come to Loppiano. This is Sophia Web Academy: Culture of Unity and Leadership through dialogue”. In a well-received speech, Valeria Garré, representing the students, emphasised three words: journey, commitment and openness: “Sophia is my home every time I realise that ecology is truly integral, also when it is not easy, and includes relationship, care for our environment and being faithful to completing a task”. Finally, Cardinal Giuseppe Betori, Archbishop of Florence (Italy) and Grand Chancellor of Sophia, focused on the meeting due to take place in February in Florence of a number of Bishops and Mayors from Mediterranean countries. “Our Churches feel the need to rediscover their own identity. Starting from the fact that we have the Mediterranean in common, every local Church and every government can adopt an attitude of listening to and welcoming the cry of humanity without being afraid of recognising the cry of Christ, his ‘Why?’ in this cry which has a political, religious, social, cultural, economic and ecological nature, a cry also for health, food and water”. The focus of the ceremony was therefore integral ecology. Professor Sergio Rondinara wanted to take up the ecological challenge by linking it to a deeper and more invasive anthropological challenge: “In the recent past the relationship between humanity and nature was balanced and often collaborative (we need only think of the agricultural and farming society). Today it has taken on a critical configuration which we commonly call the ‘environmental crisis’”. He explained how to get out of such a crisis, working on four levels: “the cultural anthropological level, the level of thought, the ethical level and the religious level, all pathways on a personal and social educational journey”. In the discussion, Prof. Mario Taccolini, from the Catholic University of Milan (Italy), highlighted his university’s experience of focusing on the need for an integral ecology, while Prof. Stefania Papa, from the Vanvitelli University of Campania (Italy), emphasised the need for university programmes to be driven by this vital culture. What remains is the conviction that integral ecology is not just a scientific or political objective, but a way of “being in the world”.
Michele Zanzucchi
On the feast of All Saints, Chiara Lubich invites us to seek holiness together in order to bear witness to mutual love even beyond the limits of our earthly life. We understood that we have been called to love our neighbours, but we can love a little or we can love a lot. People who love a little are those who limit themselves to loving their neighbours only in their own lifetime. People who love a lot are those who find the way to love their neighbours even after this life, for years and centuries afterwards. Since Christ was living in them, they remain here on earth as models that many can imitate. This is what the saints did. People are still meditating on their lives, their writings and their works even many centuries after their “departure” from this earth. Following their example, we can do the same. We can become saints out of love for our contemporaries and for those who will come in the future, to give them light and encouragement along their path in life for a very long time, and to fill their hearts with the flame of love. Therefore, we should strive towards holiness, certainly not for our own benefit but – as well as for the glory of God – for the sake of our neighbours.
Chiara Lubich
(Chiara Lubich, in Conversazioni in collegamento telefonico, [Telephone conversations] edited by Michel Vandeleene, Opere di Chiara Lubich, Città Nuova, 2019, pag. 430-431)
“Family Love: A Vocation and a Path to Holiness” is the theme of the Tenth World Meeting of Families promoted by the Catholic Church, to take place June 22-26, in 2022. Two married Focolarini, Marcelo Chávez and Pia Noria who coordinate the New Families Movement in part of South America (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay) share their own story and the build up to this event. “As a child I felt God calling me to follow Him, even though I didn’t know what way I should take. After a time of discernment I understood marriage would be my way”, explains Marcelo Chávez, husband to Pia and father to three wonderful daughters. With Pia he found a vocation born from long years of friendship in which they shared the same ideal of life, leading to a a beautiful engagement journey and the great adventure of matrimony. They form a family which hopes to be a “living Church” alongside many other protagonists of the tenth World Meting of Families in Rome, Italy, from 22 to 26 June, 2022. The theme: “Family Love: A Vocation and a Path to Holiness” How are you preparing for this event which, in his introductory message Pope Francis has described as, due to the pandemic, bearing a “multicentered and widespread format”? When Pope Francis inaugurated the Year of Amoris Laetitia Family in March 2021 and announced that there would be a concluding World Meeting of Families in Rome, we immediately felt called to be present at this event. Then in July 2021, the Pope invited everyone to participate using a new format with all dioceses gathering families together for a local experience. In this, we saw how Rome was opening wide its arms to the world, towards all families no matter how far away, so no-one need be excluded. We realised we could experience this miracle of unity among families as protagonists and not as distant observers. So we’ll now participate in the Meeting in our own place, supporting the initiatives of our Archdiocese of Santiago del Cile, together with other ecclesial movements. As a family, what does it mean to follow a way towards holiness? On 6 September 2021 we celebrated 18 years of marriage. And we’ve never had any doubts, not even in the hardest of times. Our calling is and always will be to love one another as God wants. God has taken our “yes” at our word, and He helps us to go ahead. We see this way towards holiness in marriage as a shared journey, something we do together, united, both of us contributing to the sanctification of each other. How does Jesus support you in your life and what role does prayer have, particularly in this period of the Covid pandemic? Day by day, throughout the past 18 years, we’ve come to realise that the measure of married love is truly to give our lives for one another. Making ourselves available for this, with Christ’s grace, has allowed us to discover how our very differences can take on a new dimension. Naturally, there’ve been plenty of situations when we found it more or less difficult to resolve our differences. But whenever we found ourselves in conflict, we experienced a strong desire to be faithful to the sacrament of marriage and to continue to love Jesus in these challenges. We need courage and great strength of will, entrusting ourselves to God, to the Holy Family, in order to face all the complex situations life can and does present. Prayer has always sustained us and keeps on sustaining us along the journey. It gives us strength and conviction that everything is the Love of God. Throughout the pandemic, in particular, praying as a family has been so important, as well as praying with the Focolare community and with other families. Even if we’ve been unable to receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we’ve understood that we still meet Him and His love can manifest itself among us. In the press conference to launch the Meeting, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life said “Families are the seed to be sown in the world in order to make it fertile with real and credible witnesses of the beauty of family love.” How can this witness reach beyond the walls of the family home? We look to the Holy Family of Nazareth. The greatness and importance of being a family today is still to be found there: to become the place where Jesus can be born and be given to the world. We experience how the love of God manifest in our lives can never remain within our own families, but must radiate outwards as the basis for meeting other families, other married and engaged couples. Everything is an opportunity to love and to give God’s love. Journeying together with other families means building community, sharing goods, needs, worries and taking care of the needs of all.
Maria Grazia Berretta