Witnessing unity for the human family
9 September 2026 – “As sharers in the spiritual legacy of Chiara Lubich, and as ministers of Christ’s Church in a fragmented world, you are called to give witness to this longed-for unity of the human family.” With these words, Pope Leo XIV addressed the Bishops, Friends of the Focolare Movement this morning, whom he received in audience at the Vatican Apostolic Palace.
The meeting was attended by four cardinals and 79 bishops from 40 countries, who are currently gathered for the international meeting “Now is the time for charity. Building peace through witnessing unity”, taking place from the 8th to the 11th of September at the Casa Divin Maestro in Ariccia, near Rome.
The Pope confided that the theme chosen for the meeting is particularly close to his heart. Referring to Chiara Lubich, foundress of the Focolare Movement, he added: “In an age sadly marked by increasing polarisation, our Lord enabled her to give witness to both the sense and service of unity, thus becoming a sign for her own and for future generations.”
Pope Leo XIV then encouraged the participants to be “witnesses to each other and to those you serve of that unity which builds lasting peace”. He also invited them to “ live that fraternity which recalls and confirms our kinship in Christ. These are days of grace, being with one’s brothers in the episcopate. We know how it benefits us. I am glad, therefore, that you have found in the Work of Mary this spiritual support. May it also help you to live out communion and fraternity in your respective Bishops’ Conferences ”.
Unity and peace at the heart of the programme
In an age marked by wars, polarisation and social divisions, the participants wish to strengthen communion in the service of their local Churches and the peoples entrusted to their care. During the gathering in Ariccia, contributions, testimonies and experiences from different parts of the world highlight the relationship between unity and peace in the context of the current changing era.
Today, Wednesday 9 September, following the audience with the Pope, the programme includes a meeting with Margaret Karram and Roberto Almada, respectively the President and Co-President of the Focolare Movement.
On Thursday 10 September, the reflection will focus on the mystery of suffering, also in the context of the episcopal ministry. In the afternoon, the participants will visit the Papal Palace at Castel Gandolfo.
Friday 11 September, the final day, will be dedicated to an in-depth exploration of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, as part of the programme promoted by Pope Leo XIV. A range of experiences will be shared in the light of the Council’s key themes of dialogue and communion within the life of ecclesial communities and in relationships with society.
An experience of communion that began almost fifty years ago
The meetings of Bishops, Friends of the Focolare Movement began in 1977 on the initiative of Bishop Klaus Hemmerle (1929–1994) of Aachen, together with Chiara Lubich. Since then, they have been held regularly at international, national and regional levels, and have been encouraged over the years by the Popes.
“These meetings offer us the opportunity to share an experience of spiritual communion and unity,” explains Bishop Brendan Leahy of Limerick (Ireland), “to deepen, through mutual charity, the spirit of collegiality with the Pope and amongst ourselves, in the service of the life of communion within our dioceses and in our relationships with other bishops. At the heart of this experience lies Jesus’ New Commandment: ‘Love one another as I have loved you’. And it is in this that we must become experts.”
Stefania Tanesini
Photo: © Vatican Media
the 20th of February 2024 at the General Curia of the Society of Jesus in Rome. The document, translated into five languages (Italian, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese), is an overview of the activities and initiatives promoted by the Focolare in the year 2022, a narrative not only of the spontaneous sharing of goods, but of experiences and initiatives lived worldwide, which are inspired by and for the dialogues, and which are being specifically illustrated in this publication: the dialogue between Ecclesial Movements and New Communities in the Catholic Church; the one between the various Christian Churches; the dialogue between different religions, with different cultures, with Institutions, and in engagement with the many global challenges. Among the speakers at the presentation press conference, in the presence of Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán, President and Co-President of the Focolare Movement, were Monsignor Juan Fernando Usma Gómez, Head of the Western Section of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity, Dr. Giuseppe Notarstefano, National President of Italian Catholic Action, Dr. Rita Moussallem, head of the Focolare’s Center for Interreligious Dialogue, and Giancarlo Crisanti, Focolare’s general administrator. Participating via internet were Monsignor Athenagoras Fasiolo, Bishop of Terme and auxiliary of the Holy Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy, and Prof. Stefano Zamagni, economist and professor of Political Economy at the University of Bologna. The session, which was moderated by journalist Alessandro de Carolis, was a true exchange of reflections and emphasized how terms such as budget and communion which seem to be poles apart, accounting not only for numbers but also for life. 
“The social budget has been a great opportunity for us,” said Dr. Notarstefano, national president of Catholic Action, among the first ecclesial realities to draw up a mission statement, “and has encouraged us in this urgent pastoral conversion to which we are called by the Pope. It was also a way to begin to reflect on how to communicate this associative life better, (…) to look at ourselves, with transparency, to give an account to the outside, but to communicate it better, to put it in common.”. 
According to Msgr. Usma Gómez, in light of the current scenario that seems increasingly fragmented, in talking about the path of unity among the Churches, taking stock as Christians “means looking at God’s plans, our plans, and the plans of the world. (…) God’s plans would be to preserve the unity of the spirit by the bond of peace,” he continued, “but we see that in the world, war is the plan that is taking hold. It is possible to develop communion in differences, (…) but this reconciled diversity calls us to make peace, the heart of Ecumenism is the heart of peace.”. 
An encouragement, then, to promote paths of fraternity in a network, in a synodal style and specifically, in light of the chosen theme, to do so through a “method” that can bring closer especially those who are mostly unbelievers. “Taking stock of the communion of a Movement that is so open, so able to bring others to understand that dialogue does not take away, but adds, enriches, is very important,” , said Monsignor Athenagoras Fasiolo bishop of Terme and auxiliary of the Holy Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy, who, in addition to emphasizing the Focolare’s great commitment to the path of unity among the various Churches, reflected on the prophetic role that different faiths can play in the world, without falling into the trap of ideologies: “if as faiths we manage to be prophecy then we manage to awaken what is best in the human heart.”. 
And it is precisely “life and prophecy” that are the two tracks on which the Focolare Movement has proceeded in these 80 years of history also on the path of interreligious dialogue, as Dr. Rita Mussallem stated in the hall; a path that has led the reality founded by Lubich, to come into contact, in so many countries, with people of various religions, creating in the appreciation of diversity and reciprocity, a common ground where they can relate with the spirituality of unity, get to know each other and “give,” said Moussalem, “the willingness to learn from each other, the sharing of sorrows, challenges, hopes and also the shared commitment to work for peace, for good, for fraternity. In a world torn apart by polarizations where religions are too often instrumentalized, in talking about the concept of peace, “authentic dialogue,” she continued, “is a very helpful remedy (…) because it makes you discover and see the humanity of the other, it disarms you. 
The “person” is thus the beating heart of a circular path that has given rise, over time, to the many activities to which this text bears witness. “When we speak of a ‘budget,'” said Giancarlo Crisanti, “one expects a lot of numbers, but in the Communion in Action Report ‘ there is much more narrative and the the numbers don’t include the people who make these activities possible .” “The Budget,” said Crisanti, “highlights how this communion of goods is able to realize initiatives, projects, works that go in the direction of dialogue (…), that help the world to dialogue a little more.”. 
