Mar 2, 2020 | Non categorizzato
Luigino Bruni, economist and scientific director of “The Economy of Francesco” said, “Postponing the event will allow us more time to prepare. Young people from all over the world are responding with a great sense of responsibility and even more commitment. The setback could be a blessing.” In agreement with the Holy Father, we are going to postpone “The Economy of Francesco” to 21 November but the work of the scientific committee and of the young people involved in the organization does not stop. On the contrary, it proceeds with great commitment and enthusiasm as we read in the press release of 1 March. The decision was taken “given the travel difficulties for the approximately two thousand young people from 115 countries who are expected to participate” and because of the corona virus. The appointment, however, has only been put back and Pope Francis will be in Assisi in November to meet the young people who, during the preceding days, will take part in workshops, discussions and dialogue regarding new approaches to various economic issues. The general focus of the meeting was outlined in the letter that on 1 May 2019 Pope Francis addressed to “young economists, entrepreneurs and business men and women all over the world”, inviting them to “re-animate” the economy – in the literal sense of giving it back a soul – to be among those who respond to the cry of the poor of the earth and do not look the other way. “This is why I would like to meet you in Assisi,” wrote the Holy Father, ”to work together to promote, through a common “pact”, a process of global change engaging not only with those who have the gift of faith but also with all people of good will, beyond the differences of creed and nationality, united by an ideal of fraternity and attentive above all to the poor and excluded.” In a post on Facebook, Prof. Luigino Bruni, scientific director of the event, thanked the Pope for the new date. “We will be more prepared,” he said. “Young people from all over the world are responding with a great sense of responsibility and even more commitment. The setback will be a blessing. We must be realistic dreamers, and therefore live through the anxieties and crises of our time. We must do everything possible not to ‘ lose anyone” of the 2000 young people who have already been selected, many of whom have already bought air tickets. I was impressed that none of the young people have complained about the postponement – they just want to continue the race. We have already held 230 “Towards Assisi” events and these extra eight months will allow us to hold another three hundred.”
Stefania Tanesini
Mar 2, 2020 | Non categorizzato
After twelve years of presidency, Prof. Piero Coda, who has led the Sophia University Institute since its foundation, passes the baton to Prof. Giuseppe Argiolas, Professor of Management at the same Institute. This is the first change of guard for the Sophia University Institute (I.U.S.), which also coincides with the attribution by the Congregation for Catholic Education of the title of “Rector” to the former Dean of the Institute. Therefore, Prof. Giuseppe Argiolas is the new Rector of Sophia. He succeeds Prof. Piero Coda who , since its foundation, has guided the Institute with wisdom and a spirit of prophecy. The election by the Academic Council of the Institute, took place on January 9th. On February 20th , 2020, the Congregation for Catholic Education, wrote a letter, appointing Prof. Giuseppe Argiolas Rector of the Sophia University Institute for a four-year term. This morning, in the Aula Magna of the Sophia University Institute, the ceremony for the inauguration of the new Rector was held. Argiolas was born in Cagliari in 1969. He has been a permanent lecturer at the I. U. Sophia since 2016, when he left his post at the University of Cagliari to dedicate himself to developing the degree course in Management and to directing the Institute’s Doctoral School. His research activity is mainly focused on topics of Corporate Social Responsibility and Organizational and Mission-Driven Business Management (see Biography). “First of all, I want to express my deep admiration for Prof. Piero Coda and a big thank you for what he has done so far – commented Prof. Argiolas – for my part, I will try to do my best to carry out the task entrusted to me, interpreting this responsibility as a service of unity”. He went on to say: “The founding phase ends and that of consolidation and development begins with the generational transition. But the charismatic dimension must remain. Sophia will continue to carry out, with creative fidelity, the mission for which it was founded by Chiara Lubich, travelling together with many companions – as Pope Francis told us – with always new “joy, vision and decision the journey just begun”. Professor Piero Coda, who leaves after twelve years of presidency, adds: “I am happy with this new stage in Sophia’s journey which begins under the expert and inspired guidance of Giuseppe Argiolas, the fruit of constant and consolidated maturation at all levels. The appointment no longer as Dean but Rector by the Congregation for Catholic Education comes unexpectedly and is welcome as a seal and further impetus. The occasion is propitious to renew with enthusiasm and joy with the Rector and with the whole academic community that pact of unity that qualifies the spirit that animates us and which is relaunched today with vigour by Pope Francis’ Global Compact on Education”. Maria Voce, Vice Grand Chancellor of the Institute and President of the Focolare Movement, expressed her wish : “I am happy to renew my congratulations to Prof. Giuseppe Argiolas, the new Rector of the Sophia University Institute. His election undoubtedly marks a change of generation and of academic scope compared to the outgoing president. I am sure that Prof. Argiolas will bring you the gift of his personal characteristics, remaining faithful to the charismatic origin of the culture of unity and updating it to respond in the best possible way to the questions of the present time”. Source: Ufficio Stampa Istituto Universitario Sophia
Feb 29, 2020 | Non categorizzato
The “Chiara Lubich City World” exhibition has been inaugurated in the Holy City, the first of the exhibitions outside Italy to be opened. It includes a section dedicated to Chiara Lubich’s visit to the Holy Land in 1956. “I didn’t think Jerusalem and its Holy Sites would affect my soul like that (…) every stone said a word, much more than a word, so that, in the end, my soul was all bathed and entirely filled with the presence of Jesus” . Chiara Lubich’s diary expressed her profound experience during the only journey she made to Jerusalem and the Holy Land, in 1956. Several black and white photographs and a video journal recall that journey, but the greatest testimony is the active presence of the community of the Focolare Movement in this city, which on February 29th, 2020, inaugurated the “Chiara Lubich City World” exhibition housed in the Curia of the Custody of the Holy Land. The exhibition is open until March 14th, 2020. The exhibition reproduces the one currently open to the public at The Tunnels Gallery at Piedicastello in Trent (Italy), curated by the Chiara Lubich Centre in collaboration with the Trentino Historical Museum Foundation. It is the first of the international sections of the Chiara Lubich City World exhibition, which will also be held in Mexico City, Sydney, Mumbai, San Paolo, Algiers and Nairobi in the year dedicated to the centenary of Chiara Lubich’s birth. Jerusalem’s primacy is symbolic as the city-cradle of the three great monotheistic religions, and home to many peoples. The community of the Focolare Movement has been here since 1977 with the mandate to contribute to the fulfilment of the unity for which, in this very land, Jesus prayed to the Father. The Jerusalem exhibition reflects the original while being someone reduced and adapted. It conveys significant moments in the life of the founder of the Focolare Movement, her thought and work, through documents, handwritten texts and photographic material. But this edition has its own specific characteristics, available only to those who visit it here: a section dedicated to the relationship between the founder of the Focolare Movement and Jerusalem, as Claudio Maina, jointly responsible for the Focolare Movement in the Holy Land, explained. “We wanted to bring this exhibition to Jerusalem to make Chiara’s life, spirituality and work better known, but also to bear witness to her relationship with this city. Actually, Chiara only came to Jerusalem once, just for a few days. But from that visit a story began that continues today. Indeed, here in the Holy Land, there are people who have welcomed Chiara’s spirituality and are living it”. Part of the exhibition is dedicated to Chiara’s great dream for this city so deeply marked by divisions and historical wounds: to create a centre of spirituality, study, dialogue and formation to unity. “It’s a dream, an intuition that gradually took shape – said Terese Soudah – in the project for the International Centre for Unity and Peace, a project that we have been working on for years and that, despite many difficulties, is progressing and we hope to be able to conclude soon”. Dignitaries attending the inauguration included the Nuncio and Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, the representative of the Latin Patriarchate, Father Stéphane Milovitch, director of the Cultural Heritage Office of the Custody of the Holy Land, as well as Christian, Jewish and Muslim friends, who make up the Focolare family in the Holy Land. Due to the Coronavirus emergency, the Italian delegation was unable to attend, but sent video contributions. In this way, the President of the Autonomous Province of Trent, Maurizio Fugatti, wished every success to the exhibition; to bring to the world the message that Chiara Lubich gave to the Trentino Region and to Italy. The Custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton, expressed his hope that, through this exhibition, Chiara’s spirituality would remind this troubled land of the value of unity, the fruit of Jesus’ prayer, which is still so relevant today. In a video-message, Anna Maria Rossi and Giuliano Ruzzier, curators of the exhibition in Trent, along with Maurizio Gentilini, presented the exhibition itinerary: “We created a project that isn’t limited to the city of Trent, but, as happened in Chiara’s life, can reach the ends of the earth, encompassing all five continents”. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the Nuncio, Archbishop Girelli, recalled the extreme relevance of Chiara’s message: “Here in Jerusalem, we could invert the words of the exhibition’s title and call it: “Chiara Lubich World City”, because this exhibition has come from the world to the city par excellence, the Holy City, the city of unity, of fraternity, of dialogue among religions and among peoples”.
By Stefania Tanesini
Jan 14, 2020 | Non categorizzato
News has spread worldwide of the eruption of the Taal volcano, which began on January 12, just a few kilometers away from the Focolare Mariapolis Pace in Tagaytay on the Philippine island of Luzon. Thanks to social media photos of the houses and streets covered with ash and mud have reached everywhere, as well as first-hand accounts of the many who in these days are leaving the tourist region of Tagaytay, about 60 Km from the capital Manila. The Philippine authorities have called for the total evacuation of about 500,000 people following the alert issued by the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Philippines (PHILVOLCS). An explosive eruption is feared. “It’s like walking through a ghost town – comments a girl on Facebook, describing Tagaytay, her city: everything is one colour: grey; there is no electricity or water and earthquake tremors are frequent”. Mariapolis Pace of the Focolare Movement is about 30 km from the Taal volcano ; it was inaugurated in 1982 with a distinct role in dialogue between people of different religions and this morning we reached Ding Dalisay and Chun Boc Tay, responsible for the Focolare Movement in the Philippines, to get news about its inhabitants; they assured us that the evacuation of its inhabitants has almost been completed. “Almost all the focolarine have left; the priests and seminarians have been transferred to the San Carlos Seminary and the 7 Gen – the Focolare youth – are now in Manila. Some of the focolarini are with their families and while others have remained in their respective focolares, our families are quite well and some have moved. We are distributing food and water for the needy and we are making arrangements to house displaced people if necessary. It is difficult to communicate because we cannot recharge our mobile phones and we cannot use computers. Yesterday we celebrated mass and dined together by candlelight. We try to merit the presence of Jesus in our midst”. Ding then recounts the extraordinary resilience of the Filipino people, visible in normal gestures that become heroic in extreme situations like this: “It is incredible the creativity of the poorest people who, even though they have nothing, invent unexpected resources at the service of those who need them more than they do. We have seen a disabled man who has put a table at the side of the road to hand out soot masks for free; or the owner of a small restaurant who has displayed a sign that says: ‘Those who need a meal can enter without paying’; or a gentleman who offers to clean the ashes from every car that’s moving in the area with his water pump”. The Focolare community in and around Tagaytay thanks everyone in the world for their prayers, messages and for the many phone calls. We continue to follow the situation and to give news about it especially through the social networks of the Focolare Movement.
Stefania Tanesini
Oct 15, 2019 | Non categorizzato
On 10 November, the diocesan phase of the process of beatification of the founder of the Focolare Movement will end in Frascati (Italy). It will continue in the Vatican, at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The Diocesan phase of the cause of beatification and canonisation of Chiara Lubich will end at St Peter’s Cathedral, Frascati, at 4.30 pm on Sunday 10th November, with the holding of the last session of the Diocesan Inquiry presided over by the Bishop of Frascati, Most Rev. Raffaello Martinelli. With the definitive closure of this phase, all the documents of the inquiry will be sealed and sent to the Vatican. This follows almost five years of investigations and research into Chiara Lubich’s life, virtues, reputation for holiness and signs thereof. After this stage, the study of the documents will continue at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The process initiating the cause started on 7th December 2013 – five years after Chiara Lubich’s death – with the presentation of the official request to the Bishop of Frascati by the Focolare Movement. On 27th January 2015, Bishop Martinelli responded to the request by solemnly opening the cause. On that occasion Pope Francis sent a message in which he recalled the shining example of life of the founder of the Focolare Movement to those who “preserve her precious spiritual heritage.” He also urged the Focolare “to make known to the people of God the life and works of the one who, by accepting the invitation of the Lord, lit up for the Church a new light on the path to unity.”
Focolare Movement Communications Office
