Already well-publicised and being experienced around the world by many Catholics is the Jubilee Year which this 2025 has ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ as its theme. Millions of people will visit Rome or the various jubilee churches in dioceses around the world, and experience the grace of God’s mercy by praying for forgiveness, resolving to convert one’s life and passing through the holy door, which symbolically reminds us that Christ is “the door”. Why “Pilgrims of hope”? Because we are called to hope.
Less well-known is the fact that 2025 marks two other important anniversaries of great ecumenical significance – the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and the 60th anniversary of the abolition of the mutual excommunications between the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople.
Why is it so important to celebrate an ecclesial meeting that took place 1700 years ago? And why have Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I and other leaders of various Churches chosen to travel to Nicaea in Turkey on 24 May 2025 for a joint commemoration? Every Sunday, Christians from all the different Churches profess the same faith affirmed at that Council. It was precisely at Nicaea, therefore, that the basis of our faith was sealed, God – One and Triune, Jesus Christ – true Man and true God. Knowing that the churches have this basis in common means that praying for unity is both a prayer to achieve it and a celebration of thanksgiving for the unity already exists.
The Council of Nicaea had also set a date for celebrating Easter but, because of the change of calendar in the West that Pope Gregory XIII introduced, the date of this feast often did not coincide for the Eastern and Western Churches. This year, by a lucky coincidence, the dates do coincide. Easter will fall on 20 April 2025 for everyone. Many Christians around the world, including Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew, are promoting the creation of a common calendar that will allow this feast to always coincide with the centre of the Christian faith.
The Focolare Movement is taking the opportunity to celebrate these anniversaries with an international ecumenical conference entitled “Called to hope – key players of dialogue”. In these times of division and great challenges, we are called as Christians to give witness together to the hope that the Gospel brings and to be key players of dialogue and unity, committed to living for peace, building fraternity and spreading hope. Round tables, interviews and testimonies are intended to offer method and spirituality to the dialogue together with examples of good practice and ecumenical pathways that already exist.
The city of Goma, capital of the North Kivu region (Democratic Republic of Congo), was attacked and is now controlled by the armed rebel group M23. Conflicts between Congolese government forces and the M23 militia intensified after the killing of General Peter Cirimwami, governor of North Kivu province on the 25th of January 2025.
The Focolare Movement has been present in Goma since 1982 with a very active community which provides aid to people in need and has numerous initiatives serving the poor and refugees. A women’s focolare opened in 2019. Since 2020, a Social Centre has been built to provide basic necessities and shelter, thanks to the help of various organisations and people of goodwill. At the same time, career guidance and training courses have been set up to offer dignity and the means of survival to refugees, with particular attention to single women with children. Many people have thus been helped and, among them, are those who have recently arrived at a refugee camp near the “Louis Quintard Centre / Focolare”. Since 2023, thanks to the support of AMU, a micro-credit support project has been set up and, since the riots intensified last February, AMU has also supported the local community of the Movement to carry out emergency actions there, in particular by providing drinking water and hygiene kits to the many displaced people in the city’s refugee camps.
Tension in the region is very high and there is a growing apprehension about what may happen in the coming days with the possibility of an escalation of the conflict. This could have tragic consequences for a city and a population that are already living in difficult situations due to conflicts that have been ongoing for more than thirty years.
That is why we want to invite everyone to strengthen their prayers by joining in the “Time out”, a minute’s silence and prayer for peace that we offer every day at 12 noon local time, as well as to support all actions for peace and to encourage diplomatic actions that seek an end to all conflicts that are still taking place in the world.
Azione per un Mondo Unito ETS (AMU) IBAN: IT 58 S 05018 03200 000011204344 at Banca Popolare Etica Codice SWIFT/BIC: ETICIT22XXX
Azione per Famiglie Nuove ETS | Banca Etica – filiale 1 di Roma – Agenzia n. 0 | Codice IBAN: IT 92 J 05018 03200 000016978561 | BIC/SWIFT: ETICIT22XXX
Causale: Emergenza Goma
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The President and Co-president of the Focolare Movement spent a month in Brazil to meet the local communities and live the experience of the Genfest, a worldwide event promoted by the young people of the Movement. Care, horizontal solidarity, believing in it: these are the 3 words that sum up the powerful experience lived during July 2024.
On July 16th, 1949, Chiara Lubich and Igino Giordani made a “Pact of Unity.” It was a spiritual experience that heralded in a period of light and special union with God.
It had an effect on the life of the first Focolare community back then, but also impacted the history of the Movement together with its commitment to working toward a more fraternal and united world.
Seventy-five years after that day, here is a brief look at what that Pact meant then, and what it can mean today as we continue to live by it.
