“I think that, after Don Silvano Cola, Don Pepe, was the most charismatic Focolare priest I have ever known,” remarked a priest from Italy upon hearing the news of the death of Don Enrico Pepe on 2nd March, 2025 at the Focolare Priest’s Centre in Grottaferrata (Rome). “He was a person with a pure gaze. He saw people in truth and also in mercy”, said another from the USA. Cardinal João Braz De Aviz, emeritus Prefect of the Dicastery for Consecrated Life, who presided at the funeral, said in the homily: “I thank the Lord for the care he has had for us priests, helping many not to lose the gift of the Christian life and the ministerial priesthood, because we were strengthened by the continuous search for unity among ourselves, with the Church and with the Work of Mary”.
But who was Don Enrico Pepe? He shared a lot about himself in the book, An Adventure in Unity (CNx 2018).
Enrico was born on 15th November 1932 in Cortino (Teramo, Italy), the first of nine brothers and sisters. Despite the shadows of war, he enjoyed a happy childhood. Late in life, he would gladly return to those places, also to reconnect with the warmth of his loved ones: the Pepe “tribe”, now numbering 76 nieces, nephews and great nephews and nieces.
During his secondary school years, Enrico felt called to the priesthood and entered the seminary. He experienced a moment of doubt when a young woman was affectionate towards him, but precisely in that circumstance, he renewed his choice with even greater awareness.
He was ordained a priest in 1956 and in 1958 the Bishop sent him to Cerchiara, a town near the Gran Sasso, divided by two political factions that also affected the parish. Don Enrico, with his evangelical “cunning”, manages to carve out his path and the situation soon calmed down.
In 1963 he met the Focolare Movement. Together with Don Annibale Ferrari, he travelled every fortnight from Teramo to Rome to meet Don Silvano Cola at the first Priests’ focolare. A year later he was offered the opportunity to move to Palmares in the North East of Brazil, where Bishop Dom Acacio Rodrigues had turned to the Focolare Movement, due to the serious shortage of priests. In 1965 Don Pepe became the parish priest in Ribeirão, in an area of sugar cane monoculture with burning social and moral problems. He responded with a pastoral approach enlightened by the Second Vatican Council and by his own common sense. Over the years, a Priests’ focolare was born, a community in which Dom Acacio frequently participated.
With Chiara Lubich, Brazil, 1965.With her sister Iole, July 2024.With Margaret Karram, 2022.
After a few months back in his homeland, in 1969 he left again for Brazil, this time to devote himself entirely to the Movement and to develop the spirit of unity among priests. In 1972 he relocated for this purpose to the Mariapolis Araceli, the little town of the Focolare near Sao Paulo. Years later, Don Pepe wrote to Pope Francis, “At that time, the Church in Brazil was going through a tremendous crisis, especially among the clergy. Together with the focolarini, I began to offer the spirituality of unity to diocesan and religious priests and seminarians. In this way, a new and joyful life was awakened in many dioceses and religious congregations.” This led to an unexpected result: “In the early 1980s, the Holy See began to appoint some priests who lived this spirituality as bishops”.
In 1984, Don Pepe was called to the Priests’ Focolare Centre in Grottaferrata (Rome), to look after, together with Don Silvano Cola, the thousands of priests who were living the spirituality of unity and the life flourishing in parishes around the world. In his spare time, he compiled the lives of Martyrs and Saints. This led to a book by the publisher Città Nuova that was so well received that he was asked to expand it to three volumes.
In 2001, the case of the Zambian Archbishop Milingo broke out. When he repented, the Holy See sought someone to guide him through a process of renewal and turned to the Focolare Movement. Don Pepe was assigned this task. Years later, Cardinal Bertone, then Secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote to Don Pepe: “We met at a special moment in the life of the Church in Rome, without ever having met in person, but we sensed a convergence of ideals, of mission and of transmitting God’s merciful love, which sealed our relationships.”
In his later years, he faced significant health challenges. Don Pepe commented “In BrazilI passed through many airports and now I often see myself on the runway, ready for the final flight, the most beautiful one, because it will bring us to the Beyond”.
The African continent is made up of 54 States. It is crossed by the Equator and the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, so much of the territory is located in the torrid zone and is characterized by deserts, savannahs and rainforests. It is the continent with the largest area affected by arid and warm climate. Thirty million km² with about one thousand four hundred million inhabitants.
Jesús Morán, Co-President of the Focolare Movement, accompanied by some members of the International Centre, visited some countries in the east and west of the continent from 13th January-9th February 2025. Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, joined live via video link on nine occasions, especially for the days dedicated to meetings with local communities.
Jesús Morán said, “It is a trip we will remember for a long time.” Margaret Karram added, “This journey which many have called ‘historic’ has remained in our hearts“. Even though I was connected by video, I can still see their faces, their smiles and their commitment. I was deeply moved by the testimony of the communities of the Movement which live the Gospel radically. I think we have a lot to learn from them. ”
The trip included stops in Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi but many other people from various other African countries participated in many of the meetings.
It is impossible to summarize the intensity and richness of life found in each community. You can see here a part of the Link Up Conference Call of 15th March 2025 which included a report on this journey which was truly an immersion in the life and culture of the African continent.
The ecumenical conference Called to hope – Key players of dialogue, will take place from the 26th to the 29th of March 2025 at the Mariapolis Centre of Castel Gandolfo (Italy). It is promoted by “Centro Uno”, the Focolare Movement’s international secretariat for Christian unity. There will be more than 250 faithful of 20 Christian Churches participating in person, coming from over 40 countries of 4 continents, including the Philippines, Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Ireland, Venezuela, United States. There will be 15 translations, and the conference will also be broadcast via streaming.
Thursday, the 27th of March, the group will go to Rome to visit the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls (at 4:00pm). An ecumenical prayer of reconciliation and for peace open to all is planned.
The conference programme will also focus on the three anniversaries that occur this year: in the context of the Jubilee Year “Pilgrims of Hope” of the Catholic Church, we will commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the coincidence of the date of the celebration of Easter for all Churches, and the 60th anniversary of the abolition of mutual excommunications between the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople.
Among the ecumenical personalities present who will speak: Msgr. Andrea Palmieri, Undersecretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, Msgr. Derio Olivero, President of the Episcopal Commission for ecumenism and dialogue of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, Prof. Dr. Martin Illert, representative of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Archbishop Khajag Barsamian representative of the Armenian Apostolic Church to the Holy See, Dr. Natasha Klukach, Director of Research and Operations of the Global Christian Forum, Dr. William Wilson, President of the Pentecostal World Fellowship (via video message), Dr. Elisabeth Newman of the Baptist World Alliance, Dr. Margaret Karram and Dr. Jesús Morán, President and Co-president of the Focolare Movement.
Why is it urgent to work for ecumenism?
In this time of divisions and great challenges – wars, the increase in refugees around the world, unequal distribution of wealth, almost irreversible damage to the earth’s ecosystem – as Christians, we are called together to bear witness to the hope of the Gospel and to be protagonists of dialogue and unity, committing ourselves to live together for peace, to build fraternity, to spread hope. Christian unity is instrumental in bringing peace wherever it is lacking.
An exhibition dedicated to Chiara Lubich (1920-2008), witness and inspirer of the universal value of fraternity. A stop for those visiting Rome in this Jubilee year; at the centre of the exhibition is the theme of the “city”, as a privileged place for building fraternal relationships, open to the world. The multimedia exhibition has been produced by the Chiara Lubich Centre and the Historical Museum Foundation of Trentino.
On Saturday, 15th March, 2025, starting at 6:30 PM, the inaugural event of the exhibition will take place with an artistic moment inspired by the fiction film “Chiara Lubich – Love Conquers All” (directed by Giacomo Campiotti). Pianist Carmine Padula will perform the pieces he composed for the film’s soundtrack. This will be followed by theatrical readings of some of Chiara Lubich’s texts and then a dialogue on some extracts of the film, with Saverio d’Ercole, creative producer of Eliseo Entertainment.
On the afternoon of Sunday, 16th March, 2025, there will be a moment dedicated to young people, based on Chiara Lubich’s text from October 1949, “The Resurrection of Rome.” This will be followed by a piano concert offered by Paolo Vergari.
From 15th March, 2025 until 31st January, 2026, the exhibition will be open from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, on Tuesday to Sunday. Bookings can be made up to 8:00 PM at the Focolare Meeting Point (Via del Carmine, 3 – Rome).
Young guides will be available upon request to accompany visitors.
The President of the Focolare Movement, Margaret Karram, sent a message to Pope Francis assuring him of her affectionate closeness and fervent prayer.
She wrote, “May Mary envelop you with her maternal love and all the tenderness that you have always recommended that we should have for the good of every person next to us and every nation.”
She added, “I send you the embrace of everyone in the worldwide Focolare Movement who is praying and constantly offering up everything for you.We are infinitely grateful for your life completely given to God and given for the good of humanity.”
