To all those who belong to the Focolare Movement in the world
We, the leadership of the Focolare Movement, gathered in Rome, representing those who belong to the Movement in 140 countries where it is present, express how much we are suffering at the continuing escalation of armed conflicts that are devastating the Middle East and many other parts of the world.
We express our firm and unwavering closeness to the people and nations who are suffering, and we condemn all forms of violence, injustice and oppression.
Aware that peace begins with our daily actions, we would like to invite everyone to embrace and endorse the following commitments with their lives:
• to be ‘artisans of peace’, prepared to overcome ideologies and divisions,
• to promote and support networks of solidarity in order to provide material, psychological and spiritual support to the victims of all wars,
• to ensure that each of our communities becomes a ‘home of peace’, where we learn to defuse hostility through dialogue and mutual understanding, where justice is practised and forgiveness is fostered,
• to promote educational programmes to develop a culture of peace, inclusion and non-violence, especially among the new generations,
• to encourage all local and global initiatives that generate encounters and interreligious and intercultural dialogue, which are fundamental for reconciliation.
We commit ourselves to ensure that forgiveness, dialogue and fraternity are not mere words but become real pathways that open up the future and prevent violence from having the last word.
May an unceasing and confident prayer rise from every corner of the earth to the God of peace, so that he may enlighten the hearts of those who have the power to act so as to put an end to every conflict.
“We went to the Pope this morning to share with him the life of the Movement and to listen to what he had to say to us,” said Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán, President and Co-President of the Focolare Movement at the end of a private audience with Pope Leo XIV. “It was a meaningful, personal and fraternal meeting. He was interested to hear about our work for peace, for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, for the dialogue with cultures and, especially, for communion between ecclesial movements. He encouraged us to continue spreading the charism throughout the world.” “At the end,” says Margaret Karram, “I asked him if we could bring his blessing to all those belonging to the Movement. ‘Certainly!’ he replied.” If you would like to follow Margaret and Jesús’s “live coverage” of this event, tune in tomorrow at 6 p.m. Italian time for the Link-up (the worldwide video conference call).
From October 1–3, 2025, Castel Gandolfo (Italy) will host the international conference “Raising Hope for Climate Justice”, a historic gathering to mark the tenth anniversary of the Laudato Si’ encyclical and to foster a global response to the climate and ecological crisis from the perspectives of faith, politics, and civil society.
The event will feature His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, alongside prominent leaders such as Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with bishops, international agency officials, indigenous leaders, climate and biodiversity experts, and civil society representatives. Over three days, the conference will include keynotes, panel discussions, spiritual moments, and cultural events that highlight both the progress made since Laudato Si’ and the urgent steps needed ahead of COP30 in Brazil.
“In a time marked by global challenges and deep wounds, our commitment for unity and peace cannot exclude a pursuit of climate justice that places human dignity and care for creation at its core.” This is the declaration of Margaret Karram, the President of the Focolare Movement, who is one of the event’s partners. She continues, “As Focolare Movement, we want to collaborate with everyone, in protecting and safeguarding our common home, and with a new responsibility we want to live closeness to the poor and solidarity among the generations for a sustainable future.”
The event will be held in person at Castel Gandolfo and streamed live, enabling thousands of people and media outlets worldwide to follow the main messages and join the global conversation.
The General Assembly of the Work of Mary, the Focolare Movement, takes place every five years.
The upcoming one will take place from the 1st to the 21st of March 2026.
It is an opportunity to respond to the vocation of the Focolare Movement: to live for unity. This is one of the most important events: during the Assembly the new governing body of the Focolare Movement will be elected and the work done will provide an opportunity to talk about ideas, proposals and motions that will be the guidelines for the Movement over the next five years.
The preparation process is beginning: we are all called to do our part.
Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, explains through this video message how we can prepare ourselves in a synodal way.
Here is a video with infographics to better understand what the Assembly is, how it will be carried out and how to prepare for this important appointment.
The General Assembly of the Work of Mary, the Focolare Movement, takes place every five years.
The upcoming one will take place from the 1st to the 21st of March 2026.
It is an opportunity to respond to the vocation of the Focolare Movement: to live for unity. This is one of the most important events: during the Assembly the new governing body of the Focolare Movement will be elected and the work done will provide an opportunity to talk about ideas, proposals and motions that will be the guidelines for the Movement over the next five years.
The preparation process is beginning: we are all called to do our part.
The first General Assembly of the Focolare Movement without the foundress was held in July 2008. In fact, Chiara Lubich had died a few months earlier, on the 14th of March. An air of uncertainty hung over the already emotional and question-filled atmosphere as to who should succeed Chiara in leading the Movement. It seemed obvious to think of Chiara’s first companions, now elderly, but at least some of them were still capable of leading this first post-foundation phase.
During the first session of the Assembly, there was a talk from a legal perspective on a topic relevant to the Assembly given by Carlos Clariá, an Argentinian lawyer and general councillor, and Maria Voce, for many years secretary to the central delegate Gisella Cagliari. I remember that I was sitting next to the well-known theologian Piero Coda. When they concluded their talk, I told him rather boldly: “Here is our new president”. The truth was that the way she had explained things had impressed me greatly.
Maria Voce (Emmaus) was elected on the third ballot, not without a certain “suspense”. A new stage was beginning for the Work of Mary and I, too, was elected as a councillor.
One afternoon, after the elections, as we were leaving the Mariapolis Centre in Castelgandolfo, Emmaus approached me and said more or less these words: “I thought of entrusting you with the aspect of studies and culture in the new council. You are a man of thought, and I always liked the annual reports you wrote when you were responsible for a region in Latin America.” During the following six years, my relationship with her was very simple.
At the 2014 Assembly, Emmaus was re-elected, and the participants placed their trust in me as Co-President. Since then, our relationship has strengthened enormously, without losing its simplicity. I remember that in the beginning I felt a certain apprehension at the idea of having to work side by side with a president who belonged to the generation immediately following the first one, but this feeling was short-lived. I always perceived great respect and appreciation from her, which gave me a lot of freedom. I would arrive with a bunch of new ideas, and she would support me with her wisdom and experience. In our joint presentations we would prepare the essentials together and would complement each other in a simple way. I once told her, “As opposed to what you might think, I only feel confident in expressing some creative ideas when you are by my side.” We made long and important visits to India and China, where I witnessed her ability to penetrate the most intricate situations and relate to very different key personalities.
Maria Voce, Emmaus, will go down in the history of the Focolare Movement as the first president of the post-Chiara Lubich era. If we think that when she took up her role, many of Chiara’s first companions were still alive. We can understand the “spiritual resilience” with which she carried out her work in those early years; not because they were difficult people, but simply because they were the first ones, the arms of the foundress, people who in some way had been part of the founding charism.
Emmaus will go down in the history of the Focolare Movement for having been the president of the “new set-up”, the first innovative-organisational step of the Movement in the post-Chiara era, in creative faithfulness to the charism. In her first mandate, while Chiara’s absence was felt and could have caused discouragement, Emmaus travelled the world to strengthen the members and adherents of the Focolare communities in their commitment to a more fraternal and united world – in line with the charism of the foundress. In her second mandate, she began to prepare the Movement for the inevitable “crisis” phase appearing on the horizon, which Pope Francis identified as a great opportunity. And the Argentine Pope held her in great esteem. He pointed this out to her on every occasion. This demonstrates another of her characteristics: her ecclesial spirit.
I have always admired in Emmaus her simplicity, her inner freedom, her determination and her ability to discern, in which she was greatly aided by a legal background that she made her own.
Maria Voce will go down in the history of the Movement as “Emmaus”, to evoke the centrality of Jesus in the midst of his people. This was an absolutely non-negotiable principle for her.
Thank you, Emmaus, for saying a solemn “yes” at the most difficult time in our still short history. Mary will have taken you into her arms, presented you to her Son and together they will have carried you to the bosom of the Father who was the perennial source of your inspiration.
