Father Silvano Cola (1928–2007), a priest with a background in psychology and education, spent the early days of his ministry working with children in situations of neglect and hardship at the “Città dei Ragazzi” in Turin. There, he developed an educational method based on personalised learning programmes, which was groundbreaking at the time. In 1954, at the age of 26, he met the Focolare Movement, founded by Chiara Lubich, and the charism of unity, which had a profound influence on his priestly ministry. Over the years, he focused particularly on the formation of the clergy and on spreading the charism of unity, contributing to the establishment and development of the Movement’s branch for priests. Chiara Lubich regarded him as a co-founder of this reality.
“I will never forget what happened on the day of my ordination,” recalls Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-Sik,, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, who had known Father Silvano since he was a seminarian. “When we returned to the sacristy, Father Silvano came up to me and placed a chain with a gold cross round my neck. ‘This is your Spouse,’ he said. As if to say: this is your faithful travelling companion, the one with whom to share everything and in whom, in every painful circumstance, you are to recognise the key to making your life and your ministry fruitful. ‘Live your life with him!’ A charge that has shaped my life’s journey and still guides me to this day.”
The ceremony will be presided over by Monsignor Stefano Russo, Bishop of Velletri-Segni and Frascati, and marks the official opening of the ecclesiastical process aimed at gathering testimonies and documentation on the life, virtues and reputation for holiness of Father Silvano Cola.
The following will be present: Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-Sik, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy; Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi, Archbishop Emeritus of L’Aquila and President of the Commission of Cardinals for the Supervision of the IOR; Monsignor Tommaso Caputo, Archbishop-Prelate of Pompeii; Monsignor Vincenzo Zani, Archbishop, Archivist and Librarian Emeritus of the Holy Roman Church; Monsignor Sandro Salvucci, Archbishop of Pesaro and Urbino-Urbania-Sant’Angelo in Vado; Monsignor Michele Fusco, Bishop of Sulmona-Valva; Monsignor Gianfranco De Luca, Bishop Emeritus of Termoli-Larino; Margaret Karram and Roberto Almada, President and Co-President of the Focolare Movement… family members…
To mark the occasion, the book “Rendere luminosa la notte. Biografia di Silvano Cola. Seconda parte (1967–2007)” [Lighting Up the Night: A Biography of Silvano Cola. Part Two (1967–2007)] by Fernando Muraca (Città Nuova publishing house) will be released.
Programme
3.30 pm: Eucharistic Celebration. 4.30 pm: Presentation of the Servant of God Father Silvano Cola. This will be followed by the opening of the Diocesan Inquiry – First session.
Biography of Father Silvano Cola
Father Silvano Cola was born in Camerino, in the Marche region of Italy, on the 22nd of January 1928. A few months later, his family moved to Lanzo Torinese in Piedmont, at the foot of the Graian Alps. The faith instilled in him by his mother, and with the support of the parish priest, led him to enter the minor seminary in Giaveno (TO) in October 1937, at just nine years of age.
His formative years leading up to his ordination as a priest were marked by the difficult period of the Second World War. At the age of 22, he was ordained a priest on the 27th of June 1950, thanks to a special dispensation, as he had not yet reached the minimum age required by church regulations to become a priest.
His desire to remain true to the Gospel led him to choose to devote himself to the Città dei Ragazzi, founded by Father Giovanni Battista Arbinolo, and there, amidst the uncertainties of a project still in its early stages, he devised a groundbreaking educational system for children who had been abandoned or were facing hardship.
This experience caused a stir both in ecclesiastical circles and in secular society, and the Piedmontese Education Authority asked him to give lectures to teachers in training.
Despite the fruits of his educational efforts – which led him to be presented to the parishioners of the parish where he became an assistant parish priest as a “new Don Bosco” – he was put to the test by a profound crisis of faith, during which he even considered leaving the priesthood.
It was during this same period that he met some of the first focolarine in Turin – consecrated laywomen belonging to the Focolare Movement, founded by Chiara Lubich. Their witness to a life lived according to the Gospel helped him to rediscover his faith and the meaning of his priestly vocation.
His encounter with the charism of unity had a profound impact on his ministry. Over the years, he contributed to the establishment and development of the Priests Movement, of which he was a co-founder. He dedicated himself to the formation and accompaniment of priests, promoting a life of communion and exploring, in the light of the Second Vatican Council, the relationship between the priestly ministry and the spirituality of unity. He died on the 17th of February 2007 after a life of devoted service to the Church.
Father Silvano was a steadfast guide to many people – including priests, deacons, consecrated persons and laypeople – helping them to love the Church and the people of God with a Marian spirit and guiding them towards a sincere and radical choice of God, such as the one that had shaped his own life.
Assisi (Italy) is a city of peace.Eight hundred years after the death of St Francis, it still retains the charm of its narrow streets and its layout, so much so that you almost expect the “Poverello” to appear around the corner.His presence, his outpouring of love for the poor and for his neighbour, for those who are different, is so strong that it makes this Umbrian city a centre of vibrant spirituality.
Three days bathed in a gentle autumn sun transformed Assisi into the capital of interreligious dialogue, united in prayer for peace. As early as Sunday 25th, it was already possible to hear countless languages and see the diversity of colours and clothes worn by the representatives of the religions who had arrived for these days. 5,000 people attended the various thematic forums held in different venues around the city.
Margaret Karram and Roberto Almada, President and Co-President of the Focolare Movement, together with a delegation, took part in the days of this Meeting, which celebrated the 40th anniversary of Interreligious Prayer in the Spirit of Assisi, initiated by John Paul II.
On 26th October, Margaret spoke at the “Mediterranean: Sea of Dialogue” Forum. “St Francis did not accept the view that talking to those who were seen as enemies meant betraying one’s own side,” she commented. “Today, ‘dialogue’ may seem like a fragile term, but it is precisely when it seems impossible that it becomes even more necessary to communicate the good that already exists.”
On the morning of 27th October, in the Sala Cimabue at Colle del Paradiso, where the Franciscan Basilica complex is located, the Forum with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople was the focus of the participants’ attention. “The Church that proclaims the Resurrection must at the same time proclaim peace,” said Bartholomew I. This reflection was also confirmed by the presence, of numerous representatives of the Christian Churches, in the audience, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, the Patriarch of the Assyrian Church, Mar Awa III, the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, Sahak II, the Bishop of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino and Foligno, Felice Accrocca, and the Metropolitan of Chalcedon, Emmanuel, together with the President of the Focolare Movement, Margaret Karram. It was a large, significant presence, which restored the very meaning of the encounter: different Churches and traditions coming together to recognise each other as brothers and sisters and to bear witness to the possibility of dialogue.
Then, in the afternoon, there were moving moments of prayer for peace in the presence of numerous leaders from various religions, and the closing ceremony held in the square of the Lower Basilica: “There is no holy war, only peace is holy”, said Pope Leo XIV in a video message sent for the occasion. As the sun set peacefully, the lighting of the torches gave everyone present the certainty that peace is indeed possible.
Coming from as many as 40 different countries, the participants included around ninety bishops and some cardinals. They shared an experience of true fraternal communion, made all the more special by an audience with Pope Leo XIV on the 9th of September. Margaret Karram and Roberto Almada, President and Co-President of the Focolare Movement, were also present at certain points during the meeting. These meetings 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.
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.”
“This initiative truly touches my heart.” Margaret Karram returns to the Holy City, where she lived for 24 years, to take part in the inauguration of the ‘Within Your Gates’ Forum, organised by Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa and the University of Notre Dame. The forum aims to be an open space for religious leaders, academics, and civic actors across different communities, to meet and work together. The objective is ambitious and necessary: to restore Jerusalem’s universal mission as a city of reconciliation and peace for all humanity.
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To watch the full recording of the inauguration of the ‘Within Your Gates’ Forum, organised by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and developed in collaboration with the University of Notre Dame’s academic centre in Jerusalem, click here
