Forty-five participants from nine European countries met from 30th January-1 February in the ecumenical “little town” of the Focolare in Ottmaring, near Munich, to reflect on how to rediscover a passion for Europe and a form of dialogue capable of uniting. Focolarini and members of the Fraternity of community life that has its origins in the evangelical world, live together in the little town founded by Chiara Lubich in 1968.
Jesús Morán, Co-President of Focolare, began by emphasizing that the purpose of this European Conference was to reflect on Europe in the light of the charism of unity, from which the Ottmaring Focolare Cultura has also emerged. It is a group of Focolare members from several European countries who explore dialogue between cultures. “However, we are not meeting – Moran stressed – to draw up an operational programme: concrete actions already exist, such as the experience of Together for Europe, educational activities for young people and politicians in Brussels and Dialop, the dialogue with left-wing politicians. Nor is there any need to draft a manifesto of intent. Rather, we are here to nurture a passion for Europe, convinced that the charism of unity is a gift for Europe, just as Europe is a gift for the charism”. At the heart of the proposed method was mutual listening: “Offering hospitality to the Spirit and to each other”, allowing dialogue to be born from relationships.
Many reflections addressed the rift between Western and Eastern Europe. Peter Forst quoted a young woman from Eastern Europe who said, “We no longer love each other”. This seemed to sum up the tension that runs through the continent today and raises a pressing question: does Western Europe really listen to the voice of the East? Does it read its authors? Does it understand its wounds?
Anja Lupfer insisted on the method of creative listening: not looking for immediate answers but suspending prejudices in order to encounter others. “We’re not seeking dialogue as an objective”, she underlined, “we are seeking the other”. It was an invitation to a non-competitive understanding, capable of descending “into the depths of the other”, overcoming the illusion of a neutral cultural space. Even within the Focolare, differences emerge that call for shared narratives and a more sincere exchange.
Klemens Leutgöb recalled the enthusiasm of the 1990s after the fall of the Berlin Wall and warned that the fracture has reappeared. To overcome it, divisive issues, ranging from gender issues to nuclear energy, must be faced rather than avoided. Diversity becomes a resource only when we engage in it together. Forst added an episode: during a trip to Eastern Europe in 2023, many people spoke only of the past, accusing the West of having eroded values such as family and faith. He commented, “The present can divide but our pact of unity must be stronger. The evaluation of events may differ, but in her experience known as Paradise ’49, Chiara Lubich speaks of truth that embraces contradictions in unity saying, “When we are united and He is present, we are no longer two but one. What I say is not said by me alone but by me, Jesus and you in me. And when you speak it is not you alone, but you, Jesus and me in you.””
Francisco Canzani asked a recurring question: “If you love me, why don’t you know my pain?” Often there is not enough time or courage to really listen. Dialogue comes from concrete life, not from programmes. He concluded with a Jewish story: two brothers secretly carried wheat to each other at night, taking it from their own barns. They didn’t understand why the level of their stores always remained the same. One night they met, understood and embraced. On that very place, Solomon’s Temple would be built: a perfect image of fraternity.
A concrete example of this spirit is the “European Project” Focolare in Brussels, described by Luca Fiorani, Letizia Bakacsi and Maria Rosa Logozzo: a former pizzeria was transformed into a house of dialogue between parliamentarians, refugees, officials and young people, lived quietly, away from social media and in the simplicity of encounter. The initiative is also made possible by the structured dialogue provided for by the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.
The multipolar dialogue group brought strong testimonies from the wounds of the East. Palko Tóth recalled the young Russian soldiers buried in Budapest: “They are our children too.” Many in Eastern Europe are disillusioned with the West. New dialogue initiatives will emerge to heal these wounds, such as the international meeting in Transylvania on relational identities.
Franz Kronreif and Luisa Sello presented Dialop, a path of dialogue between the European Left and the Catholic world, also inspired by “Paradise ’49”. The project, encouraged by Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, works on major ethical issues with the logic of “differentiated consent and qualified dissent”.
Many testimonies enriched the meeting: a Russian couple divided by opposing narratives about the war in Ukraine; a South Tyrolean couple accustomed to living with different languages and cultures; and a Slovak priest concerned about the loss of religious sense in Western Europe.
In his concluding remarks, Morán pointed to the mystery of Jesus Forsaken as a key to European identity. He also referred to the crucifix of San Damiano, “the God who comes from Europe”. Europe has universalized the Gospel but also carries historical shadows such as colonization, wars and nihilism; it is precisely there that the charism of unity was born. He said, “It is not a matter of superiority but of safeguarding what Europe can still offer the world: above all Jesus Forsaken”.
For this we need a “daily relational mystique”, made up of dialogue, living networks and cultural and political initiatives. Everything that already exists, Together for Europe, multipolar dialogue, the Focolare Cultura, the Brussels “European Project” Focolare and Dialop, is part of a single endeavour to be safeguarded and developed. “We must move forward, keep the network alive, each with our own commitment”.
From 26th January to 1st February 2026, Rome hosted 100 young political leaders from 36 countries for the conclusion of the first year of the two-year political formation programme “One Humanity, One Planet: Synodal Leadership”—a challenge to develop a different style of governance, starting from the paradigm of fraternity.
Following an online pathway of work in 16 learning communities, they came together for a political hackathon—literally a creative and collaborative marathon—focused on what most deeply wounds the global social fabric today: corruption, inequality, widespread violence, unethical digital transition, the ecological emergency, and declining civic participation. The programme, promoted by the Political Movement for Unity and the NGO, New Humanity, together with the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, aims to restore an active role in decision-making processes, from the local to the global level, to young people. Giovanna Maroccolo – Italy (Italian)
Watch the video with interviews with young people from different countries. Turn on subtitles and then choose the language you want.
“I encourage you to work together in studying forms of participation that allow all citizens … Upon this foundation, it becomes possible to build that universal fraternity which is already taking shape among you young people, a sign of a new era.”
With these words, Pope Leo did not simply encourage the one hundred young political leaders gathered in Rome: he “recognized” their mission. He saw in them what traditional politics too often struggles to see: that the future will be born from inclusive processes, not form confrontations; from living communities, not from rigid structures; from a brotherhood that is not a naive sentiment but a concrete political category.
The one hundred from 36 countries participated in an audience with the Pope on 31st January. They were in Rome for the final week of the first year of the multi-year political school “One Humanity, One Planet”. Seven days that confirmed for them that fraternity is not an ideal: it is already a method, a lifestyle and a daily practice. They came from an online pathway of work in 16 learning communities, they came together for a political hackathon – literally a creative and collaborative marathon – dedicated to what most deeply wounds the global social fabric today: corruption, inequalities, widespread violence, unethical digital transition, the ecological emergency and declining civic participation. The programme, promoted by the Politics for Unity Movement and the NGO New Humanity with the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, aims to give young people an active role in decision-making processes, from local to global.
The Holy Father offered a vision that was as demanding as it was liberating. He asked the young people to look at the world through the lens of listening and collaboration between different cultures and faiths; to seek peace not as an abstract concept, but as a daily choice in the places where they live, study and work; to build policies capable of involving all citizens, men and women, within the institutions. He recalled that peace is a gift, a covenant and a promise all at once and that no society can call itself just if it continues to exclude the weak, ignore the poor and remain indifferent to refugees and victims of violence.
Jesús Morán – Pasquale FerraraEmilce CudaJavier Baquero – Margaret Karram
When she met the young people, the President of the Focolare, Margaret Karram spoke about a new political culture, based on fraternity, in the wake of what Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare, had taught. She encouraged them to “live” a form of leadership that places the collective “We” at the centre, that generates trust and seeks convergence in diversity. Not a method for a few, but an approach that can be exported everywhere: in institutions, in parties, in social movements and in civil society.
The testimonies of the participants powerfully confirmed this. Cristian, from Argentina, said: “It is the most important experience of universal fraternity in my life… every person, with their language, their dances and their charism, created the symphony of global harmony”. For Joanna, from Poland, resident in Italy, the experience was “a stimulus to concrete commitment”, fuelled by workshops, good practices and meetings with Italian and Korean parliamentarians. Zé Gustavo, from Brazil, spoke of an “intense and challenging experience”, capable of rekindling an adult, clear-eyed hope, born not from naivety but from the scars of lived politics. And Uziel, from Mexico, summed everything up in a simple and true phrase: “This is true globality”.
Now the school enters its second phase, involving 600 young people from the five continents to continue sharing visions, methods and actions with real impact.
For a week, Rome was a living laboratory of what politics could become again: a generative place; a training ground for fraternity; and a space where differences cease to be walls but become the raw material of the future. It was a concrete and credible testimony that another politics is not only possible, but has already begun.
A moment of sharing and exchange that traced the path of the Foundress of Focolare from Trent, her birthplace, to the Castelli Romani and to Rome, highing the fruits produced in regions and in communities.
The following took part in the event: Franco Ianeselli, Mayor of Trento; Mirko Di Bernardo, Mayor of Grottaferrata (Rome); Massimiliano Calcagni, mayor of Rocca di Papa (Rome); Francesco Rutelli, former mayor of Rome, who in 2000 presented the honorary citizenship of the capital to Chiara Lubich; Mario Bruno, former Mayor of Alghero and co-director of the Focolare’s New Humanity Movement; Giuseppe Ferrandi, Director of the Historical Museum Foundation of Trent. The exhibition, on display at the Focolare Meeting Point (3 Via del Carmine, Rome) and created by the Chiara Lubich Centre and the Historical Museum Foundation of Trent, will remain open throughout 2026.
Watch the video with interviews with the mayors present. Original in Italian. For other languages, activate the subtitles and then choose the language.
The concluding residential week of the first year of the two-year political action training programme will be held from 26th January-1st February 2026. The programme is promoted by the New Humanity NGO of the Focolare Movement in collaboration with the Pontifical Commission for Latin America
L’evento, con la metodologia dell’Hackathon, vedrà la partecipazione di 100 giovani leader dei cinque continenti, impegnati nei propri Paesi in ambito politico e sociale, di diverse culture e convinzioni politiche. Dopo mesi di intenso lavoro online, i giovani si ritroveranno a Roma in presenza per tradurre il percorso di apprendimento, che hanno condiviso da remoto, in proposte di incidenza politica: la sfida che dovranno affrontare è quella di ideare processi e strumenti idonei ad affrontare i punti di crisi che emergono nell’esercizio del potere politico, nelle relazioni e nelle istituzioni politiche.
Great attention will be paid to the participatory dimension of public policies, leading to the definition of shared pathways that will be assessed and presented during an evening open to the public, to young people and interested politicians.
“Oggi ci troviamo di fronte a problemi gravissimi – spiega Javier Baquero, giovane politico colombiano, presidente Movimento politico per l’unità/Mppu internazionale -. Ciò che va coltivata è una cultura politica che guardi all’umanità che è una e al pianeta come casa comune. A nostro parere, c’è un diverso paradigma che dobbiamo esplorare e sperimentare insieme, imparando a comporre le nostre diverse visioni a partire da alcuni valori universali”.
Argia Albanese, President of MPPU Italy agreed, “A meaningful response to the needs of our peoples cannot rely solely on the reform of institutions or from a purely managerial approach, which often seems devoid of democratic content. Our starting point must continue to be the social and community bond rooted in universal fraternity and sisterhood.”
The week concludes the interdisciplinary training focused on integral ecology, civil economy, collaborative governance and generative communication, which began in May 2025 with the support of experts from various academic institutions: Rotterdam School of Management (Netherlands), Universidade de Coimbra (Portugal), Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina), Georgetown University (Washington DC), University of the Philippines, Universidade de Ribeirão Preto (Brazil), Escuela Superior de Administración Pública Bogotá (Colombia), University of Dschang (Cameroon), Sophia University Institute (Italy).
The week in Rome includes:
Two Hackathon days, in which the participants, divided into language groups, will seek solutions to collective problems.
Dialogues with experts and policy makers to connect reflection and proposals within a broad international framework.
A public meeting to present the Hackathon outcomes and to engage with politicians active at various levels and from different perspectives.
Visits and workshop activities in Rome at research and social engagement centres (which support migrants, women’s rights, climate justice, unemployment and disarmament).
Workshops to set up the global network for the second year and its governance.
There will be a much-anticipated audience with Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday, 31st January. Representatives of the MPPU Centres who will come to Rome for the occasion will also participate and will have the opportunity to evaluate the results of the experience with the participants and to plan the next steps.
It is an intensive workshop designed to develop solutions to collective problems. The idea comes from the world of digital innovation, applying the logic of “doing together and doing it quickly” to the civic sphere.
By integrating political, administrative, economic, communication, social and technological skills, the process unfolds in several phases: analysis of problems and needs, definition of priorities and stakeholders, development of operational proposals and tools for public action.
Within the framework of the themes explored throughout the year, participants will address challenges such as corruption, oligarchic governance, media monopolies, polarization, crisis of representation and electoral abstention.
In the time available, with the support of the coaches, each group will move from problem identification to strategic proposal, building problem maps, analysing available data and designing implementable ideas. At the end, the groups will present their solutions: prototypes of intervention plans, political initiatives and cultural impact projects, participatory models and communication methods and strategies.
The added value lies not only in the ideas developed, but also in the method, which demonstrated how solutions to public problems can be co-designed with creativity and rigour, enhancing and integrating different perspectives, in the search for effective solutions to increase the quality and values of a way of living politics at the service of the unity of the human family.
From 28th-30th November, the“Restarting the economy”event will take place at the Mariapolis Centre in Castel Gandolfo (Rome, Italy), promoted by The Economy of Francis Foundation (EoF) with the support of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
It is the first time that the EoF Global Event is taking place far from its birthplace in Assisi and without the presence of Pope Francis. , President of the Foundation, views this as a positive evolution: “This is not a sign of distance, but an expansion of our mission. The spirit of Assisi is coming closer to Rome and to the Holy Father, to continue inspiring an economy committed to humanity and creation.” Msgr. Domenico Sorrentino , President of the Foundation, views this as a positive evolution: “This is not a sign of distance, but an expansion of our mission. The spirit of Assisi is coming closer to Rome and to the Holy Father, to continue inspiring an economy committed to humanity and creation.”
The EoF meeting in Assisi, September 2022
Over 600 young people, primarily women, representing 66 countries will attend and will include 80 second level students, alongside seasoned economists, philosophers, entrepreneurs, theologians, artists, and policy makers.
Is, “a sign that the commitment of young people to transform the economy is vibrant and full of potential for the future”, said prof. Luigino Bruni , Vice President of the Foundation and the original architect of the initiative. Then he explained the deeper significance of the theme: “‘Restarting the Economy’ is the EoF’s version of the Jubilee: a return to the original biblical sense with the liberation of today’s slaves (dependencies, usury, miseries), the remission of debts (touching upon the great theme of finance, both good and bad) and the restitution of land (addressing ecology, justice, and the critical challenges facing the Amazon, Africa, and our cities).”
During the event, the 2025 EoF Fraternity Report will be presented. It is the result of work carried out this year and is intended to be published annually: a measurement of the state of fraternity in the world, a concept dear to St. Francis and to Pope Francis. Paolo Santori, Chairman of the Foundation’s Scientific Committee, told us, “The report highlights how fraternity, a moral and social pillar, is also a decisive but still unmeasured economic component. Developing an innovative indicator based on international data, the study analyses the degree of fraternity within and between global economies (…) and invites us to rethink development, cooperation and collective well-being.”
The Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has accompanied the Economy of Francesco from the beginning, recognizing a strong harmony with its mission. Father Avelino Chicoma Bundo Chico, S.J., Head of Office of the Dicastery noted that, “Values such as the centrality of the person, social and ecological justice, solidarity, inclusion and cooperation represent a common ground on which a respectful accompaniment of the movement’s autonomy has been developed, all while supporting its growth and initiatives in recent years.”
Presentation of the event in the Vatican Press Room. From left: Luca Iacovone, Luigino Bruni, Monsignor Domenico Sorrentino, Rita Sacramento Monteiro, Father Avelino Chicoma Bundo Chico and Cristiane Murray .
According to Rita Sacramento Monteiro and Luca Iacovone of the event staff, the program at Castel Gandolfo “will be divided into plenaries featuring international guests such as Sabine Alkire, Jennifer Nedelsky, Paolo Benanti, Massimo Mercati and Stefano Zamagni; thematic workshops; spiritual and creative moments and the EoF Fair, a large exhibition of projects and experiences from within the EoF movement. Particular emphasis will be given to two dedicated sessions: Prophetic Voices for a New Economy, in which young people from different backgrounds will recount experiences of change already underway and Extraordinary Ideas for the Economy of Francesco, a review of short inputs giving voice to business ideas, social initiatives and innovative research, selected through international calls.
