Silvana “Ave” Cerquetti, artist, sculptor and prominent figure of the Focolare Movement, died on 3rd July 2026 in Padua (Italy) at the age of 95.Born in Rome on 9th August, 1930, she dedicated her entire life to the search for beauty as a way to God, leaving a profound mark.
Since childhood, spent between Rome and Montefalco (Umbria- Italy) during the difficult years of the war, Ave showed an extraordinary sensitivity towards creation. It was in the Umbrian village that she first encountered art: she would watch the work of a potter for hours, until she realized that that same clay could become a means of giving shape the world she carried within herself. With the support of her mother, she created a large crib that attracted the attention of the entire town, anticipating a vocation that would develop in the following years.
After studying at the Artistic Lyceum and the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, where she graduated in sculpture in 1953, she soon established herself as one of the promising young talents of Italian art. As early as 1952, one of her works was selected to represent the students of the Academy at the Venice Biennale. But professional success was not enough to satisfy her inner search.
The episode that would definitively shape her path took place during a visit to an exhibition of the works of Georges Rouault at the Palazzo Venezia. Standing before a face of Christ painted by the French artist, Ave had an experience she herself described as a flash of revelation: she understood that art could become a means of communicating God to people. From that moment came the conviction that would accompany her throughout her life: “I will create sacred art.”
In the following years she devoted herself above all to portraiture, gaining recognition and appreciation in Rome’s artistic circles and a prominent place in the exhibitions in Via Margutta, the street of Roman artists. Those who observed her works emphasized her ability to capture people’s inner lives. For Ave, in fact, every face deserved an almost sacred respect, because it was a reflection of God’s creative work.
A decisive stage came in 1955, during a stay in Sassari (Sardinia- Italy) at a time of profound inner searching. There she met the Focolare Movement through a visit to the local focolare, which she described as the rediscovery of that harmony and beauty she had always sought. Marisa Cerini and Caterina Ruggiu welcomed her warmly. She said: “We were still in the small entrance hall and I immediately had the extraordinary feeling of entering into that unity, harmony and beauty of creation that I had often contemplated. I said to myself: Here is God, here is the Church!” This was the culmination of her search to return to the Catholic Church, since her entire family had at one point joined the Waldensian Church. That is why Ave would forever have a special love for ecumenism, never forgetting to pray each day for the unity of the Churches.
Between 1958 and 1960 she had a strong experience in Latin America. Invited to San Salvador for a cultural exchange, she quickly established herself there. Ave taught sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts, receiving various awards. She contributed to the establishment of the country’s first permanent gallery of contemporary art and created works of great importance, including a monumental statue of Saint Ignatius. Her professional success was remarkable, but even more significant was the development of her vocation. Her Christian commitment continued to guide her every choice and during the trip back to Italy, stopping at the shrines of Guadalupe, Lourdes and Montserrat, she made the decision to consecrate her life to God in the focolare, an adventure that began in May 1961.
When Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement, invited her not to abandon art and sculpture but to place them fully at the service of God, Ave felt within herself the desire to no longer create alone but to work in communion with other artists who shared the same spiritual path. And so it was that together with Tecla Rantucci, sculptor and Marika Tassi, painter, she founded Centro Ave, the first atelier, so baptized by Lubich so that each work would be a gift to Mary. It was at this point that Silvana took the name Ave, in life and in art. The atelier started in a garage in Rome, then moved to Grottaferrata, a town not far from the capital and then to Loppiano (Florence).
Over the years, under her guidance Centro Ave became an important international laboratory of sacred art. Works were created that entered the imagination of many ecclesial circles, such as the Our Lady of the Beautiful Welcome, the Madonna del Buon Cammino, the Madonna of the Snow and numerous representations of Christ and the Virgin Mary that have spread throughout the world. At the same time, architectural and liturgical design studies were developed that led to the construction of churches, parish complexes and important ecclesial redevelopment interventions.
Centro Ave came to be recognized by critics and within the Church as a clear stylistic reference point, where architecture embraces sculpture and is enveloped by the coloured light of stained-glass windows, creating a perfect balance between the arts. Ave was always the first and tireless guardian of this experience of unity, which began with each person’s commitment to allowing the Master, God, to live among them, starting precisely from this communal dimension.
Referring to this reality, in 1961, Chiara Lubich said, “Let this thirst for beauty that the world feels expand. Send forth great artists, but shape with them great souls who, through their splendour, can guide people towards the most beautiful of the sons of men: Jesus!”
This vision found one of its highest expressions in the Maria Theotokos Shrine in Loppiano where Ave’s special contribution is found. She herself regarded it as the culmination of her artistic and spiritual life. Even in the last days of her life, the people who were next to her told us, just hearing its name was enough to light up her face.
Alongside her creativity, the many people who have worked with her over the years remember above all her ability to bring out the best in others. Ave knew how to recognize the hidden good in people and encourage it to grow. For many generations of artists she was a teacher not only of technique, but above all of vision: a way of recognizing beauty even in the simplest and most ordinary aspects of everyday life.
In 1999, together with Michel Pochet and Liliana Cosi, she also contributed to the birth of the Central Commission of the Inundation of Art, a beautiful expression coined by Chiara Lubich to describe the impact of the spirituality of unity also on contemporary artistic culture. This initiative has grown into a worldwide network of artists that remains active and vibrant.
With her death, Ave Cerquetti leaves a living legacy made up of works of art, artistic communities and human relationships. Her entire life was spent translating into the language of matter, form and light that Gospel phrase that had become her life program: “Let us love one another, because love is from God: whoever loves is begotten by God and knows God.” (1 Jn. 4: 7).
Alba Sgariglia has degrees in philosophy and theology. Since 1975, the year before she entered the focolare, she began working at the Study Centre of the Focolare Movement alongside the foundress, Chiara Lubich.
What did your work at the Study Centre consist of?
I used to go to the library in Florence to photocopy passages from the Greek Fathers, which we would then translate at home, searching through countless pages for those brief phrases that could serve Chiara Lubich to confirm her inspirations. At the time I was working with Marisa Cerini, who told me: for us, building unity means that we should enter into the thought of the Greek Fathers and from there try to understand the light of the charism that Chiara has received. In the following years I also taught religion in secondary schools in Rome. I then joined the governing body of the Movement to oversee the cultural aspect and subsequently I became part of the Abba School, which Chiara founded in 1991 to study the notes from the so-called period of Paradise ’49. Finally, in 2014, Maria Voce Emmaus, then President of the Focolare Movement, entrusted me with the Chiara Lubich Centre, which was established to preserve, study and promote the life and work of Chiara.
What does this newly published book represent?
Paradise ‘49 is a text published posthumously, since it was written, compiled and edited by Chiara Lubich during her lifetime. She wished to describe the mystical experience she had lived between 1949 and 1951, accompanying it with footnotes that would facilitate its comprehension, so as to provide the group of scholars at the Abba School with a text that was accessible and could be used for research. The text contains a mystical experience that Chiara always said she could not keep to herself. Then, urged on by many people, she realized that the text could be understood and used by others in the Movement as well.
For example, in the early 2000s, she herself explained the essence of this experience to the young people of the Movement. Then little by little, she realized that the experience recounted in the text could also be shared with people of other religions. Over the years we have held symposia with Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims, to whom Chiara offered some passages from Paradise ’49. We have also discussed the text with people with no religious affiliation, who have given reflections far deeper than we could ever have imagined, emphasizing that it is a text of great value. There are many founders of charisms who have received this possibility of understanding the work they were carrying out, through so-called “intellectual visions” in which one perceives with the intellect what God is allowing one to see.
But since it is a mystical language, isn’t it difficult for most people to understand?
Mystical language is a unique literary genre; it is neither poetry, nor theatre, nor literature, nor theology. For example, one sometimes encounters difficulties on a theological level, because the mystic seeks words they cannot find, trying to express the inexpressible: a difficult task, so much so that often Chiara herself, whilst we were re-reading these passages, would ask us: “But how could I have written these sentences? What do they mean? Why did I write this?”
This confirms that, in such situations, the founders seek to express what they “see” using the cultural categories and concepts at their disposal, which are sometimes inadequate. For example, in Paradise ’49 there are references to The Divine Comedy because Chiara was familiar with it, or to philosophers such as Kant, whom she had studied. The external setting can also have an influence: Chiara and her first companions began this experience in the mountains of Trent, in Tonadico: it is a natural setting that speaks for itself through its beauty. This, too, helped her to express things she was perceiving for the first time in her life.
Over these 18 years since Chiara’s death, you have published books that shed light on the context of the Paradise ’49 experience…
We have continued to examine the text in depth across various disciplines, using the method Chiara had left us, which is to study everything with “Jesus in our midst”. I believe that three key aspects can be identified in this volume: the first is an educational aspect, as it teaches how to live out the charism of unity and offers a vital key to understanding it; the second aspect can be described as artistic and literary, as the text encompasses many literary genres: diaries, letters, writings and notes; finally, there is the doctrinal aspect, as the text undoubtedly has a theological focus. It is, in fact, a mystical experience that helps us to understand, on the one hand, the truths of Heaven: God, the Trinity, the Word, Mary, creation, hell and paradise; and, on the other hand, the incarnation of the charism in a movement that would have been founded in the following years, that is, after 1949–51. Every time one reads these mystical texts, one understands new things. This is what happens to me too: every time I read these pages, I understand new things, both intellectually and spiritually.
When reading the text, doesn’t Chiara seem to be a bit presumptuous in certain passages?
We need to understand why Chiara says those things in that way. We could say that it is as if God, in order to express concepts that cannot be conveyed through a human being, identifies with that person, seeing things through their eyes. This is why Chiara finds herself writing: “Today I am universal fatherhood.” But she herself asks: “What does that mean?” In that moment, she identifies with that reality, so that she can express it. In the footnotes, she herself comments on and explains her amazement and her joy at seeing that other founders had experienced more or less the same thing.
What advice would you give to someone reading this text?
I would say: take this book and read it whenever and however you like, at any time. You can discuss passages that are unclear or more complex with others, or with an expert. But I suggest that you don’t let yourself be influenced by anyone, because this text speaks directly to the individual. Let’s open it at random and read whatever page we come across. We will understand what we need at that moment, because the text, despite a few difficulties, really touches us deeply. It’s a mystical experience, that can, in a certain way, be “shared”. This is the novelty, as Chiara herself explained to us. She always made sure that everyone could participate in her experience, and this book gives us that opportunity.
Following the profound experience shared with young people during the 2026 Hackathon, the second phase of the “One Humanity, One Planet: Synodal Leadership” programme is now getting underway. It offers a six-month virtual training course that combines in-depth study and dialogue based on participants’ diverse backgrounds, the exchange of projects and experiences, and the development of initiatives with local impact and global reach.
It is aimed at people aged between 18 and 40 who have experience in political representation, public administration, social movements, political parties and advocacy; who are committed to social and political transformation or interested in strengthening their capacity for dialogue, cooperation and collective action; and who are willing to contribute both practically and intellectually throughout the programme.
Lasting six months, delivered 100% online, completely free of charge with an estimated commitment of three hours per week, the programme aims to reach 500 young people this year.
“We are living in a historical moment marked by deep geopolitical tensions, socio-environmental crises, increasing social fragmentation, and high levels of polarization,” say the organisers in their introduction. “These challenges call upon us: they reveal the limits of traditional governance models and the urgent need for new forms of leadership capable of generating dialogue and activating processes of collective action to promote peace and unity. In this context, we have chosen a synodal style of leadership: a leadership based on listening, participation, shared responsibility, and the construction of shared solutions. If you believe that politics can be a space to regenerate relationships, promote the common good, and care for humanity and the planet, this call is for you. We invite you to become part of an international space for training and cocreation of political initiatives together with other young leaders from different regions of the world, in order to rethink governance in the face of today’s challenges”.
The deadline for applications is Friday 19 June 2026.
Five hundred people from 43 countries, representing every continent, have gathered in different parts of Latin America, for this important event dedicated to the Economy of Communion, 35 years after its birth.This “path of regeneration”, as it has been defined, began on 25th May 2026 and is a kind of “journey” of the Economy of Communion through various regions that will end on 29th-30th May in Buenos Aires. The first stage involves participants immersing themselves in different social projects around the Southern Cone. The key word of this experience is “encounter”: encounter between different worlds, lives, situations and different forms of wealth. A “meeting again” that generates relationships and communities.
Isaías Hernando, from Spain, a member of the International Commission of the Economy of Communion explained, “The Economy of Communion is lived by bringing together people from different sectors, entrepreneurs and academics, those who live in situations of poverty or vulnerability and indigenous populations. In some way it aims to offer a preview of what a different economy can really be like. This is precisely the spirit of the first phase of the event: it is not just a matter of visiting symbolic places, but of entering into situations where this experience is already visible. Not simply showing it but engaging in dialogue and a deep encounter between people from different cultures and those who live in situations of fragility. It is an experience that highlights the vocation of the Economy of Communion – to build fraternal communities “.
Why do we talk about “regeneration”? Anouk Grevin, from France, Coordinator of the International Commission of the Economy of Communion told us: “The idea of regeneration comes from the desire to care for the wounds of the economy and of our earth. Wounds regenerate from within – the skin rebuilds itself around the wound. Of course, there can be help from the outside, but everything begins there. This is the meaning we wanted to express in thinking about the regeneration process.”
It is a project in which the protagonists are those who live in the very places where wounds exist, who dwell within serious wounds. Anouk added, “It is a journey in which all of us have recognized ourselves as part of this fraternal and global community. We do not bring answers, we do not bring resources, we bring an experience of communion that is intended in itself to be generative”.
A characteristic of the Economy of Communion is that it requires the involvement of all the actors together: entrepreneurs, scholars, ordinary citizens, employees, micro-entrepreneurs and people who live in difficult situations. Anouk further stated, “It is not just an entrepreneurial project or a business model, but a community of people building a new economy together, precisely in places that are often not associated with the dominant economy, and that are already generating something new”.
The work is ongoing. There has been a vast range of experiences since the birth of the Economy of Communion and it is hoped that the days in Buenos Aires will open up new perspectives, as Hernando desires: “I believe that the intuition that Chiara Lubich had in 1991, when she launched the Economy of Communion in Brazil, had a strong prophetic character, in the sense that living this experience and making it real, means in some way anticipating the future. In this sense, I think that at this moment of history, the Economy of Communion is called to highlight that prophecy, somehow making it real and incarnate albeit on a small scale”.
by Carlos Mana Photo: Courtesy of EdC
WORK ON VARIOUS SOCIAL PROJECTS
Sunrise, EcuadorVolcadero, Paraná, Entre Ríos (AR)Mariápolis Lía, O’Higgins (AR)Scuola Chiara Lubich, JCPaz (AR)Rete Piccoli produttori, Entre Ríos (AR)Casita Estrella, Paraná (AR)Fondazione Lucia, Tucumán (AR)Scuola Aurora, Catamarca (AR)Custodi della Casa Comune, La Plata (AR)Asunción, Paraguay
There are places that do more than simply welcome people. They bring them into relationship with one another, generating authentic connections, trust and community. This is where the “social beauty” is born: from the quality of the encounters we are able to build. “Generating Social Beauty” was the title of the events marking the 40th anniversary of the Chiara Lubich Mariapolis Centre in Trent. It was not a traditional celebration, but a live, open and participatory workshop.
This vision took shape in 4 challenges, in four events open to the city and the region.
A two-day workshop with the Gen Verde Performing Arts Group, an artistic workshop with about thirty young people from 14 to 20 years old, a concrete experience of community expressed through music and performance. It was an engaging, lively and colourful event where young people were able to experience alongside the artists how the performing arts can become a space for learning teamwork, creativity and listening.
A conference, promoted by New Humanity, NGO of Focolare, was included in the program of the “Festival of the Economy” entitled “Denied realities: between news and opinion, towards disarmed and disarming languages”. Five experts in the world of communication engaged in dialogue on the most complex issues of our time and the way they are narrated (the event is available in Italian on the website www.festivaleconomia2026.it/)
An Open Day in which the Mariapolis Centre opened up to the city, not only as a physical place, but as an experience of encounter. It was a day of welcome and dialogue with the civil and religious realities of the area. Elena Granata, Professor of Urban Planning at the Politecnico di Milano and vice president of the School of Civil Economy, began with an insightful reading of the reality of our cities entitled “Generating Beauty for Everyone”.
This was followed by a round table featuring valuable and thought provoking contributions from various civil and ecclesial realities working to build a city and a community that is more united and enriched by diversity. Speakers included: Franco Ianeselli, Mayor of Trent, Annalisa Pasini, delegate of Witness and Social Commitment of the Diocese of Trent, Sara Alouani, journalist with Il T Quotidiano and Claudio Bassetti President of CNCA – National Coordination of Welcoming communities of Trentino – South Tyrol. Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, who wanted to begin her new mandate in Trent, the city of Chiara Lubich, also offered her contribution. She said, “From here, let’s look to the future. Because of its position, history and sensitivity, Trent is called to dialogue, it cannot renounce this vocation. Trent can still speak to the world today by living a fraternity that becomes culture, style and practice”.
Displays and experiences in various places in the Mariapolis Centre were the backdrop for the day. In the afternoon and evening the stage was taken over by the dynamic artistic energy of the Gen Verde Performing Group.
Over 1,000 people participated in the events of the 40th anniversary. For everyone, it was an opportunity to place the value of relationships, of “closeness” back at the centre, a dialogue not aimed at itself, as Margaret Karram pointed out, but “at building universal fraternity, not an optional extra but a necessity: it means participating in the life of others.”
