![The ‘La Pira’ Centre – 35 years on]()
4 Jun 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
The first thing Giorgio La Pira did in the morning was to buy the newspaper. Then, back in his office, he would open the Gospel next to the day’s news. For the ‘Saintly Mayor’ of Florence the two texts weren’t distant from each other – in fact the opposite was true. His work was that of applying the Gospel concretely to human and social affairs, with far seeing and creative actions that responded to the questions of the existential peripheries of his city, and then of the whole world. A job that is repeated today in the many social projects that bear his name. One of these, which has just blown out 35 candles on its birthday cake, is the Giorgio La Pira International Student Centre, which on 25th May celebrated its birthday, together with many friends who came for the occasion to the Auditorium in Loppiano. Guided by the journalist Maddalene Maltese, the participants leafed through, as with a family album, the many photographs that tell the story of these years at the service of a vast range of young people. Towards the end of the seventies, in Florence, as in many other parts of Italy, there was a new phenomenon: many foreign students arrived, particularly from Africa, Asia and Latin America. But Italy wasn’t ready for this influx at any level – legislatively, culturally or even on a human level. Inspired by the work of Giorgio La Pira, the Archbishop of Florence Cardinal Benelli intervened and asked Chaira Lubich to give him a hand. A few days later three young men of the Focolare Movement presented themselves to the Cardinal and went to visit the building in the heart of Florence that would begin to welcome these students. The rest is history. The man in charge of the Diocese of Florence today is Mons Giuseppe Betori, and in his address he underlined the prophetic dimension of Cardinal Benelli and Chiara Lubich’s idea, which made the La Pira Centre a beacon in the world of dialogue with diversity, and in particular with the suffering, the last, the forgotten. While the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community in Florence, Joseph Levi, found in the style of dialogue and reciprocity, the real richness that this experience offers the city and the growth of its social fabric in the spirit of fraternity. The many personal stories collected are a witness to this, like that of Jean Claude Assamoi from the Ivory Coast: “The Centre was a help to me at a difficult time in my life, taking me in together with other students. Later I became a collaborator as a teacher in the field of global education (…) and just like me, many other African students that have followed my path, have moved to other places developing work relationships between their own countries and the ones that have welcomed them which mirror the dialogue and unity which was built in Florence”. The peripheries that La Pira loved, and which today Pope Francis invites us to get to know, are the heart of a prophecy that each day becomes more tangible, up-to-date, fraternal.
![The ‘La Pira’ Centre – 35 years on]()
3 Jun 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
“The situation in Bangui, the capital of CAR, is generally improving. In other parts of the country the situation varies. Our communities are located in relatively calm areas, but since last December there is one area of the city where small reprisals and killings continue. It is the Muslim quarter and surrounding areas. People are unable to return to their homes and are taking shelter in refugee camps around the airport, in churches and at the central mosque.” “The morning of May 28th began like any ordinary weekday. In the afternoon there were more clashes in some hot-spots. Then an armed group stormed the church of Our Lady of Fatima, opened fire on the people who were taking refuge there, and took forty hostages. Fifteen died at the church and many were badly wounded. Of the forty hostages, 39 corpses were recovered. . .” “The people are fed up. Thursday, the 29th was the feastday of the Ascension of Jesus. Barriers were set up on the main roads and in all the quarters of the city to prevent the flow of traffic. The day after, at four o’clock, we were awakened by a deafening noise. . . Thousands of people were banging pot lids in a peaceful protest that lasted until seven o’clock. You can still hear gunshots in other parts of the city, at times sporadic, at times intense. Perhaps they’re trying to contain the protesters.” 
“The protest is asking for the government’s resignation and the removal of foreign troops. Six months later, they are being accused by the population of not having successfuly disarmed the hot spot areas of the city. This is interpreted as a plan to maintain military and political disorder on the part of countries belonging to the troops that should be restoring the peace, but instead are continuing to illegally exploit our resources.” “On the day of the massacre at Fatima Church, we tried with great anticipation and fear to obtain news about the people of our community, especially the ones living in the areas that had been hit. Willy, a young boy whom we knew, has been killed and there are others who were lightly wounded. Everyone else fled and took refuge elsewhere. We’re trying to support one another by telephone, and some young people recently came by for some comfort and relief.” 
“Ever since the crisis began we have been trying to help those around us who have stayed behind, especially families and children. We offer concrete assistance through the help of the Youth for a United World and the adoption at a distance programme of the New Families Movement. Here at our place we are inviting young people to think about peace, with the help of Youth for a United World and the local Focolare community.” Monica concludes: “We are certain that God has a loving plan for our land as well; and, in the midst of the serious difficulties we are going through, we try to be witnesses of his love for everyone around us.”
![The ‘La Pira’ Centre – 35 years on]()
2 Jun 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
The Mariapolis is one of the traditional gatherings of the Focolare Movement, where people of all ages and walks of life gather for a few days to experience the brotherhood that is born from the life of the Gospel, even when – as in Myanmar – they are not all Christians. At the conclusion of the Mariapolis in Myanmar they write: “Heartfelt greetings from the nearly two hundred people who have attended the sixth Mariapolis in Myanmar! The majority have travelled great distances to reach the seminary located in the mountains of the country’s eastern lands: a 12-hour journey from Yangon; 20 hours for people traveling from the south, including some who walked for three hours before reaching the buses that transported them for another 10 hours. There were Catholics, a small representation of other Christian denominations and several Buddhists.” The message continues: “Tauggyi’s refreshing climate, compared to the 40 degree temperature (104 degrees F) of Yangon, made us feel like we were in a small paradise. But it was especially the temperature of our mutual love that increased as we performed personal daily acts of love of giving and receiving.” Some focolarini from Thailand and a few seminarians who are on holiday had arrived before the Mariapolis began to help with the preparations. 
“I’m in charge of a mothers association in my village. Before coming here, there was a problem because some of the members were arguing among themselves. During this Mariapolis, my thinking changed and I decided to ask forgiveness of the mothers when I return, as a sign of love.” “Even though I belong to the Baptist Church, I believe that I am here because of Mary, Our Mother,” declared 19-year-old Eden Htoo. “I will do my best to make this seed of reciprocal love that has been planted in my heart to grow, and I will share it with others.” 
Michael admitted that he felt “encouraged to have more respect for people of other religions.” Eighteen-year-old Paulina: “I liked the statement: “If you want to be loved, you must first love.” I have never tried to apologise after having fought with a certain person, I thought it would have been too hard a blow to my ego. But now I realize that it is also important to apologise. Before I detested people who hated me, but now I’m going to try this: the more they hate me, the more I’ll love them.” Among those who attended was also the local Ordinary, Archbishop Matthias U Shwe, who had met the Focolare Movement as a seminarian through some of the first focolarini who visited Myanmar in 1966: “He surprised us when he arrived several hours before the Mass and conclusion. He encouraged us and urged us to return again next year. We left happy and desirous to take the experience of unity that we had lived in the Mariapolis to our local environments.” 
1 Jun 2014 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
The Lord is great! One day, as I was on my way to work, I met a lady on the train whom I knew by sight because she went to the same church as mine. We greeted one another and started a conversation. She said: “I see that you are married. Do you have children?”. “I answered yes, that I have two very beautiful girls of whom I am very proud of. When it was my turn to ask her about her children, she burst into tears in front of all the passengers, much to my great embarrassment. I asked for pardon, at which point she started to share her situation with me: “Yesterday, after examining the results of the analysis, my gynecologist told me that I could never become a mother. For me, being married for nine years already, this is a very great suffering”. I listened to her with great empathy, then I encouraged her not to lose hope but to continue to have faith in God. I said that I would pray for her too. Three weeks later, I saw the same lady after Mass: she was radiant, as she waited for me to share the beautiful news: “I am three weeks pregnant. The Lord is great!”. After nine months Emanuel was born, a beautiful baby boy. W.U. – Rome Translation work I needed money and I was able to find a job: doing translations. One day a friend confided in me that she was passing through a difficult moment financially. So I offered to share the work that I was doing with her. On the same day I was offered another job that would allow me to earn double of what I had shared with my friend. E. M. – Azores The classmate One day, my classmate started to throw his books and notebooks in the air, cursing God: “Why aren’t you there when I need you? What are you doing up there?”. I didn’t understand why he was doing this, until I learned that his mother had to undergo an operation for cancer. I stayed near him, sharing this great suffering of his, and finally, together, we asked Jesus that the operation would go well. Our other classmates prayed with us too. Our class was transformed: this episode made us more united. The operation went well and we all thanked God. J.S. – Germany
![The ‘La Pira’ Centre – 35 years on]()
30 May 2014 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
The event name WARAY ngaRUN is derived from a waray-waray dialect phrase “waray ngaran” meaning “nameless”. The marathon, which will be held on 28 June in Tacloban, the city in the Philippines devastated by Typhoon Haiyan-Yolanda in November 2013, aims not only to commemorate the lives of the many nameless victims who perished in the disaster but also to give courage to people to go ahead. One main objective is to involve the youth as protagonists in the reconstruction of the life of the town. The event will began with a solidarity run at 6.00am followed by a fair and several exhibitions during the day concluding with a “Solidarity Night”. There will be presentations of inspiring experiences from different personalities and groups who in one way or another have been heroes in their own right during and after the typhoon. Different stakeholders of the city are also expected to attend: local waray artists, bands and talented individuals, as well as students and teachers from private and government organizations. The proceeds of the event will be donated to the “Start Again Project”, promoted by Youth for a United World (Y4UW), which aims to help rebuild the spirits, lives and communities of the typhoon-struck areas in the Visayas regions with a 7-point plan:
- Roofing for schools
- School supplies drive
- Yolanda memorial
- Potable water systems
- Higher education programs
- Soup kitchen
- Medical mission
The idea for the event was a fruit of the experience of unity shared with members of the Gen Rosso band when they came to hold workshops and performances in Tacloban as part of their Philippines Solidarity Tour 2014. “When the Start Again Project was launched to bring help to different parts of Leyte, including our community in Tacloban,” the young people write, “we felt strongly the need to reciprocate this love by doing a concrete activity that will help continue fund the various projects. And with this WARAY ngaRUN, we feel that we are no longer recipients but active collaborators.” Facebook: WARAYngaRUN2014
![The ‘La Pira’ Centre – 35 years on]()
28 May 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
Ruth Pfau is a medical doctor who generously devoted her efforts and service to Pakistan, working for peace in a way that has reached far beyond feild of health assistance. Evangelical Bishop Christian Krause called her a Christian woman who has “overcome the abysses between men and women in a society dominated by men; between rich and poor, between tradition and modernity, between foreign cultures.” She is a religious sister who has brought the experience of Christ’s love to people of all backgrounds and religious convictions,” said President of the Pakistan Bishops Conference, Archbishop Joseph Coutts, as he thanked her in name of the Pakistani Church. With the help of the German Leprosy and Tuberculosis Relief Association (DAHW) Ruth Pfau has built a hospital in the city of Karachi. Because of her work in the management of leprosy and tuberculosis she was appointed Secretary of State by the Pakistan government. For more than twenty years she has been working in collaboration with the Christoffel Mission offering assistance to the blind, and gaining the esteem of a nearly entirely Muslim society. Appreciation for this woman who was born in 1929 was also expressed by the Bishop of Aquisgrana, Heinrich Mussinghoffe and by Focolare president Maria Voce, who called her a “witness of God’s love and builder of a more just and fraternal society.” Every two years this award is conferred by the Focolare Movement in honour of the spiritual patrimony of Hemmerle. What does Ruth Pfau have in common with the theologian Klaus Hemmerle who was once bishop of Aquisgrana and a contemporary of Ruth? Television journalist and theology professor Michael Albus answers this question in the keynote address he gave at the Dome Church of Aachen (Aquisrana) where the award ceremony was held on May 8th. 
“She had the courage to dare to take the plunge, to decide to help without hesitation, wherever there was need: without theoretical, political or even theological justification. And without asking – as happens in our capitalistic world – how she would be repaid.” This is what these two people have in common, along with their desire to build “a Church that salvages God in the world, from dying of cold,” as St Martin reminds us. Then Ruth spoke: “We can help one another to be better people and full of humanity,” she stated. For her, one sign of this humanity is “wasting time.” She was taught that lesson during her time in Asia. You very rarely find it in a hospital or house for the elderly in Germany. For her, this signals a loss of humanity. She was pleased to accept the award because it gave honour to this “wasting time”, although the motivation for the award highlighted her ability to “build bridges and create unity through her radical devotion to the poor, based on her faith which she lived with strength and conviction in an environment charged with conflict.”
