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.”
Azione Famiglie Nuove (New Families’ Action) is an international non-profit organization of the Focolare Movement that works for the free and integral development of every person, community and nation, starting with the most fragile and disadvantaged in the world. Since 2005 it has also been officially authorised by the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers for International Adoptions. Two couples from Vicenza (Italy), Redi and Giacomo and Annalisa and Sergio, are part of this project. Recently they were able to fulfil a long held desire: to meet reunite with some Bolivian families they had met during an AFN Conference in Castel Gandolfo (Rome). From that meeting a simple and authentic bond was born, which no one imagined would continue until it transformed, years later, into a new meeting on the other side of the world.
While there, the two Italian couples were also able to visit the AFN project in Bolivia: the “Clara Luz“ children’s centre in Santa Cruz and the “Rincón de Luz“ social centre in Cochabamba. In Santa Cruz, in the La Guardia district, the “Clara Luz” centre welcomes young children and preschoolers every day. “The classrooms are simple, but well cared for and welcoming,” they explained. “Here children find a safe educational environment, while older siblings receive school support”. Around them, a wider programme involves families: home gardens, small livestock projects and training courses that help build autonomy and dignity. The “Clara Luz” centre also hosts young volunteers from the “Milonga Project“.
Centre “Clara Luz” (Santa Cruz, Bolivia)
In Cochabamba, the “Rincón de Luz” centre is a point of reference for the community. “It is a place that welcomes and supports families in their daily lives,” said the two visiting couples. “Food parcels are distributed every week, while workshops and educational activities for children and parents take place throughout the year.”
During the visit, they were very touched by the meeting with Reina, who shared the origins of the project and how, having returned to Bolivia after a period of formation as a family in Loppiano (FI, Italy), she had felt a strong desire to put the ideal of Chiara Lubich, into concrete action. Involving her entire family, children, daughter-in-law, husband, she began to welcome by welcoming a dozen children into her own home. From there, step by step, the project has grown and developed to reach about 150 children, though there is a lot of need for support.
Many local families live in situations of great vulnerability: poverty, loneliness, bereavement and hardship. Particularly striking was the story of a grandmother who caring for her invalid husband and her orphaned granddaughter: “Every day she walks many kilometres searching for food and whenever she can, she comes to the centre for find help”.
Center “Rincón de Luz”(Cochabamba, Bolivia)
Among the people met was Silvio, one of the first children welcomed by the project. Today he is an active part of the “Rincón de Luz” community: he accompanies families with such sensitivity, distributes aid and puts his time at the service of others. You can feel that this place has truly become his home. The trip proved to be a very strong experience, allowing them to “touch” not only poverty, but also the dignity and reciprocity between the people of the community. “We thought we were bringing something – they said – but we received far more in return”.
From this experience came the desire to continue this friendship at a distance: “We have realized that what is really needed is a constant drop and we are already imagining new initiatives to involve others, a solidarity dinner, moments of sharing to make the project known, all ways to expand the family experience between families, where the geographical distance I lessened and gives way to a deep and authentic friendship”.
Algeria is the largest African country by land area, and of its 48 million inhabitants, Christians make up less than 1%. It is the country Pope Leo XIV chose as the first stop of his African journey, which will then take him to Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea. He arrived on April 13, 2026, and his initial meetings with the Algerian community highlighted the life and work of interreligious organizations and initiatives that have been active in the country for many years, often little known.
One of these is the Focolare Movement, a network dedicated to spiritual unity that arrived in predominantly Muslim Algeria in 1966. Its activities in the country are animated by Muslim members—mostly women—who take part by working in small groups throughout Algeria. They offer assistance in local centers for the elderly, provide tutoring for students, or study together with them.
The experience of a “true” faith—one that “does not isolate but opens, unites without confusing, draws close without imposing uniformity, and fosters genuine fraternity”—was shared in French by Monia Zergane, a Muslim woman whose life has become “a sign of hope for our world.” In the services of the Catholic Church in Algeria, Christians and Muslims work “side by side,” she explained, sharing the same concerns: “to welcome, serve, listen, care for the most vulnerable, organize, secure financial resources, and ensure that activity centers are safe places that uphold human dignity.” It is a service to the most “vulnerable”—women, children, the elderly, the sick—lived “together” and capable of creating a “real fraternity,” she said, grounded in the conviction that “to serve humanity is first and foremost to serve God.” This commitment, she emphasized, is nourished by all the “beautiful” qualities brought into play: skills, dedication, patience, forgiveness, compassion, and kindness.
She also spoke of brothers and sisters who were an “immense help and comfort” to her during illness, recalling with gratitude how she “could rely on their closeness, their unwavering solidarity, their gentleness, and their prayers.” In particular, the presence of a Focolare community and the daily effort to put love of neighbor into practice, she acknowledged, “often challenges me and helps me understand that life is not primarily made up of great, visible works, but of a communion lived day by day.” Aware that fraternity is also built through “simple gestures—a smile, a greeting that comes from the heart, a kind word, a service offered without expecting anything in return—and through the small things of everyday life: exchanging good wishes for a feast, sharing a meal after a time of fasting, listening to the spiritual meaning of a celebration.”
Mongomo is a small town in Equatorial Guinea, on the border with Gabon. Sister Maria writes: “Living with the people here is a great gift for our community. They are so open to the Word of God.” Every month, the people in the nearby villages look forward to their visit. On Sundays, since there is almost never a priest to celebrate Mass, they meet with some of us to hear the Word explained. More than five hundred gather. On the other hand, only about fifty manage to take part in the parish meetings in Mongomo. It must be taken into account that they have no clocks and no notion of the date, so it is very difficult to arrange appointments, so their presence is not constant. Sometimes they have to travel (obviously on foot) ten or twenty kilometres to get there. It is moving to see that they never get tired of hearing about God. I would like you to hear them tell how they put the Gospel into practice: they are simple, concrete experiences… hearing them is enough to convert you. I have often heard some of them repeat that the Word of God is as necessary to them as food. ”
(Sister Mary – Equatorial Guinea)
Reconciliation
I was particularly struck when I heard the Gospel phrase “If you present your offering on the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar and go first to be reconciled with your brother…” I wasn’t on good terms with a certain lady. Summoning up my courage, I went to her. Unfortunately, not only did she not listen to me, but she shouted at me to go away. I felt demoralized and I didn’t know what to do. Meanwhile, my son had received a letter from an acquaintance who wanted to apologize to him because of a small misunderstanding between them a few days earlier. I was surprised: firstly, because my son is so young that he can’t read yet, so I had to read the letter to him; secondly, because an adult apologized so sincerely to him. This inspired me to write to that lady asking for forgiveness. A few days later I receive a phone call from her: “Please, you forgive me!” I went back to her, we cleared up all our misunderstandings and full of joy, we reconciled.
