A true source of pastoral encouragement, the fruit of a profound understanding of the times we are living in: this is how we perceived the words spoken by Pope Leo XIV at our meeting with him on the 21st of March. It was a moment of special grace and deep joy that left an indelible mark on the hearts of the 300 participants at the audience in the Vatican. We had just concluded the General Assembly, which is convened every five years to elect the President, Co-President and governing body of the Work of Mary – Focolare Movement, and we have taken the Pope’s words to heart as a source of wisdom for the future and for the service we are called to offer today to the Church and to the world.
The Pope began by acknowledging the gift that the charism of Chiara Lubich represents for the Church: a gift that has shaped the lives of so many people, families, consecrated persons and priests, and which continues to bear fruits of communion, of dialogue and of peace in the most diverse contexts. At the same time, he has located this gift within the living dynamics of history, reminding us that every charism is entrusted to the responsibility of those who receive it and are called to live it out in ever-new ways.
Pope Leo XIV has reaffirmed for us the essence of our charism: unity. A unity that does not stem from organisation or strategic planning, but which is “the fruit and reflection of Christ’s unity with the Father”. For this reason — he reminded us — it must not be confused with uniformity of thought, of sensitivity or of lifestyle. On the contrary, authentic Gospel-based unity values differences, respects the freedom and conscience of each person, and is built on mutual listening and the shared search for the will of God.
In this time, marked by deep polarisation, social tensions and armed conflicts, the Pope has pointed to unity as a true prophetic strength. A simple yet powerful seed, capable of combating “the poison of division” that pollutes hearts and relationships, through the Gospel-based witness of dialogue, forgiveness and peace. This is a call that we deeply feel as our own and which challenges every member of our Movement to be a force for reconciliation in everyday life.
With particular clarity, the Pope then outlined a specific responsibility for this post-foundational phase, that is, the period following the death of our foundress, Chiara Lubich. This is not a season that has now come to an end, but a time that is continuing and which calls for constant, mature and, above all, shared discernment. He urged us to distinguish what is essential to our charism from what, even if it was part of our history, is no longer necessary, or has shown over time its limits, ambiguities and shortcomings. This discernment — he emphasised — cannot be entrusted to a few people but involves the entire body of the Movement. The charism, in fact, is a gift of the Holy Spirit, and everyone has the right and the duty to feel jointly responsible for the Movement to which they have committed themselves with dedication.
I would also like to quote the words spoken by the new co-president, Fr Roberto Almada, as he commented on this part of the Pope’s address, recognising its great significance: he noted how the Pope had spoken to us “like a father”. He then added that the Pope has encouraged us on the path we have in fact been following for some years now – listening to those who have suffered and reviewing our procedures – but at the same time he has called us to a deeper conversion.
The conversion to which the Pope calls us begins with a personal change of mindset; it is therefore not merely a matter of reforming structures or institutions. At the heart of it all lies the way we live out our relationships, respect for the dignity of the person, and the correct exercise of roles of responsibility, lived as a service. In this sense, the Pope has reminded us that only a Gospel-based approach can allow the “beauty” of the Gospel to shine out in our relationships and structures.
I was particularly struck by Pope Leo XIV’s emphasis on charity as the essential nourishment of unity. Referring to the First Letter to the Corinthians, he recalled that charity is patient, generous and respectful, and that without it, unity risks becoming meaningless. In these words, I recognised the heart of the intuition of Chiara Lubich, who saw in unity not merely a spiritual ideal, but the “rock” upon which the whole life of the Movement is based.
A new mandate is now beginning for the Focolare Movement; five years in which we feel that looking to the future means to embrace and to bring about a real turning point. A turning point that calls for personal and communitarian conversion, a renewed awareness of the cry of humanity today, and a commitment to bear witness to unity not so much through words as through our lives. Our General Assembly, which was made up of people representing all vocations, a variety of cultures, languages and nations, allowed us to experience the richness of a widespread shared responsibility and a new enthusiasm: signs that the Spirit is continuing to accompany us even during this delicate transition.
With deep gratitude, we therefore take to heart the Pope’s encouragement and his invitation to continue on this journey. We do so with humility and trust, confident that, if we live unity as a free gift and as a daily task, it will be able to contribute to the Church’s mission and increasingly become a force for peace for the world.
Margaret Karram President of the Focolare Movement
Following on from the confirmation of their election, Margaret Karram and Roberto Almada have relaunched a joint commitment: to revitalise relationships, overcome indifference and walk together for peace.
Greetings to everyone on behalf of the Focolare Movement worldwide, as we join in prayer for this digital pilgrimage. Together with all of you, we want to raise our voices to God to ask for an end to human trafficking and to affirm the dignity of every human being:
O Lord, our God,
You love every one of your people. You have given us the gifts of the earth so that we may all live in peace as your children.
Today, a cry is rising up to you from those who have been violated, those who have been exploited in degrading ways, those who are victims of human trafficking.
Help us, Lord, to stand by these sisters and brothers of ours. Multiply the forces of good to encourage their hope in the possibility of a new life.
Make the hearts of the indifferent sensitive. Grant that every citizen, even those who hold the fate of peoples in their hands, may grow in awareness of the need to fight this serious social scourge.
Lord, we ask you that we may be able to spread the global appeal that is being launched today, so that Your will may be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
United, let us continue to pray and act for justice. Thank you to each and every one of you for being part of this chain of hope and of love that is stretching across the world.
Margaret Karram
Video in Italian: activate subtitles and select the desired language.
“The more you read the book, the more you become aware that everyone is called to ‘closeness’. The perception of being able to achieve it and the liberating conviction that this kind of lifestyle brings joy and builds, brick by brick, is the path towards a more unified world.”
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, uses these words in the preface to the book by Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, entitled ‘Closeness, a path to peace. Pages of life’.
A truly autobiographical text in which the author retraces her family history and writes about herself, her origins, her childhood in Haifa (Israel), the people she met and her decision to give her life to God. But at the same time, it is a real itinerary, a guide or, as Pizzaballa further describes it, “a multidimensional journey: going within, going outside and going Above” that allows the reader to accept the author’s invitation to get involved in a meaningful way in the encounter with others.
The text was presented at the Jubilee Hall of LUMSA University (Rome, Italy) on the 30th of January 2026 during an event that turned into a unique opportunity for exchange and dialogue. It focused on the theme of “closeness” and aimed to foster a tangible experience of it.
The proceedings were opened by Prof. Francesco Bonini, Rector of LUMSA, who welcomed the participants. The event was moderated by Alessandro Gisotti, Vice Director of the Editorial Department of the Dicastery for Communication of the Holy See. Alongside the author, speakers included Imam Nader Akkad, Advisor on Religious Affairs at the Great Mosque of Rome, Irene Kajon, member of the Jewish community and Professor Emeritus of Moral Philosophy at the Sapienza University of Rome, and Alberto Lo Presti, Associate Professor of History of Political Doctrines at LUMSA.
In the light of Karram’s book, the debate addressed various topics. Among the first points raised was a careful look at the value of identity, as a process and as a movement. “This is a recurring theme, especially in the first few pages,” explains Prof. Kajon, “where a reality is shown that reveals the intertwining and coexistence of many different cultures, languages and religions. In the logic of closeness, it is good that identity, an identity that is intertwined with different elements, always maintains a sense of restlessness … because this is precisely what guarantees openness to others …. What unifies identity is precisely closeness, that is, being human. It is the human family that allows us to unify the identities that are found in each person.”
Imam Nader Akkad, thinking of his Aleppo (Syria), spoke of closeness as a concept that is not at all abstract, but rather something very real that finds its only possible fulfilment in closeness to others and in fraternity. “Closeness becomes the possibility of achieving a ‘shared meaning’, and it is the concept of ‘family’ that forms the basis of society,” says Imam Akkad, “a bridge that is suspended is useless. Two banks are needed. Sometimes the banks become rigid …. Closeness shortens distances, making us understand how close we are. When I draw closer, I recognise my brother or sister, I recognise their suffering and their joys. Closeness helps us to travel through different identities … and not to feel like minorities, but like citizens, so as to build peace together.”
Referring to the concept of ‘inventive love’ as an agent of social, political and cultural transformation proposed by Chiara Lubich, foundress of the Focolare Movement, and in the light of the current crises, Prof. Lo Presti says, “When we see conflicts and divisions in the international system, it is not Chiara Lubich’s vision of a united world that is in crisis …, but rather all those beliefs, philosophies and overly modern visions that believed that humanity would achieve the most beautiful goals of its civil adventure through rationality, or by relying on scientific and technological progress, or simply by expanding markets in an indistinct globalisation, and so on …. The united world that should be the fruit of closeness, is not a victorious march, it is an obstacle course. We need people who are able to look beyond the obstacle and not give in to it. We need people who are able to have hope in their hearts, who see crises as opportunities for the future. In fact, all this means being inventive and creative.”
Therefore, an attempt to raise our gaze. An attempt that, through encounters with various people and key figures, led Margaret Karram to write this text. Karram said, “This moment of authentic dialogue makes me understand that there are many of us who carry in our hearts the hopes and concerns of our time. This book did not come from me alone. It is a multifaceted story. The time we live in is unique, it passes quickly, we are constantly connected. However, this also creates new distances, which are often invisible but very deep. For this reason, addressing the topic of closeness was not a pre-planned decision, either for me or for the Focolare Movement. The more I listened to people, to communities, young people and families, the more I saw a universal need emerging: the need to feel close to one another, not close through a screen, but close in the practicality of life.”
The event, which began as a book presentation, became a moment of sharing that opened up a vision of one’s neighbour as the first step towards the path of peace. It turned into an opportunity to come together, to listen to one another in a synodal way, to discover that in building daily relationships, small sparks of hope, can make a difference.
2026 will mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Città Nuova magazine. It was the 14th of July 1956 when, in Fiera di Primiero in northern Italy, during a summer meeting of the Focolare Movement called Mariapolis, the foundress and first president of the Focolare Movement, Chiara Lubich, had the idea of creating a “newsletter” so that all the participants could keep in contact.
Since then, thousands of publications have followed, and Città Nuova has always been committed to looking at the facts, reading and exploring current events from the perspective of universal fraternity. It is committed to dialogue on uncomfortable issues, to be close to the most fragile and the forgotten, to build bridges, to be present in the wounds of humanity, to highlight seeds of peace and hope, with a global horizon that looks towards a united world.
As the Movement spread throughout the world, editions were launched in different countries. Today there are 32 editions in 21 languages, both in print and online.
Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, addressed a video message on the 7th of January 2026 in which she stated that “today, faced with the terrible threats of our time – wars, polarisation of all kinds, environmental crises, an economy often based on exploitation, ethical challenges posed by artificial intelligence – Città Nuova still and always chooses dialogue:
it chooses peace as a difficult but essential pursuit,
it chooses to believe that every encounter, every thought, every word can contribute to changing the direction of the world.”
Here is the complete video message. Activate the subtitles and choose the language you desire.
In a time, which is still marked by divisions of every kind, may the joy of serving, sharing and reciprocity be renewed in all of us this Christmas, through real gestures, especially towards those who suffer. We want to commit ourselves to live a Christmas characterised by fraternity and closeness, by sowing hope for the future.
