This year, Holy Week found a special resonance in me.
Yesterday, Wednesday of Holy Week, I was especially touched by the reading of the Passion of Jesus. I became aware – and this is so important – of the very new value suffering has in our Christian life. I felt as if I was drawn to this most sublime calling amidst the many voices that fill every day and every moment of our life. Jesus, the “man of suffering”: this is the climax of his vocation.
… Today I feel enveloped by a wave of tenderness. It is the day of the New Commandment, of the Eucharist, of the priesthood, it’s the day when we serve one another.
Jesus reserved so many infinite riches for the last day of His life on earth!
How I wish to make every day a Holy Thursday.
Jesus, you who have chosen us for this pathway, which is so close to your heart, help us to follow it well, every day, until the end.
(Translation of the Italian text found in: Chiara Lubich, Diario 1964-1980, a cura di Fabio Ciardi, 2023, Città Nuova, Roma, p. 324)
25th March 2026 – The event was held in the Sala della Conciliazione of the Lateran Palace where, after decades of conflict, the Catholic Church and the Italian State signed the Lateran Treaties in 1929. In this same historic place, in 2013, the diocesan phase of the Cause of Beatification of one of the most important spiritual figures of our time concluded: the Vietnamese Card.François-Xavier Nguyễn Vân Thuân.
220 people were present, Cardinals, Bishops, family members, priests, nuns and lay people from Vietnam and other countries. Thousands more were connected via streaming in seven languages on Vatican Media’s YouTube channels. The reason for this gathering was the occurrence of 50th anniversary since Nguyễn Vân Thuân, then a young Bishop, in the first months of his imprisonment that began on 15th August, 1975, managed to send his faithful 1,001 short meditations written on scraps of old calendars. The event was organized by the Cause of Beatification of the Vietnamese Cardinal, together with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development which is responsible for the Cause, in collaboration with the Dicastery for the Clergy, the Diocese of Rome and Città Nuova Publishing House.
Pope Leo marked the occasion with a Message signed by Card. Parolin, Secretary of State, expressing the hope that “this significant event will foster a renewed appreciation of the fervent witness of such ac courageous disciple of the Gospel and generous Shepherd”. His example – he continued – “is profoundly relevant today because it reminds us that Christian hope is born from an encounter with Christ and takes shape in a life given to God and neighbour”.
Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the Pope’s Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome, welcomed the participants. He recalled the relevance of Nguyễn Vân Thuân’s life in the aftermath of the Jubilee of Hope, at a time when the Gospel is transmitted above all through witness.
Cardinale Baldassare ReinaDr. Waldery HilgemanSig.ra Élisabeth Nguyễn Thị Thu Hồng
But who was this Vietnamese Cardinal? A brief biographical sketch was offered by Dr. Waldery Hilgeman, Postulator for the Cause of Beatification. A descendant of a family that in the nineteenth century included martyrs among its ancestors, from a young age François-Xavier was attracted by the example of the saints and later to contemporary spiritual movements, including the Cursillos and the Focolare. He entered the seminary, became a priest and obtained a doctorate in canon law. In 1967 he was consecrated Bishop of Nha Trang. When Paul VI appointed him Coadjutor Archbishop of Saigon in 1975, a long trial began: he was arrested and spent thirteen years in prison, of which nine in solitary confinement. He later recounted that there he learned “to choose God and not the works of God”. He understood that God wanted him to be with the other prisoners, almost all non-Catholic, as a presence of God and of His love, “in hunger, in cold, in hard labour, in humiliation and injustice”. He was released in 1988. He lived in Rome from 1991, where John Paul II appointed him first Vice President and then President of the then Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and in 2001 made him a cardinal.
Elisabeth Nguyễn, the Cardinal’s sister, recounted the remarkable story of the 1001 thoughts. Smuggled out from house arrest, “they began a journey of evangelization from one family to another, from one prison cell to another, before crossing the oceans with the boat people“. Years later, they became the book The Road of Hope.
Powerful and moving experiences, augmented, halfway through the meeting, by a piano piece performed masterfully by Don Carlo Seno: “La Campanella” by Franz Liszt.
Over the course of just an hour and a half, guided by the journalist Alessandro De Carolis of Vatican Media, additional aspects of Nguyễn Vân Thuân’s life emerged. Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, spoke of him as an “evangelizer in every circumstance”, recounting the testimony of a Buddhist monk: “It was winter, it was two degrees below zero and we did not have enough blankets in the re-education camp. The Bishop would go out several times every day to collect branches and pieces of wood to heat the camp at night… He was what we Buddhists call a “Bo tac”: a very holy man. ”
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, recalled how in 1995 a personal friendship was born with Nguyễn Văn Thuận: “I was struck by the fact that, while he recounted painful and even humiliating experiences, his voice remained calm and his face serene. There was no hint of bitterness or hatred in him. I couldn’t take my eyes off his radiant and smiling face. ”
Along with his spiritual stature, his deep concern for global issues of justice and peace emerged. Cardinal Michael Czerny SJ, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development spoke of this. For the occasion, he had published the Italian translation of a new biography of Nguyễn Văn Thuận, written by his sister Elisabeth together with the Belgian priest Stefaan Lecleir.
Cardinale Michael Czerny, S.J.Cardinale Luis Antonio TagleCardinale Lazzaro You Heung-sik
Card. Czerny explained, “His main contribution at a global level was his role in the development of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (2004)”. He then referred to a striking question posed by the Vietnamese Archbishop: “Faced with the current political and economic situation, some wonder: will we be able to cross the threshold of the new millennium with hope?” In response, he cited a well-known journalist who predicted “three catastrophic phases” for impoverished societies: exploitation – exclusion – elimination. “When I think of all this,” commented Nguyễn Văn Thuận, “my heart is torn and I would like to shout: ‘impossible’.”
At the end of the event, the actor and journalist Rosario Tronnolone read some passages from The Road of Hope that resound like the golden seal: “You want to carry out a revolution: to renew the world. You will be able to accomplish this precious mission that God has entrusted to you, only through “the power of the Holy Spirit”. Every day, where you live, prepare a new Pentecost. Commit yourself to a campaign that aims to make everyone happy. Sacrifice yourself continually, with Jesus, to bring peace to souls, development and prosperity to peoples. Let this be your spirituality, discreet and concrete at the same time. “
… Which word is it that the Holy Spirit imprinted like a seal on this house, on our Movement, when God first thought of it and started forming it here on earth?
We know what it is. The word is “unity.” Unity is the word that sums up our entire spirituality. Unity with God, unity with our neighbours. Or rather, unity with our neighbours in order to reach unity with God.
The Holy Spirit, in fact, revealed to us a way that is distinctly ours, a fully Gospel-based way to unite us with God,
to find God. … We seek God and find him by passing through our neighbour, by loving our neighbour. We find God when we strive to bring about unity with our neighbour, with every neighbour, if we establish the presence of Jesus among us. Only in this way are we guaranteed unity with God and we can find him alive and beating in our hearts. It is this unity with God which then, in turn, urges us to go out to our neighbours, and helps us to ensure that our love for them is not pretence, nor insufficient, or superficial, but rather is radical, full and complete, given substance through sacrifice, always ready to give our life, and capable of bringing about unity.
Our Statutes place unity at the basis of everything, as the norm of every norm, as the rule to be
observed before every other rule. Unity is the word for us; it is the rock.
We have no meaning in life except in this word, where everything acquires meaning – our every action, every prayer, every breath. And if we concentrate on living this word, if we live it as well as we possibly can, everything will certainly be safe, we will be safe and also that part of the Movement entrusted to us will be safe.
Perhaps, in the future, the Work of Mary, both as a whole or in some of the zones,
will go through quite different times from what we are experiencing now, when we have so many consolations, fruits, light, fire.
Moments of darkness or despair may well arise, there might be persecutions
or temptations. … There might be misfortunes or disasters… But if we stand firm on the rock
of unity, nothing can touch us, everything will go ahead as before.
Chiara Lubich in “Conference Calls – Conversations via Telephone and Satellite Connections”, 2022 New City, pages 342-344
At the launch of the website of the “Co-citizens of Loppiano”, Roberto Brundisini told us that returning to Loppiano after many years reawakened feelings and dreams and inspired the idea of starting new projects.
“One day I went back to visit Loppiano, where I had previously lived for some time. I realized that I felt at home there. I was surprised that I had stayed away for so long and I thought of many others who, like me, had lost touch with this reality. I expressed my thoughts, that this is the home not only of those who live there but also of those who love it. And I know there are many.
Foto: Horacio Conde
The word spread, dormant circuits were reactivated and, as if from a long hibernation, old and new faces were awakened. Loppiano exists, it’s there, it’s still there! The dreams that had fallen asleep come alive again, with a humble determination. Because the dreams that remain in the drawer grow mould.
So, what should we do? Where can we start first?
Then it hits us, maybe we can establish an energy community. “Yes,” someone replied. Maybe we could set up an alternative agriculture. Fantastic! Contribute to the urban and environmental reorganization of the Little Town according to the criteria of Laudato Sì.
What a dream! Why don’t we organize a welcome centre where people can spend a few days relaxing and re-educating themselves regarding nature and human relationships? Fantastic – someone else continued – I would love there to be a hub, a meeting space for cultural exchanges between young people and perhaps also between artists. Sounds exciting! What if we set up a Web-radio with a universal outlook, given the variety of skills, experiences and knowledge that many of us, scattered across the globe, have acquired over the years? Another dream (…)”
During a recent visit to the International Centre of the Movement, we interviewed the President of the Association, Alessandro Agostini and one of the councillors, Nicola di Settimo.
Turn on subtitles and choose your desired language
Interview Anna Lisa Innocenti e Carlos Mana Editing: Joaquín Masera.
In 2025, the Focolare Movement took additional steps to make its commitment to safeguarding both structural and verifiable, with particular attention to children and vulnerable adults. This was carried out in three areas:
consolidation of regulations
organisational strengthening
educational and cultural growth
Regarding regulations, the Movement has drawn up and approved the Safeguarding Policy of the Focolare Movement, which came into effect on the 1st of January 2026. The Policy brings together values, responsibilities and practices, connects procedures and guidelines, defines codes of conduct, criteria for safe spaces with a clear focus on people who have suffered abuse, providing for listening, accompaniment and – in specific cases – support and measures for compensation.
On an organisational level, on the 2nd of September 2025, the Safeguarding Office was established, with the task of coordinating safeguarding activities, monitoring commitments and deadlines, supervising official communication and supporting local safeguarding officers. It is supported by the Advisory and Action Board: a body composed of experts in the fields of formation, communication, law, and accompaniment of people who have suffered abuse. Its task is to assess the compliance of the actions undertaken according to the founding values of the Focolare Movement, to propose guidelines and strategic plans, and to promote collaboration with external experts and networks, ensuring constant updates on current regulations and best practices in the field of safeguarding.
View and download the 2025 Report by clicking on the image
In dialogue with the Catholic Church, in the two-year period 2024-2025, a collaboration with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM) was developed. The Commission examined the Procedures for handling cases of abuse, making several observations; it also requested information to include an analysis of the Movement’s policies in its own2024 Annual Report. The PCPM’s recommendations have led to a process of implementation that has already been partially completed (including the publication of the Internal Regulations of the Independent Central Commissionand the reporting of dedicated resources) and, for the remaining part, is in the process of being defined or developed (additions to be made to the General Statutes of the Focolare Movement, IT tools and institutional channels for data confidentiality).
The commitment to integral formation in safeguarding was outlined in an initial document summarising the courses and initiatives planned for the two-year period 2024–2025. The information shows the work being done to make formation more widespread, strengthen local commissions and coordinators, and at the same time highlights some critical issues that need to be addressed: continuity of formation, intercultural adaptation of materials, and improved flow of communication.
All of these steps – Policy, Safeguarding Office, collaboration with the PCPM, formation and transparency in reporting – express the desire to continue with determination on the path of prevention, shared responsibility and listening to those who have suffered an abuse, in the belief that safeguarding is an integral part of the Movement’s mission and a service to the common good.
In this perspective, the words that the Pope addressed to the participants at
the meeting ‘Building communities that safeguard dignity’ also resonate for
the Focolare Movement as a guideline to follow:
“I therefore appreciate and encourage your intention to share experiences and learning processes on how to prevent all forms of abuse and how to give an account, with truth and humility, of the steps taken to protect minors. I urge you to continue this commitment so that communities may increasingly become examples of trust and dialogue, where every person is respected, listened to, and valued.
Where justice is lived with mercy, wounds are transformed into openings for grace.”[1]
Stefania Tanesini
Interview with Bishop Alí Herrera, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors of the Catholic Church
My name is Vida and for a few years now, I and others from the Lithuanian community have been supporting the family of Julia from Indonesia, whom I met in 2018 in Manila (Philippines) on the occasion of Genfest, the international meeting that brings together the young people of the Focolare Movement. Over this time, despite the distance, a sisterly relationship has developed between us. Her family lives in Medan and is part of the Focolare community there. We have been able to support them at various difficult moments and, it always surprised me and gave me joy that whenever they received help, they immediately thought of other people too.
Before Christmas Julia shared with me her desire to help the children in an orphanage. They needed pillows and mattresses as the flood had destroyed those they had. Since she is a very practical person, she had already worked out the amount needed. So I wrote to the Lithuanian community on our shared website, hoping that someone would be able to donate something. “I was amazed to see that in a short time we collected an even larger amount that I immediately sent to Julia who did everything she could to make the children happy. As well as the mattresses and pillows, for the first time, they also had a Christmas tree
