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Bartolomeo I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople visits the international Centre of the Focolare

Bartolomeo I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople visits the international Centre of the Focolare

Oct 20, 2020 | Non categorizzato

This morning His Holiness Bartholomeo 1, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople paid a visit to the international centre of the Focolare Movement in Rocca di Papa. He was welcomed by Focolare President Maria Voce, who escorted him to visit the house where founder Chiara Lubich lived. He then prayed at her tomb. Joined by Co-President Jesús Morán and a small Focolare delegation, there followed an exchange of greetings and gifts. The Patriarch was in Rome for the international Prayer for Peace meeting promoted by the Community of Sant’Egidio being held at the Campidoglio (Capitoline Hill) today. Tomorrow he will receive an Honorary Doctorate in Philosophy from the Antonianum University. The Patriarch will also be meeting with Pope Francis.

©J. García – CSC Audiovisivi

 “Chiara committed herself to fraternity, unity and peace in all areas of human life, giving us a message through her life and her writings which we cannot ignore”.  With these words Patriarch Bartholomew 1 recalled Focolare founder, Chiara Lubich, during his visit to the International Centre of the Focolare Movement at Rocca di Papa this morning. His Holiness’ delegation included His Eminence Emmanuel, Metropolitan of France, His Excellency Cassianos, Igumeno of the Monastery of Chalki in Greece, Reverend Iakovos, Patriarchal Deacon. They were accompanied by Mons. Andrea Palmieri, Under Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPUC). “The Movement and all the works that exist today thanks to her charism,” he declared, “testify to a life lived for the Lord, passing through the Cross, but always directed to the Resurrection”. The Patriarch’s visit comes within the year of the Centenary of the Birth of Chiara Lubich: “How many other things our Chiara would have done if she were still among us!” continued His Holiness Bartholomew 1. “But it is not the years that give meaning to life, it is not the quantity, it is not the length. It is how we commit the talents that He has offered us. It is the quality of a life lived in witness to He who is the Life”.

©J. García – CSC Audiovisivi

The Patriarch arrived late morning at Rocca di Papa, to be welcomed by Focolare President Maria Voce and CoPresident Jesús Morán. With them he visited the house which had been Chiara Lubich’s home for many years, and the chapel at the International Centre which contains the founder’s tomb. Here, he wrote a long dedication in Greek in the visitors’ book. Hence to the Auditorium, where, respecting safety measures and norms, it was possible for a brief meeting with members of the Focolare’s General Council, some members of the Movement belonging to the Orthodox Church and a representative group of youth. The Patriarch expressed his affection and esteem for Maria Voce, calling her “dear sister”, “whose friendship with us and with our Ecumenical Patriarchate is long and steadfast, since the years when you lived in Constantinople where you truly left an indelible mark of the ministry of fraternity, unity and love for all”.  He continued, “Having reached the end of your mandate as President, we also want to thank you for your great contribution to the Movement. Our memory of you, like all of you, remains in our heart, and you will surely continue the charism where the Lord calls you to”.

©J. García – CSC Audiovisivi

There followed a presentation of some of the events celebrating the centenary of Chiara Lubich and some Focolare youth spoke of the “United World Project”, which this year, with the motto #daretocare is focussing on care for the environment and the most fragile parts of society around the world. The Patriarch commented, “Ideas and action, theory and practice. I hope that some Orthodox youth will be included in this project to collaborate with you for the good of humanity”. An exchange of gifts concluded the encounter. President Maria Voce offered a sculpture of the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus which came from the house where Chiara Lubich stayed when she was in Switzerland, and the Patriarch gave a wonderful icon.

Stefania Tanesini

To read the homily of His Holiness Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople, click here   https://vimeo.com/470297305

Rome becomes the “capital of peace”

Oct 20, 2020 | Non categorizzato

On Tuesday 20 October in Rome the International Prayer Meeting for Peace will take place:  participants will include representatives of world religions.  The initiative is being promoted by the Sant’Egidio Community. Maria Voce, president of the Focolare Movement will also be present.  The event can be followed via streaming. “We are very happy that this meeting can take place because we need words of peace, words of hope, words that indicate a future for humanity that is overwhelmed by this pandemic.” This is how Marco Impagliazzo, president of the Sant’Egidio Community, presented the 2020 International Prayer Meeting for Peace.  The event will be inspired by the spirit of Assisi and will be attended by representatives of the great world religions.  It is entitled “Nobody is Saved Alone – Peace and Fraternity” and will take place today, 20 October, in Rome, Italy in Piazza del Campidoglio.  It will gather together members of  different faiths and representatives of many different institutions for a solemn moment of reflection that aims to offer a message of hope for the future. During this event there will be time for prayer, each according to his or her own tradition.  A number of speakers will also offer interventions highlighting the contribution of religions in building a better future of peace and fraternity, especially now that the pandemic is causing widespread social and economic suffering. The president of the Focolare Movement, Maria Voce, will be among the participants. The event is scheduled to begin at 4.30 p.m. (utc+2) when the religious representatives will gather in different locations for prayer. Christians will meet for ecumenical prayer in the Basilica of St. Mary in Aracoeli (click here for the programme). At approximately 5.20 p.m. (utc+2) the meeting will take place in Piazza di Campidoglio. During the ceremony, keynote addresses will be given by Sergio Mattarella, the President of the Italian Republic, Andrea Riccardi, the founder of the Sant’Egidio Community and Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission who has recorded a video message.  Interventions will also be made by the Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, the Chief Rabbi of France, Rav Haim Korsia, the Secretary General of the Superior Committee of the Human Fraternity, Dr. Mohamed Abdelsalam Abdellatif, from the Ven. Shoten Minegishi (Soto Zen Buddhism), Dr. Karmaljit Singh Dillon (Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak National Committee) and Mrs. Divya Punchayil Prashoban (Hinduist representative).  Pope Francis will conclude this part of the meeting. The ceremony will then continue with a minute’s silence in memory of the victims of the pandemic and of all wars, the reading of the 2020 Appeal for Peace which will be delivered by a group of children to the ambassadors and representatives of national and international politics and the lighting of the peace candle by Pope Francis. The “Prayer Meeting for Peace” will be broadcast in full live streaming on the event website and on the social channels of the Sant’Egidio Community.

Lorenzo Russo

A Youth Movement, Chiara’s masterpiece

A Youth Movement, Chiara’s masterpiece

Oct 20, 2020 | Non categorizzato

A webinar to retrace the story of the Gen Movement, one of the most revolutionary youth movements founded in the last century that still continues its work in the 21st century.

© CSC Audiovisivi – Archivio

In the year dedicated to Chiara Lubich’s centenary, one could not fail to take up the story of the Gen Movement, that was founded in 1967 and attracted hundreds of thousands of youth from all over the world to engage in its goal of a united world. A webinar, held on October 18 and moderated by the RAI journalist Gianni Bianco, aimed at retracing its story. Inspite of its ups and downs, this youth movement formed men and women, not through forced actions or unbridled ambitions, but through the evangelical ideal of giving oneself to others. Those who still participate in the life of the Movement  and even those who no longer form part of it, continue to “live” Lubich’s charismatic intuitions, each in his or her own spiritual and professional sphere. Among those who  participated in the Webinar, there was Franz Coriasco, the author of the book Generazione nuova. La storia del Movimento Gen raccontata da un testimone,(New Generation. The story of the Gen Movement told by a witness), published by the New City Press. In this book, Coriasco deals with  his own personal view of the Movement, while he also presents a collective view that comes from his passionate and extensive research and also from the hundreds of interventions that support the narration. Luigino De Zottis was also present. In 1966, De Zottis and Virgo Folonari were entrusted with the setting up of the Gen Movement. It was Chiara Lubich herself who entrusted this venture to them, and while remembering those who made it possible, Luigino said: «Chiara’s inspiration surprised us, but we set out to do it in an extremely radical way. My life and that of so many other youth improved remarkably in an unexpected manner. I still remember Chiara’s words to us, adults, who had to give life to the Gen Movement; she said: “You adults don’t have to do anything to give birth to the youth movement. You must be like guardian angels”».  This “rule” for intergenerational relationships made history and continues to be innovative. Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Consecrated Life, who was one of the first “Gens”, the Gen seminarians, also participated in the webinar. He focused his attention on the central point of Lubich’s charism: «Jesus forsaken is not something small; it is the recognition of a truth, that enables one to move forward even when difficulties seem insurmountable». Using very strong words, he invited the Movement to rediscover its original spirit of communion. Among the interventions of people who are still active within the Movement, there were the significant words of Margherita Karram, who comes from the Holy Land. Summarizing her adventure with Chiara, she said: «Revolution, the evangelical revolution of that love that loves even one’s enemies. Identity, my country marked me with the conviction that my true identity is that of Jesus of Nazareth. Finally, heart, because we must live the Gospel radically with a heart of flesh, not a heart of stone, without building walls». «Are we at the beginning of the end or at the end of the beginning?”, Franz Coriasco asked in his speech. Jesus Moran, the current co-President of the Focolare Movement, replied: “Today, we are no longer in the utopian phase of  unity; humanity’s awareness of unity is tragic. We either become one or we destroy ourselves. Today’s Gen have many possibilities, because there is a clearer idea of what unity is. I am convinced that we are at the beginning of new developments, that reveal an incarnated charism».

Laura Salerno

Conlet Burns

The webinar’s conclusion was entrusted to today’s Gen – represented by Laura Salerno, Conlet Burns and Anna Aleotti – and it could not be otherwise, because the adventure continues. The Gen Movement started when young people were living the turbulent years of 1967-1968, and the Gen of that time were endowed with a revolutionary grip. They still have it today, and the young Lebanese Gen, for example, bear witness to this. On October 17, 2019, just a year ago, these Gen took to the streets to show their support in favour of a society, that is less corrupt, but more fraternal, just and inclusive. Makran, Salim, Mia and their friends show that the 1967 revolutionary spirit continues to be valid in 2020.

Michele Zanzucchi

The shortest and quickest way

Oct 19, 2020 | Non categorizzato

Christians know the exam they will face at the end of their lives. Jesus, in fact, revealed the questions he will ask us when we come before him. They are more relevant than ever – as Chiara Lubich explained. We urgently need to transform all our relationships into Christian relationships: with our siblings, parents, relatives, colleagues, acquaintances, and people all over the world. Encouraged and enlightened by love, we need to create both individual and social works. Let’s remember that if a glass of water will be rewarded, then a hospital, a school, an orphanage, a place to help young people in trouble, and much else, established as a way of expressing our charity, will prepare us for a brilliant final exam. Then God will say to us: “I was hungry in the members of your family just as I was hungry in the people of India.  Seeing me in them, you gave me food. “I was thirsty. I needed clothing, in your little children and in your brothers and sisters in many nations where people live in inhuman conditions. And you, seeing me in all of them, clothed me with what you had. “I was orphaned, hungry and sick in your own neighbourhood just as I was in the people of Pakistan who are overwhelmed by disasters, and you made every effort to help me. “You put up with your father in law, or your highly strung wife, or your difficult employees, or an unfriendly manager, because you were convinced that perfect social justice will only flourish through social charity; and you did this because you saw me in everyone”. “You visited a relative in prison, you prayed and brought aid to those who live oppressed and abused in the depths of their spirit…”. We will be astonished and just one word will come to our lips: “thank you!” Thank you, my God, for having opened up a way for us here on earth, the shortest and quickest way to reach our heavenly destination.

Chiara Lubich

#daretocare in Nigeria

Oct 17, 2020 | Non categorizzato

We visit different parts of Nigeria, where some people from the Focolare Movement show us their initiatives and projects offering care, sustainability, education and entrepreneurship locally. Full length version in English will be available soon. https://vimeo.com/464140739

Metropolitan Gennadios Zervos: a man of dialogue and of unity

Metropolitan Gennadios Zervos: a man of dialogue and of unity

Oct 16, 2020 | Non categorizzato

A brief profile of the Metropolitan who was a great friend of the Focolare; it is also an expression of Maria Voce’s prayers and closeness to him, on behalf of the whole Movement. Today 16th October, the Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Malta (Patriarchate of Constantinople) announced that Metropolitan Gennadios has “passed into heaven” [1]. He lived in Italy for 57 years, first as a parish priest in Naples, in 1970 as Bishop of Kratea and then from 1996 as archbishop of the diocese of Italy and Malta and exarch of Southern Europe, the seat of which is in Venice. Metropolitan Gennadios had a great love for the faithful of his Archdiocese that emerges from a recent letter (dated 3rd October), in which he wrote: “You are in my heart. You are my life!”[2]. In 2007 Patriarch Bartholomew said of him: “with immense love […] you have worked for many years in a missionary way for your flock, distinguishing yourself as having many and various charisms, which express the personality of your Eminence. The following can be singled out from your character as being the greatest: humility, gentleness, tranquility and wisdom. But the greatest of all is your love and faith towards the Mother Church”[3]. He was a man of dialogue who actively participated in ecumenical activity in Italy and beyond, as can be seen in this interview with Vatican Radio in 2015: “Praying means walking together and, as Pope Francis once told me, ‘walking it means union. When we walk together, unity is closer to us ‘” [4]. Speaking of the division of Christians, he said “We must now be crucified, we must climb onto the cross, to make our passions, our defects and our errors all disappear. Jesus Christ no longer comes to be crucified but we must be on the cross to erase fanaticism, hatred, selfishness”[5]. A great friend of the Focolare Movement, the Metropolitan often recalled an interview with Patriarch Athenagoras in 1970. “He received me for 48 minutes! Numerous bishops, priests, theologians and others were in the corridor waiting for the blessing of the Patriarch. Everyone was amazed that I had been in audience for so long […] What had happened? The Patriarch had talked about me for 2 minutes, about Pope Paul VI for 5 minutes and about Chiara for 40 minutes! “[6] He took part in many events of the Focolare: from the meetings of the bishops who are friends of the Movement, to the schools of ecumenism and the ecumenical weeks organized by the Centro “Uno” [7]. During the last edition, in 2017, he gave Maria Voce a medal in recognition and gratitude for the ecumenical work of the Focolare. It was his idea to found the “Patriarch Athenagoras – Chiara Lubich International Ecumenical Chair”, of which he was joint holder, at the Sophia University (Loppiano, Italy) and in 2017 he held the inaugural lecture entitled “Patriarch Athenagoras and Chiara Lubich, protagonists of unity”[8]. Metropolitan Gennadios was able to meet Chiara a few days before her death when he visited her, together with Patriarch Bartholomew, at the “Gemelli” Polyclinic hospital in Rome. Of that last meeting he remembered: “She was full of joy, smiling as always, gentile, serene and her “Charism” was very much alive. In fact, her last words before leaving us were “Always united!” [9] Metropolitan Gennadios seems to have fulfilled what Patriarch Athenagoras prophetically told him in 1960: “You will go to Italy, we need new priests for the times to come, times of reconciliation and dialogue with the Catholic Church” [10].

Joan Patricia Back

[1] website ortodossia.it [2] website ortodossia.it [3] website ortodossia.it [4] Interview with Vatican Radio 23rd January 2015 on website ortodossia.it [5] Interview with Vatican Radio 23rd January 2015 on website ortodossia.it [6] Talk at the 50th anniversary of Centro “Uno”, Trent (Northern Italy) 12th March 2011 [7] Centro “Uno” for the unity of Christians promotes and follows the Focolare Movement’s ecumenical commitment. [8]  www.sophiauniversity.org/it [9]  Talk at the 50th anniversary of Centro “Uno”, Trent (Northern Italy) 12th March 2011 [10] website ortodossia.it