How does the life of a focolare pan out in daily life? We went to Stockholm, Sweden, where we accompanied the focolarine at home, at work and in various activities with the Focolare community. https://vimeo.com/378511957
The immediate establishment of a high-level trilateral committee between special representatives of the United States, the European Union and Iran, with a mandate to re-establish dialogue between the USA and Iran. The appeal by the Movement for politics and policies for unity and New Humanity of the Focolare Movement. The Movement promoting Politics and Policies for Unity expresses its grave concern at the escalating conflict between Iran and the United States. The institutions of international politics, together with non-governmental organizations, have a special responsibility to act at the service of peace and rights peoples’ rights. Only steadfast international dialogue and diplomacy, in a spirit of hope, can take genuine steps towards peace. We are facing one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. There must be a way to resolve it, shown by human values and willing hearts. “We no longer see people’s faces, those who suffer, are limited, tormented and ultimately slaughtered on battlefields”: these are the words of Hon. Igino Giordani in a heartfelt speech to the Italian Parliament. We are called to see, to rediscover the face of every person, to say no to war, to every act of war. To achieve peace, however, tireless diplomacy and negotiation are needed, because war and terrorism represent complete defeat for humankind. This is why we urgently call for the establishment of a high-level trilateral committee between special representatives of the United States, the European Union and Iran, with a mandate to re-establish meaningful dialogue and ultimately achieve a peaceful solution to the conflict. Mario Bruno Marco Desalvo President – Mppu Movement New Humanity NGO contact: Mario Bruno +39 334 998 0260 Text as pdf
76 years after that December 7th 1943, Paolo Balduzzi takes us to Trent to visit some of the significant places of those early days of Chiara and the Focolare community. Today, the city from which everything began is bringing into its civil and social fabric signs and practices derived from a mentality of fraternity that from that city has reached the ends of the earth. https://vimeo.com/378511451
On 30 August 2019, one of the last sunlit days of summer, Albert Dreston left us. The focolarino, professor and theologian also played a lead role – for generations – with football at Loppiano, the Focolare’s international centre in Italy where he lived for 52 years. Even during his earliest years, life was never simple. He was born in Rhineland in 1939, and at the age of six he lost his father in World War II. Despite the pain and amid the tears, he made his first great discovery of God. “Suddenly,” he recalled, “there was a strength and a voice inside me, as if God were telling me, ‘You are no orphan; I am your father’. From that moment on, I never missed my father, and I never ever felt alone again.” At a young age he had to have a lung removed, and it seemed he would not live for long. As often happens, however, what someone who could lose everything does is to take a step toward a great “treasure” they have discovered. That is exactly what happened in 1957 at Münster when, in a meeting with some focolarini, he was touched by “Jesus in the midst, the fruit of reciprocal love”. His life started upon the path of the Ideal, which would help him live through the tribulations and physical difficulties with a new awareness. The next year Fr. Foresi and Chiara agreed that he would start his life in focolare. A few years later, it would be Fr. Foresi yet again to tell him that, once he had finished his Old Testament studies, he would go to teach at Loppiano, the first permanent Mariapolis. It was in 1967, when Albert was 28 and his physical condition had improved, that sports at Loppiano became an essential way to get to know, share and relate to others. In that framework, a new era started for him – he became the young trainer among young people from all over the world. Throughout his years of service at Loppiano, he never stopped being a resource for others. He taught both in class and on the field, with the dedication of a football enthusiast, the intelligence of a teacher and the love of a focolarino. You could not really say that he was a star player of the beautiful game, a great goal scorer. He was more than that. In recent years, having seen 75 springs, it could happen that he did not feel up to playing. Yet you would find him there, 30 minutes early, to gather the players and set up the same field that in a few months will be named after him. He was truly much more than that, a champion of perfect timing – in a single game he could be groundskeeper, coach, referee, linesman, sweeper and overall sports director. There was always a team to build, and he always managed to select a pair of good defenders, whether they be African, Brazilian or Asian. Albert Dreston was Loppiano football. He was a true captain, a teammate to everyone, even when on the opposing team. He was a genuine legend. To speak his name today is to open the great book of the Focolare Movement, which is rich with wonderful people and precious lives. It is to dwell on a chapter of someone who, in quite different ways, knew how to give of their time to help others. In recent years the question came up of whether he could keep playing, whether it was the time to have a farewell game, hang up his boots and close his story in style. Someone took courage and whispered it to him respectfully. Yet all of us who tried were kidding ourselves. Albert, headstrong with German consistency, responded, “I will go straight from the sports field to potter’s field.” And so it was, kind of. He bid us farewell on a Friday. As usual, this was perfect timing: for the last call at the match vigil, to form teams and continue without delay… on the Elysian fields. Enjoy football heaven, captain… and thank you!
Andrea Cardinali
Chiara emphasised a number of times how working to establish relationships of peace throughout the world is something revolutionary. The new decade is set to begin, which also marks 100 years since the birth of Focolare’s founder. “Do you know who the peacemakers are that Jesus speaks about?” With these words Chiara opened her comments on Word of Life for February 1981. Once again today, for the International Day of Peace, these words are aimed at us more than ever. Those who make peace create and establish connections, smoothing out tensions, Chiara explains. Doing so we will discover that there are infinite opportunities to be true peacemakers. https://vimeo.com/333055787
The relationship built with Focolare members and communities worldwide is one of the most beautiful experiences for us who work at focolare.org. We take the opportunity of this Christmas Season to thank all those who send us news, and thus allow the life of the charism of unity to inspire many. An email we received from Fr. Domenico De Martino, a 36 year old priest from Naples, who is a missionary in Burkina Faso, has really been a great gift. It has brought us closer to people who live in a part of the world where peace, dignity and religious freedom are seriously threatened and where the use of telecommunications is extremely low. Violence by extremist groups, that hit Burkina Faso during the past five years, caused hundreds of deaths, a wave of kidnappings and the closure of many schools and churches. It has also led to a massive and continuous displacement of people who moved from the affected regions to the capital and other large urban centres. According to the latest information by the UN, 486,360 internally displaced persons (IDPs) were registered at the beginning of October, more than twice the number displaced in July. Numbers continue to grow steadily, and there are even reports of one million IDPs. 
Fr. Domenico, a member of the Missionary Community of Villaregia , came to know the Focolare Movement at the age of 12, when he came across the Word of Life, a monthly commentary on the Scriptures in the spirit of the charism of unity. Chiara Lubich started this commentary more than 40 years ago, and Domenico came to know about it during his visits to the missionaries. He related: “When I was 17 years old, I wrote to Chiara Lubich and asked her for a Word from the Gospel that could be a light to guide me in my life. I also wanted to share with her all about my vocation. I still treasure her answer to my letter; I keep it in my Bible and every now and then I read it again. She indicated words from St John’s Gospel: ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him’ (Jn 14:23). I always try to go deeper into these very stong and demanding words, to find the meaning of my life. I was ordained priest in 2012 after a year’s experience in Lima, Peru”. For the last two years, Fr. Domenico has been doing missioniary work in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. He is involved in a number of projects that aim at integral human promotion. He told us: “Burkina Faso literally means ‘the land of upright people’; family and a sense of community are among the most treasured values of the Burkinabé people. Most of the 160 students, who attend the school we have started to promote literacy, are girls and young mothers who had no opportunity to study before. We have also set up a project to help women start small businesses to make ends meet. Many present their projects to ask for our support but it is not always easy to choose. The Gospel and the desire to be part of this people guide us in our choices. In recent months, schools in the capital city have started to function again, but unfortunately, it is not the same for schools in other parts of the country. Terrorist groups burnt many schools in the North, North-East and North-West of the country, and at the end of the last scholastic year several teachers were killed. “The tactics used by the bandits or terrorists are always the same; they arrive in the villages, take everything – cattle and crops – empty the small shops, and then they look for teachers and tell them that if they don’t leave, they will be the next victims unless they teach Arabic or what they call ‘the true religion’. I had the opportunity to talk to some teachers, who despite this desperate situation still have to report to work because the state obliges them to do so, but there is great fear. Our area is quiet, but we try to be close to our people and share in their fears and anxieties. Last September, 40 soldiers lost their lives during an attack on a military base. Among them, there were 3 of our young parishioners. We were particularly close to one of them, who was the eldest son of a family we know quite well. When we went to visit this family to offer our condolences, we met the grief-stricken widow and her two sons, and it was extremely difficult to understand why so much hatred and horror. Jean, the soldier’s father, who always tells me: ‘You priests are God’s sign for us; we can ask you everything because you give us God’s word, his comfort and his will’, was also there. This time, I could only shake his weak hand without uttering a word, and make him feel that God is near”. In this serious situation of great instability, one perceives a sign of hope in the communion that continues to grow among different Christian churches and people of other religions, especially Muslims. They get together and unite in prayers for peace. Fr. Domenico spoke about another sign of peace when he related about a project to help with the payment of school fees. To date, 96 children have benefited from it. “We were shocked when we found out that many children do not have a birth certificate; it seems as if they do not exist at all. We encounter various complex situations that require our attention and assistence. It is amazing to discover that placing God at the centre of our activities leads us to deeper understanding and better organization, because we look at the person as a whole. We are trying to get organized about birth certificates, and this will allow us to give back dignity to the children of our neighbourhoods”. It was evident that Fr. Domenico had so many other things to relate. His words full of love for the Burkinabé people brought us closer to this country. He concluded: “Communion helps us to be Church in the real sense of the word; we actually know what is happening around us and we become fully committed to help all God’s children who suffer and are in need”.
Stefania Tanesini