11 Mar 2019 | Non categorizzato
A whole town and its Mayor responded to the tragedy of a mother killed by her husband by mobilizing to take care of the children and inventing “Citizens’ Adoption”. It was an act that made the Italian town a winner of the 2019 Chiara Lubich Prize for Fraternity. Alghero is a small town in Sardinia with historical Catalan roots. Here the tragic news of the murder of Michela Fiori, a forty-year-old mother of two children who was killed by her husband, set in motion the generosity and solidarity of an entire community, together with its Mayor, Mario Bruno. In the aftermath of Michela’s death, the Mayor’s phone never stopped ringing. Everyone wanted to do something for her children: from the school bus driver who said he would accompany them to school to the manager of a club that offered to organize their birthday parties. “On Christmas Day I saw the city embrace the children – the Mayor explained. About four thousand people went in procession to Michela’s house. There I felt I had to make a promise: ‘I will take care of your children’. Then it became, ‘We will take care of your children’.” Generosity on the part of so many people led to the idea whereby the Mayor established a “Citizens’ Adoption”. It was an administrative act that, besides expressing solidarity, put the tragic phenomenon of femicide in the spotlight. The “Citizens’ Adoption” means that the 44,000 inhabitants of the town will take care of the two children through a support fund. It will be possible to make donations until the boys are twenty years old, or twenty-six if they decide to go to university. The first donation was from the town council, followed by over 300 citizens. The boys, who now live with their grandmother in Genoa, as decided by the Juvenile Court, appreciate this beautiful gesture. They thanked the Mayor with the simplicity that only children have: they drew a picture of a heart with the name of the Mayor written on it and words that deeply touched the community: “Thank you for everything.” A story of this kind could not go unnoticed by the Jury of the Chiara Lubich Prize for Fraternity. The award is given to local councils that develop effective and concrete projects or community initiatives promoting solidarity. And this is why Alghero won the tenth annual prize. But … the story continues. On 7 April 2019, the Mayor of Alghero will be in Turin, in northern Italy, to keep a promise he made. A few days after the tragedy the elder boy [aged 12] said to the Mayor: “Mum promised to take me to the football match at the stadium on my birthday, April 7th. Now that she’s gone, who will take me?” Mario Bruno’s immediate answer was “I will”. And so it will be. In fact, Giovanni Malagò, president of the Italian National Olympic Committee, has already phoned the Mayor assuring him that he will provide tickets for the Juventus-Milan match. The boys will also be able to see their favourite player, Ronaldo, who has said he will be available to meet them. Of course, for the children, the Mayor is just their friend Mario. Once a shop assistant asked for their documents when he was making a payment and they exclaimed, “But doesn’t she know you’re the Mayor”?
Paolo De Maina
10 Mar 2019 | Non categorizzato
Mercy is a love that fills the heart. It can then be poured out for others in society around us, whether neighbours or strangers. Traveling companion I was in prison for 19 months, guilty of having added elements to the wines I was marketing. Inside, however, with the help of a priest and some people who would come and volunteer, I was able to reflect and discover a different God than the one I had been taught about. I faced this trial with a renewed soul and began to experience true freedom, which is within and comes from loving our neighbour. The relationship with my wife changed and I was even reconciled with my in-laws. Not just that: I felt ready to forgive my partner, who was also responsible for perpetuating the fraud. Now that I have served my time, even if the future looks full of uncertainty, I know that God the Father is my traveling companion. (Javier, Argentina) Words of light My wife and I were alternating between outbursts and endless silences, with both of us hurting, as well as our children. Even though some friends tried to help, each of us remained firm in our position, and it seemed the marriage was ending. Blinded by anger, I had gotten to the point of thinking that it would be better to leave or even end it for good. Luckily, in that hell, some of the words that had once enlightened me came to mind: words of forgiveness, of love. As a Christian I was truly off track! During a good half of a sleepless night spent fighting back my pride, I woke my wife to ask her to help me humbly remember the happy moments that we had shared. We embraced and asked each other for forgiveness. (A husband in Africa) Rain One evening I felt quite tired and I would have liked to say to the kids to go to their rooms to say their prayers on their own, since I wanted to go to bed right away. But John, our oldest son, proposed that we say the rosary together to ask for rain – it had not rained for some time and our corn and potato crops were at risk. So we prayed together. To my surprise, that same night it started to rain and continued through the afternoon the following day. (B. M., Uganda) In the hospital An extremely poor woman, a mother who had been in the hospital for many months, needed help to eat, but the staff could not do this as well as all their other work. We let all our parish friends know, and one at a time we went to help her. Despite the situation seeming endless, she improved a bit, began responding to medicines and smiled. When the person she shared a room with died, in their will they left her a small sum to help her family. Love is contagious… (C. C., Spain)
8 Mar 2019 | Non categorizzato
Peace can be built in a thousand different ways. Sometimes you also need places in which to meet – a place for dialogue, spirituality, study and formation. The Focolare’s project for Jerusalem. https://vimeo.com/319521770
7 Mar 2019 | Non categorizzato
Located on the border between the Jewish and Arab sections of Jerusalem, it will be a place of spirituality, study, dialogue and formation for the Holy City and for the whole world. A French historian once wrote that Jerusalem does not belong to Jerusalem, because it is a city of the world, a city where people of the whole world meet, again and again, face to face, to confront each other and to challenge each other. It is a place where some seek to practise peaceful cohabitation – while others seek war, where some strive to spread a sense of common belonging – while others try to spread hatred. In fact, it is easy to give in to the temptation to see only what the almost daily news reports tell us about the Holy City – about the violence between the Jews and the Palestinians and the unending struggle of the Christians… But is this all there is to Jerusalem? Is there still room for hope and for the prophetic role this city has for the entire world? Chiara Lubich was always convinced that there is room for hope. She went to the Holy Land for the first time in 1956 and among the holy places she visited, there was one in particular that moved her. It’s called the “Scaletta,” and it refers to the ancient Roman white stone steps, just outside the walls of the old city, next to the church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu. According to tradition, Jesus walked along those steps in the evening after the Last Supper, on his way to the garden of Gethsemane. Also according to tradition, it was on those very stones that he uttered his prayer for unity: “Father that all may be one…” Here is how Chiara Lubich described the strong impression this place had on her. In her diary she wrote: “It was here that their Teacher, whose hour of death was drawing near, prayed to the Father. His heart was full of tenderness for his disciples, who had, yes, been chosen by Heaven, but who were still weak and without understanding. Jesus prayed to the Father in his own name and in the name of all those for whom he had come and for whom he was ready to die: “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one” (Jn 17:11 NRSV). There he called upon the Father to make us his children, even though we were far from him through our own fault, and to make us brothers and sisters, in the strongest unity, that which is divine.”[1] From that moment, it was Chiara’s desire that a centre for dialogue and unity could one day be born on this tiny piece of land. In the 1980’s there came an important turn of events. A plot of land adjacent to the Roman steps became available. Slowly the project advanced and approval was granted in 2016. Recently the excavations for the building works have been carried out. The future “Centre for Unity and Peace” received a precise mandate from Chiara: it is to be a place of spirituality, study, dialogue and formation. It is to be a place open to people of different ages, cultures, beliefs and backgrounds. It must foster encounters and opportunities to learn about others and so promote authentic relationships. Another decisive moment came in February 2019, when Maria Voce, president of the Focolare Movement, placed a small medal of Our Lady into the soil as an important initial sign for the construction of this centre. The project is to be a multi-purpose structure, suitable for hosting events and initiatives of various kinds at both local and international levels. It is now possible to contribute in various ways to support the construction of the centre. Click here for all the necessary information.
Stefania Tanesini
[1] Chiara Lubich, Scritti Spirituali/1: L’attrattiva del tempo moderno, Citta Nuova Editrice, p.172-179
5 Mar 2019 | Non categorizzato
Pierre-Andre Blanc’s death has been defined “a mystery” and “a shock” by many people. Pierre was a Swiss focolarino who died after a period of deep depression. Those who knew him, however, are sure that he found peace in that God-Love to whom he gave convincing witness in many different situations. “Your departure, Pierre-André, was too sudden for us. But your word of life, taken from the book of Isaiah (43:1) ‘I have called you by name: you are mine’ gives us an intuition of the love with which we think God welcomed you into paradise.” These words concluded the address given by Denise Roth and Markus Näf, jointly responsible for the focolare town of Montet, Switzerland, at Pierre-André Blanc’s funeral. They summarized the conflicting feelings of many of those present: on the one hand, an indescribable perplexity about his death and, on the other, trust and, indeed, the certainty that he has found true life. Fifth of six children, Pierre-André was born on April 2 1962 in Sion, Switzerland and grew up in Ayent, a small village in the Valais. His family was always very loving. He trained as a specialist educator and later completed theological studies. In 1980, he went to the Genfest in Rome, an international youth event organised by the Focolare Movement and it was there that he first came into contact with the spirituality of the Movement. He was impressed “by the quality of the relationships between people and by the joy that was evident on their faces” as he would later write. When he returned home, he began to allow the words of the gospel to impact upon his everyday life. He had been accustomed to “meeting” God when he was skiing during retreats in the mountains but he then discovered a new way of relating to God as he loved the people around him in concrete and practical ways. While attending a workshop on social issues, he suddenly and unexpectedly found himself in front of someone who spoke of his total donation to God. In Pierre-André a question arose: what if God were to call me to live like this person? He later wrote, “My fears of following God in a totalitarian way were not able to withstand his intervention in my life. I simply tried to show commitment in living the gospel and God did the rest. I understood how much he wanted my happiness and, above all, that in his eyes, I had enormous value. It seemed obvious to say yes to Jesus, to follow him where I felt he was calling me – to the focolare.” In 1989, he began his formation and preparation for a life of donation to God in the focolare. Those who knew him at this time describe him as sensitive to everything that “spoke” of God. They say that was able to grasp the essential in what was happening around him and in other people. At the end of the time of formation, Pierre-André entered the focolare in Geneva, Switzerland, and in 2006 he moved to the little town of Montet. For many years he made a valuable contribution to the life of the focolare community there, assisting other people in a variety of ways but always with generosity, practicality and discretion. In the professional field, he worked as an educator, first with children with physical disabilities and then with young people with learning difficulties. He always showed a deep capacity to be close to other people who were suffering. He had a fine sense of humour and, in everything he did, Pierre-André gave unreservedly of himself. At the end of May 2018, he showed the first symptoms of depression. He immediately received medical help but, after a month, he had to be admitted to a clinic. At a certain point he was able to return to Montet at weekends. In October 2018, he left the clinic and returned to the focolare whilst remaining under the care of a specialist doctor. At this time, the other focolarini were especially attentive to him, supporting and accompanying him during this phase of life. He was continuously in donation to others and it seemed that his condition was beginning to improve. However, in the end the disease was stronger and on November 28 it ended his life in a very sudden way. In spite of the shock, Pierre-André’s funeral was an expression of great gratitude from everyone for his life and for the delicate love he showed until the very end.
Joachim Schwind
4 Mar 2019 | Non categorizzato
This focolare little town in Switzerland has two schools for young people: one for the formation and training of focolarini and the other for young people who wish to deepen their understanding and experience of the spirituality of unity. Dialogue and exchange between generations and cultures are distinguishing features of life in Montet. Michael, a boy from Mali, described life in this little focolare town as follows, “It is a community that works together – body and soul – to show to the whole of humanity that diversity is not a fault or failure but a grace from God to unite the world.” He was a part of a group of thirty young people from thirteen different countries who followed a year long course of human, spiritual and professional formation. Gospel teachings and Chiara Lubich’s charism of unity underpinned this time of study, work and communitarian life during which people experienced that it is possible to build deep relationships with people of different ages, cultures, traditions and ways of thinking. 
Montet began in 1981 and is situated in a peaceful location, surrounded by green hills and three beautiful lakes, Bienne, Morat and Neuchatel. It is extremely international: its population of about one hundred people comes from thirty-five different countries. About half are young people who stay for a year and the other half are adults who live there permanently and guarantee the continuity of the life of the little town. It is a meeting place for people from five continents, coming from different cultures, religions, Christian Churches and of all generations. It was in Switzerland in the 1960’s that Chiara Lubich first began to envisage and understand what would eventually become the focolare little towns. There are now twenty- five in the world and they are places of witness to the unity of the entire human family. “In Einsiedeln, looking down from the hillside at the basilica and the surrounding area, I understood that the Movement should have a town but that it should not have an abbey and guesthouses but should be made up of homes, work places, and schools like ordinary towns.” There are two formation schools for young people in Montet. One is for the focolarini who are preparing for consecrated life and the other is for young people who want to spend a year living in community and are searching for their vocation. Alejandro from Cuba said, “Being at the school in Montet with people from so many different countries is like the confirmation that, irrespective of our diversity, a united world is possible if we all want it. It means learning from each other every day and trying to build unity with love. It’s a marvellous adventure.” Andre from Brazil explained, “In the little town, young people can study ethics, sociology, theology, intercultural dialogue and deepen their understanding of the spirituality of unity. This study can form the basis of their attitudes in the work they do now but is also a preparation for professional life. It will help them show responsibility and consistency in all areas of society in the future.” He continued, “In addition, thanks to the respect between generations, you understand that no one is superior to anyone else but you are actually responsible for one another. As a consequence, older people become younger in their outlook on life and younger people become more responsible.” For Gloria from Argentina, the intercultural aspect – namely, dialogue, exchange and cultural enrichment – is the distinctive feature of the little town. “We have had to learn to do something really important with our diversity. It was difficult because it seemed that we couldn’t understand one another but by loving we came to a solution regarding practical matters and we understood one another in transcendent things. Living with other people has enabled me to discover the best in them but also what is really good in my own culture. I’ve discovered how important other people are in my life and I think we shouldn’t be afraid to open up and discover their ‘world.’” In Montet “there are the answers to the questions we ask every day” said Ivona from Serbia. The little town is “a gift from God.” And as Larissa left for Brazil, she said, “It is a multicultural, multigenerational family.”
Claudia Di Lorenzi
