A European Mariapolis
70 years after the first Mariapolis was held in Italy’s Dolomites, 2019 sees the Mariapolis returning to its place of origin and inviting participants from all over Europe. We interview Peter Forst, director of the Focolare Movement for Central Europe and one of the organizers of the event. Today’s Europe appears very divided – with Brexit on one side and walls against immigration on the other. What is the point of having a European Mariapolis? It was the realisation of how divided Europe really is that gave birth to the idea of the European Mariapolis. We realised that here in Europe we hold very different opinions, sometimes opposing opinions, about developments in Europe with regard to migration, values, etc. The primary purpose of the Mariapolis is to strengthen relationships, to create spaces for communion and sharing and to encourage all humanity to set out on the pathways of universal fraternity – of unity between individuals and between peoples. So we hope to be able to witness that it is possible to remain united – even if there are many differences between us. How has the Mariapolis changed – from 1949 to 2019? The first Mariapolis was very spontaneous. Today more logistics are involved in the organisation and preparation of the programme. But we want the spirit of this European Mariapolis to be the same as that of 60 or 70 years ago: we want to experience and give witness to the fact that humanity is a family. How do we do it? Unconditional love. Why have it in the Dolomites? The idea of having this Mariapolis in the same place as the first Mariapolis immediately felt right to all of us. Seventy years ago, in the summer of 1949, Chiara Lubich was on holiday with her first companions at Tonadico in the Dolomites. Together with the Italian parliamentarian Igino Giordani, they lived an experience of light, of extraordinary union with God and of profound unity. It was from this experience that the Focolare Movement grew. It was not nostalgia that prompted us to choose the Dolomites, but the conviction that it is important in this period “after Chiara” to go back to our roots – to find the way forward and to find answers for today. Who will participate? What is the programme? What do you mean by the title “Aim High”? The Mariapolis is open to everyone. There are 600 places for each of the four weeks. Registration is open until January 31st (www.mariapolieuropea.org). The programme will offer trips, sports, games, music, spirituality, prayers, creative workshops and forums on various themes – all to provide participants with opportunities for real encounters. We thought that “Aim high” seemed to be a suitable title, reminding us to try to live all our relationships on higher levels – both spiritually and humanly speaking. Then, of course, once we are there in the mountains, we will aim high automatically!
Lorenzo Russo
THE DATES:
They are young people, adults and families, who set off in small groups to visit distant countries where communities and villages await them. For a while they travel along the same road together, experiencing mutual acceptance and an exchange between the different cultures. They give of themselves to the others and they “make themselves one” with the others – in their joys and in their sorrows. They are certain that it is through loving our neighbours that each one of us finds our own full realisation. They believe that fraternity is possible between people of different faiths and beliefs and that the Golden Rule – “Do to others what you would have done to you” – exists for everyone to make it their own. These small groups are the so-called “temporary focolares”, a travelling version of the traditional focolares. They function as central points of the Movement in various territories. They are like beating hearts sharing the life within them. In recent years there have been dozens of them, all following in the wake of the “pioneers” of the Focolare Movement who, ever since the 1950s, were sent out by Chiara Lubich like modern apostles to bring the charism of unity to different continents. 
Nepal is a meeting point between the Mongolian populations of Asia and the Caucasian populations of the Indian plains. There is a profound sense of spirituality there with Buddhism practised side by side with Christianity and Hinduism. In 2018, from October 20 to November 7, a group of focolarini made their way to Nepal, travelling from the capital Kathmandu to Dharan, in the south, and then further north to Pokhara. Their goal was to build relationships. Coming from India, Italy and Great Britain, the members of the focolare group immediately immersed themselves in the Nepalese culture. On their arrival the Dashain Hindu festival was in progress. It’s the largest Hindu festival and it involves the whole country. The group participated in the Tika ritual, and received the traditional blessing. In Daharan, the group was welcomed in parishes where they spoke of the history of the Focolare Movement and of its commitment to universal fraternity. They were met with great enthusiasm from the people and the priests. In the capital, the group was joined by two Nepalese young people who had participated in the 2018 Genfest in Manila. They shared their experience with the students of a school run by Jesuit fathers. In Pokhara they met with some Hindu families. Although they were poor and had very little to live on, harmony and dignity filled their homes. After the focolarini spoke about the ideal of unity, they were invited to have lunch together while listening to traditional music. 
For a business owner, it goes without saying that having the president of the republic visit your business is an exceptional event. But if that visit happens on the president’s birthday, it’s even more so! That’s exactly what happened in Daejeon to Amata Kim and Fedes Im, two Korean entrepreneurs who are part of the Economy of Communion and run the well-known bakery Sung Sim Dang. Moon Jae-in, who has been South Korea’s president since May 2017, is known in the West for starting the peace process with North Korea after almost 70 years of cold war. He celebrated his birthday at Sung Sim Dang with a magnificent cake and was able to get to know the business’s history and reality up close. His Instagram post got more than 76,000 likes in just a few hours. “I was pleasantly surprised today to celebrate my birthday at the Sung Sim Dang bakery in Daejeon,” he said. “During the war in 1950 my father and the bakery’s founder (Fedes’ father) were on the same evacuation ship, Victoria, fleeing North Korea. Remembering this moment of history is for us is something we hold dear and precious. My birthday is a day like any other, but today I am recharged with new strength from the well wishes of so many. Thank you!” The event resonated widely in the media, partly because Sung Sim Dang is universally recognized and highly valued throughout the city of Daejeon. 
Splendid sunshine provided a background to a special day in Ischia, an island in the Bay of Naples in Italy, when on January 23, a group of students from Giovanni Scotti High School attended the presentation of a book entitled “I Will Speak for as Long as I Live”. At this event, they learnt about Alberta Levi Temin who was a direct witness to the tragedy of the Holocaust and an admirer of Chiara Lubich. The young people listened to an emotional account of her life story in the presence of a group of friends of the Focolare Movement including teachers, students, parents and even the author of the book Pasquale Lubrano Lavadera and Diana Pezza Borrelli. The latter had met Alberta through the “Association of Jewish–Christian Friends” in Naples and had enjoyed a warm relationship with her. Pasquale said, “One day, Alberta came to speak in my school. She was Jewish but she came with her dear friend, Diana, who was Catholic. She had been invited to speak to staff and students about the horrors of the Shoah but also to witness to the fact that dialogue is possible among people of different races, faiths and beliefs. I was very struck by one thing she said, ‘There is only one human family and we are all brothers and sisters.’” 
Alberta died in 2016 but throughout her life, she was sustained by one idea. It was the Golden Rule “Do to others what you would like done to you and do not do to others what you would not want done to you.” This idea always filled her with joy. She was committed to creating dialogue at all levels of society. She said, “I understand that today, more than ever, we need to love: as Chiara Lubich says, ‘We need to love another person’s country as much as we love our own.’ We should love the whole of humanity: it is only in this context that dialogue can develop.” “Every school should dedicate an hour or two each week to teaching all classes about the value of relationship. This helps young people to live together in a peaceful way and to collaborate in their studies for the good of all. Their school years are their first experience of being part of society and they should aim at making this a time of mutual support.” Alberta was convinced of this. 
At the conclusion of the presentation, the young people were invited to live the Golden Rule – “do to other whatever you would like done to you” – an instrument of peace and dialogue shared by all religions. To mark the occasion, the director of education, Lucia Monti, put a plaque by the olive tree dedicated to Alberta to express gratitude towards her and to encourage people to remember her example. Chiara, a student from the school, also said, “Thank you for the message of fraternity that you have given us. I am so impressed by the fact that Catholics are meeting with Jews and people of other religions to contribute to building a united world.” Pasquale Lubrano said, “I feel that I should thank Alberta for her life and wisdom. Now that she is no longer among us, I hope that by reading her story, each person here can experience her unique interior “beauty” and share this with others.” He concluded by saying, “Today I have been deeply moved by the attentive way in which the young people have listened, by their enthusiasm and by their searching gaze. In each one of them I have seen the need to live Love for all human beings and the awareness that the human family is one.”