Father Silvano Cola (1928–2007), a priest with a background in psychology and education, spent the early days of his ministry working with children in situations of neglect and hardship at the “Città dei Ragazzi” in Turin. There, he developed an educational method based on personalised learning programmes, which was groundbreaking at the time. In 1954, at the age of 26, he met the Focolare Movement, founded by Chiara Lubich, and the charism of unity, which had a profound influence on his priestly ministry. Over the years, he focused particularly on the formation of the clergy and on spreading the charism of unity, contributing to the establishment and development of the Movement’s branch for priests. Chiara Lubich regarded him as a co-founder of this reality.
“I will never forget what happened on the day of my ordination,” recalls Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-Sik,, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, who had known Father Silvano since he was a seminarian. “When we returned to the sacristy, Father Silvano came up to me and placed a chain with a gold cross round my neck. ‘This is your Spouse,’ he said. As if to say: this is your faithful travelling companion, the one with whom to share everything and in whom, in every painful circumstance, you are to recognise the key to making your life and your ministry fruitful. ‘Live your life with him!’ A charge that has shaped my life’s journey and still guides me to this day.”
The ceremony will be presided over by Monsignor Stefano Russo, Bishop of Velletri-Segni and Frascati, and marks the official opening of the ecclesiastical process aimed at gathering testimonies and documentation on the life, virtues and reputation for holiness of Father Silvano Cola.
The following will be present: Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-Sik, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy; Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi, Archbishop Emeritus of L’Aquila and President of the Commission of Cardinals for the Supervision of the IOR; Monsignor Tommaso Caputo, Archbishop-Prelate of Pompeii; Monsignor Vincenzo Zani, Archbishop, Archivist and Librarian Emeritus of the Holy Roman Church; Monsignor Sandro Salvucci, Archbishop of Pesaro and Urbino-Urbania-Sant’Angelo in Vado; Monsignor Michele Fusco, Bishop of Sulmona-Valva; Monsignor Gianfranco De Luca, Bishop Emeritus of Termoli-Larino; Margaret Karram and Roberto Almada, President and Co-President of the Focolare Movement… family members…
To mark the occasion, the book “Rendere luminosa la notte. Biografia di Silvano Cola. Seconda parte (1967–2007)” [Lighting Up the Night: A Biography of Silvano Cola. Part Two (1967–2007)] by Fernando Muraca (Città Nuova publishing house) will be released.
Programme
3.30 pm: Eucharistic Celebration. 4.30 pm: Presentation of the Servant of God Father Silvano Cola. This will be followed by the opening of the Diocesan Inquiry – First session.
Biography of Father Silvano Cola
Father Silvano Cola was born in Camerino, in the Marche region of Italy, on the 22nd of January 1928. A few months later, his family moved to Lanzo Torinese in Piedmont, at the foot of the Graian Alps. The faith instilled in him by his mother, and with the support of the parish priest, led him to enter the minor seminary in Giaveno (TO) in October 1937, at just nine years of age.
His formative years leading up to his ordination as a priest were marked by the difficult period of the Second World War. At the age of 22, he was ordained a priest on the 27th of June 1950, thanks to a special dispensation, as he had not yet reached the minimum age required by church regulations to become a priest.
His desire to remain true to the Gospel led him to choose to devote himself to the Città dei Ragazzi, founded by Father Giovanni Battista Arbinolo, and there, amidst the uncertainties of a project still in its early stages, he devised a groundbreaking educational system for children who had been abandoned or were facing hardship.
This experience caused a stir both in ecclesiastical circles and in secular society, and the Piedmontese Education Authority asked him to give lectures to teachers in training.
Despite the fruits of his educational efforts – which led him to be presented to the parishioners of the parish where he became an assistant parish priest as a “new Don Bosco” – he was put to the test by a profound crisis of faith, during which he even considered leaving the priesthood.
It was during this same period that he met some of the first focolarine in Turin – consecrated laywomen belonging to the Focolare Movement, founded by Chiara Lubich. Their witness to a life lived according to the Gospel helped him to rediscover his faith and the meaning of his priestly vocation.
His encounter with the charism of unity had a profound impact on his ministry. Over the years, he contributed to the establishment and development of the Priests Movement, of which he was a co-founder. He dedicated himself to the formation and accompaniment of priests, promoting a life of communion and exploring, in the light of the Second Vatican Council, the relationship between the priestly ministry and the spirituality of unity. He died on the 17th of February 2007 after a life of devoted service to the Church.
Father Silvano was a steadfast guide to many people – including priests, deacons, consecrated persons and laypeople – helping them to love the Church and the people of God with a Marian spirit and guiding them towards a sincere and radical choice of God, such as the one that had shaped his own life.
The protagonists of this fifth episode of What’s UP? are the Gen 4, the children of the Focolare Movement – specifically the Gen 4 from Portugal – who at one point learnt that the Chiara Luce Centre in Burundi, located in the Kinama neighbourhood, one of the most vulnerable areas of the city of Bujumbura, was without water. So, together with other Gen 4 from various European countries, they spread the word and gave life to something truly special.
Video in the original language. Turn on subtitles and select your preferred language.
“A short life, but a wonderful message. Nineteen years full of life, love and faith. Two years, the last ones, also full of suffering, but always lived in love and light: a light that radiated around her and came from within, from her heart filled with God.” These are some of the words spoken by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 to a group of young Italians about Chiara “Luce” Badano, a young member of the Focolare Movement. Pope Benedict frequently presented her as a shining example for young people, emphasising how her short but intense life demonstrated that a full and happy life does not depend on good health or the number of years we live, but on our encounter with God. He repeatedly encouraged people to discover her story.
The Chiara Badano Foundation, a non-profit organisation, was established in 2011 to preserve Chiara’s memory and keep her story alive. Throughout the world, 29th October, Chiara’s birthday, is a day of remembrance. In particular, in Sassello, Italy, her birthplace, the Feast Day is celebrated with events open to everyone and live streams available worldwide.
For over thirty years, the community and Chiara’s friends have gathered in this small town in northern Italy to remember the young “Blessed”. Chiara died on 7th October 1990, and this deeply rooted tradition began long before 2010, when the Church officially established her liturgical feast day.
This year, too, Sassello is preparing to welcome pilgrims and visitors from around the world with a rich programme of events. For those unable to attend in person, all the main activities will be streamed live on the official website of the Chiara Badano Foundation.
Programme for the Day
All times are local Italian time.
From 10:00 am – Welcome and cultural activities
Visitors will be able to enter Chiara’s home and visit the bedroom of Blessed Chiara “Luce” Badano.
At the Foundation’s headquarters, the official video “A Story of Light” will also be shown, with audio available in Italian, English, Spanish, Portuguese and Bulgarian.
The children’s book “A Luminous Life” by Giovanna Poggi, illustrated by Bruno Dolif, will then be presented, including via live stream. This will be followed by an open conversation with the author. 12 noon – “Time Out” for Peace
Friends of Chiara will gather at the cemetery, at the Badano family chapel, for a shared minute of silence to pray for peace throughout the world. The event will be streamed live.
3:30 pm – Solemn Mass and award announcements A solemn Mass will be celebrated at the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Sassello, presided over by His Excellency Bishop Luigi Testore, Bishop of Acqui and Alessandria.
This will be followed by the announcement of the winners of the 2025–2026 Chiara Luce Badano Solidarity Award, which recognises youth groups and organisations engaged in solidarity projects in the social, healthcare and environmental fields. The winnersof the 2025–2026 Chiara Luce Badano Art Award will also be announced, with the ceremony streamed live. This award is for young artists who have created a work of art inspired by the life and values of Blessed Chiara.
In Northern Nigeria, an integrated model of crops, trees and livestock is transforming the lives of approximately 100,000 smallholder farming families.
At the EoC’s 35th anniversary gathering, regenerative agripreneur Andrew Kwasari shared how this methodology has brought measurable improvements to nature and communities.
He also explained how farming families are now working in cooperatives and promoting social inclusion.
Audio in the original language. Activate subtitles and select the desired language.
Putting ourselves in the shoes of those we perceive as distant and different helps us to understand their story and their struggles, but also the richness they bring with them. At the same time, to welcome means to open our heart to infinite possibilities, including that of being the first to receive abundant gifts and, without realising it, to become a “home” for someone.
At the station
I was sitting in the car in front of the station, waiting for the train to arrive with my daughter, when a man approached me and showed me his documents: he was a Palestinian who had fled the war.
From his halting Italian, I gathered that he was staying at Caritas and had come here to look for work as a bricklayer. However, he first needed to regularise his situation and for this he needed a revenue stamp and four photos. I listened to him and struggled to interact with him, but I didn’t respond to his request, although I said goodbye to him politely.
Meanwhile, the train was delayed. My eyes turned towards the Palestinian who was also waiting at the entrance to the station … for whom? Someone more charitable than me? Something inside urged me to go back to him, this time with the money for the necessary paperwork to be completed at the police station. As the train arrived, he kept thanking me warmly.
Thinking that we must always be ready to meet God, I concluded: so, it was really He who met me in that Palestinian man.
(Barbara – Italy)
Marius, Franz, Elke
I was a paediatrician and Ursula was a nurse in the same paediatric department of the hospital. In the early years of our marriage, we hardly noticed that we were not having children of our own, as we were focused on the little ones entrusted to our care. Until one morning, a three-month-old baby was admitted to our care. He had been born to a teenage mother who was unable to look after him.
After considerable reflection we applied to adopt him. The best time of our lives began. We used to go to work together, with little Marius in our arms and once at the hospital, we would put him in a pushchair where we could keep an eye on him while we worked. Two years later, a similar situation occurred involving another newborn for whom an adoptive family was being sought. So Franz joined Marius: they were very different from each other, as can also be the case with biological children. Two more years passed, and, again under similar circumstances, Elke joined us. First and foremost, they are children of God, but to us they also seem to be the fruit of our love and our work for everyone’s children.
