The Focolare Archive

The General Archive of the Focolare Movement preserves, among the many documents it holds, both paper and multimedia records concerning Focolare’s founder, Chiara Lubich (1920–2008). The records span the history of the Focolare Movement, from its birth to the present day, from its early development to its expansion worldwide.

On June 25, 2019, the Archive and Library Authority of Lazio declared the archive “of particular historical interest”, recognizing its value as an “extraordinary witness, a source of new inspiration and life”.

The records document the path of universal fraternity generated by the charismatic figure of Chiara Lubich, as well as co-founders Igino Giordani and Pasquale Foresi, her early collaborators. They bear witness to the centre and fulcrum of a global archival network: the original current of spirituality, life and thought that has drawn women and men from all latitudes. It is a testimony that the archive preserves and enhances, both from a perspective of historical research as well as information and dissemination.

“These documents,” said Chiara Lubich, “will in the future be the living presence of a past that has conditioned the present.”

There is a page dedicated to the General Archive of the Focolare Movement  on the website of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage of the Archival and Bibliographic Superintendence of the Lazio Region, with which there is a successful collaboration and on “BeWeb”, the Italian Episcopal Conference’s website for Cultural Heritage.

Are you doing research, preparing a conference, writing a book or a thesis? Do you need audiovisual material for a documentary? Let us know what you need.

40+archival funds
165830+Between films, video cassettes, betacam and U-matic, DVCcam and MiniDV, photos, negatives, slides, etc ...
6090+speeches and writings
22000+letters sent; hundreds of thousands received
70+Years of Memory
630+linear meters of analog audio, film and video media.
354+telephone conversations
970+linear meters of paper documentation