It is with great joy, «multiplied by the joyful echo that arrived from the whole world» that Maria Voce, president of the Focolare Movement, welcomed the news of the opening of the Cause of Beatification of Chiara. Msgr. Raffaello Martinelli, Bishop of Frascati, made the announcement, setting January 27, 2015 for the opening ceremony of the process in the cathedral of Frascati. It’s in his diocese that Chiara Lubich lived most of her life until she passed away in 2008.

This is how Maria Voce explained it to Vatican Radio: “I immediately communicated this joy and gratitude to everyone, and also to the Bishop who was very careful in trying to bring ahead all the necessary preparatory work until it reached this moment. An enormous gratitude also goes to the Church because She allows us to show the beauty of a committed life, the life of Chiara.”

Maria Voce continues in that interview, Chiara “always dreamt of the day when we could truly speak about a sanctity of the people, because she understood that we become saints by doing God’s will, and that it is something that God asks of each person. Thus her desire was not so much of becoming a saint herself – even if she also logically had in mind that the will of God is ‘your sanctification’, as the Gospel says. Her desire was that many, many people would enter this way of holiness.» Hence, for Maria Voce, to work so that the holiness of Chiara Lubich may be recognized means «to work so that this possibility for all to become saints may be recognized.”

How is the Focolare Movement involved in this journey? With «a renewed commitment, so that the Church may see in Chiara’s followers the living witness of that model Chiara had been and continues to be for us.»

“The testimony of love of many people for Chiara Lubich remains the same,” Vatican Radio commented.”It remains the same and continues to grow, I’d say: it’s a witness of affection that comes also from those who didn’t know her personally. Certainly those who knew her feel that this moment is a special moment of grace: I’m talking about authorities of the Church, presidents or founders of other Movements, as well as people of various religions and Churches.”

Those who will have to examine papers, speeches and videos will not have an easy task: “There is a great deal of documents and writings that have already been given for this examination. And then there are videos, there are reels of speeches that Chiara gave; letters that Chiara wrote… There is so much material and it will surely be a great commitment for the whole Court, and also our commitment in preparing these documents in the best way possible so that the Church may go ahead with its examination.”

In short, one word to explain Chiara’s holiness? “I’d say normality: we can become saints by leading an ordinary life. The extraordinary fruits of this ordinary life are fruits that come from God, from the relationship of Chiara with God and from the natural relationship of Chiara with her people. Living something extraordinary in a natural way: Chiara gave us the example of this, even if logically there were also extraordinary moments in her life, however she gave us the example of holiness in ordinary moments, not only in extraordinary moments.”

And about Chiara Lubich “woman of dialogue,” important than ever these days, Maria Voce affirmed:” think that in this field Chiara has still a lot to say in order to establish real, profound relationships between civilizations, ethnic groups and religions so as to counteract this wave of violence that seems to be invading the world. Thus it is a declaration of holiness for a person who made her life a symbol of dialogue. This could be a sign of this moment.”

Complete interview on Vatican Radio

Live streaming 27 January from 4.00 – 6.00 pm (Italian time): http://live.focolare.org.