“Today I discovered Heaven: God is Love, He loves us immensely!” This is what the 780 Gen 4 sang – children of the Focolare Movement – gathered at Castelgandolfo for their congress. They came mostly from Italy and other European countries, but in the first row were also girls from Burundi and Ruanda, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and Lebanon.

Valeria from Bolivia: “Honestly, this congress is the best thing that ever happened to me. What I liked the most was learning from Jesus how to love, and now I love more than before, I don’t know how to thank God.”

Travelling to Rome would have been unthinkable for her had it not been for a variety of money-raisers by Gen4 from around the world. They raised more than 5,000 euros, which enabled her and others from outside Europe to attend the event.

Like the Gen4 boys, the girls also examined the God’s Love for his Chosen People, all the way to Jesus, who came on earth to bring us the Father’s love. A lively game lasting all afternoon helped them to discover Jesus’ presence not only in Heaven, but among us, when we love each other, in our neighbor, in his Word, and in the Eucharist.

“The answers you gave were all interesting and we felt them coming from your heart,” they wrote to Maria Voce following her meeting with them, in which she answered some of their rather demanding questions. They also wrote: “Thank you for answering so wisely to our questions! I finally know how to fulfill my dream: To become a saint you need to love everyone because Jesus in everyone! (. . .) “The congress taught me many things about Jesus, it changed my heart. I won’t be the same when I return home. I’m not the same. Whenever there’s an opportunity to help, I’ll be the first to step forward.”

There was a feast with dancing, songs, and skits as they met with the first companions of Chiara. It was a mutual gift, a moment of such intense and profound simplicity that it was difficult to say who enjoyed it more.

Having experienced the love of God, the Gen4 girls realized that they are truly sisters beyond their countries of origin, languages and culture. “I was happy being with the other Gen4,” writes Laurette from Ruanda. “We loved each other and when I reach Ruanda I’ll love everyone.”

Everywhere in the world – from California to Hong Kong – groups of Gen4 got together to follow some moments of the congress via internet. From Fontem, Cameroon, they write: “The video link-up was so beautiful! We saw that it doesn’t matter where we are: God is always with us and in Heaven at the same time. . . . We’re happy to give to our friends the most beautiful treasure we have: God! With love, we can transform our world that is so filled with hatred. This will Jesus please Jesus and we’ll meet him in Paradise. Thank you!”