Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
(from right) Tanino with the first Hungarian focolarini
Grazia Passa, the first focolarina to go to Hungary
One of the first Mariapolis gatherings in the late '70s
Rome 1962. (from left) Pasquale Foresi, Igino Giordani, Canon Bernard Pawley and Mrs Margaret Pawley, Chiara Lubich, Eli Folonari
Chiara Lubich, Gabri Fallacara, Frère Roger Schutz (1978).
Istanbul, 2010. Participants of the 18th School of Ecumenism promoted by Centro “Uno” were received at the Fanar by Patriarch Bartholomew I.
“In 2007 I was diagnosed with leukemia. At first it I reacted well to the news, but in a second moment I was fearful of dying. The support I received from the youth of the Movement, the Gen, which was expressed in so many ways, through sms, emails, and visits was important. During the third cycle of chemotherapy, there was a girl in the hospital with me who had just become a mother. Her condition was worse than mine, she was neither married nor baptized. Nevertheless we spoke about God, about faith, and matrimony. Athough an attempted transplant had failed to help her overcome the disease, just before her health began to deteriorate, she had expressed the desire to marry. So, when she was already dying, I proposed to her family that she receive baptism. A priest came to the hospital and she was baptized “Margherita Maria”. A few days later she died on the feastday of Saint Margherita Maria Alacoque.” 
The day-long meeting began with this strong testimony given by Agnieska and it continued with experiences from daily life offered by the young protagonists of the Movement at the Mariapolis Centre. “Traveling the Road Together” was the title given to the day which, as the organisers tell us, was meant to offer an inside look into the “exceptional life of the ideal we believe in”. “To tell the truth, I was sceptical at first,” confesses Lukas, “I thought that there would be fifty young people at most, but that’s not what happened. Evidently the ideal of unity does have something to say.” The hall was barely able to hold the 150 youths who showed up from different regions of the Czech Republic. For most of them it was their first encounter with the Focolare Movement and they were not bashful about expressing their happiness at having found something so great. “I learnt about the Focolare from a friend and I didn’t know what to expect,” says 17 year old Kristina, “but it really surprised me a lot because of the great love you feel from the persons who talk here. I must say that I strongly felt the presence of God. This really moved me, because my father is not a believer and I felt very bad that he didn’t get to know this movement.” 
Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti share their own “journeys”, the way they met the Ideal of unity all the way to the point of deciding to follow God along the path of the focolare. Immediately questions began to rain down, and the answers were diverse and profound. To one girl who asked her where she could find the courage needed to make radical choices, free of conditioning, Maria Voce suggested: “The period of our life when we’re young is when we make important choices: if you don’t make them now, later you won’t have the opportunity. Yes, you need courage, but there is courage within you and you’ll find it in your relationship with God. If you choose out of love, then you don’t need to worry. Don’t put it off forever and don’t let others make your choices for you.” The invitation was to “love to the maximum”, as Jesus had done on the Cross, “always beginning again”, and never dwelling on “useless regret”. The audience listened attentively in silence. The 150 young people didn’t want to leave. Twenty-seven year old Elizabeth confided: “I’m very critical and at the same time I’m seeking to uderstand how and where to live the Christian life well. I’m searching for my path, and so I gladly agreed to find out what the Focolare Movement was about. What I heard spoken today has been a great enrichment for me and it’s encouraged me to decide to become part of something. I leave here with the understanding that whatever I do in my life, God is important and I can’t only keep him for myself.” Not only for Elizabeth, but for many of those present it really seemed like a new path had opened for them. By Aurora Nicosia [nggallery id=43]
The history of the Focolare Movement in the Czech land has often been marked by heroism. The Ideal of unity first arrived there in the 1960’s when it was still Czechoslovakia and Soviet Communism was in power. Since 1968 and the Prague Spring, which was suffocated by occupation forces after which Communism became even more oppressive, until November 1989 when the regime was terminated, the history of the Czech people was marked by great suffering. But amid al the hiding and persecution many came to be part of the Focolare Movement and, today, more than 700 traveled from across the country to meet the president of the Focolare, in the Palace of Culture in Prague 5, one of the 10 municipalities which subdivided the city. There was excitement, joy and expectation. It was a feast for a family that was reminiscing and looking ahead. 
There were numerous questions for Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti. A Gen 4 asked: “What were your dreams when you were small?” and some Gen 3: “How did you come to know God? What would you do if you met a poor family? Why didn’t God intervene when Hitler killed so many people? ” Questions from the adults dealt with the significance of the president’s travels, how to pursue the involvement of some of them in the “reconstruction ” of the country, life in local communities of the Movement, and the danger of activism. “My travels bring me to find my family, and so they are a pleasure for me. I go to offer my support, to encourage, to see what everyone is doing,” says Maria Voce. And it doesn’t matter whether they are small or great things. “During a recent trip to North America, she continues, “where everything is huge and our community is small in contrast, I felt that Jesus among those who love each other is a “super-power”. And so the same invitation stands for the Czech Republic to believe in this power so that you can reach the entire nation. With this Ideal not only can we, but we must bring the message of the resurrection into the world, to bring Jesus into the school, the factories, the parliament. This is the greatest thing that we can do.” 
On the same afternoon (21 May) the meeting was opened to all those who wanted to know more about the Focolare “revolution”. The testimonies offered and the initiatives taken showed how this lifestyle has enveloped people of all ages. When considering the progress made since Chiara Lubich launched “Golden Prague” for the city in 2001, it was clear that the commitment to re-evanglize the city has never faultered, nor the fruits. Maria Voce proposed a new step to be taken: “In this country you breathe in history and spirituality which, even during the hardest times, were never destroyed, but perhaps only covered over and protected. Here we are not beginning from zero, we are beginning again from the deep roots left by those who built this society and this culture. The step that we must now take is to bring a new evangelization, a new proclamation, brought by people who have been made new by mutual love. We must commit ourselves to proclaim to others that Jesus is risen, that all the suffering has been redeemed: This is a time of joy.” 
This was confirmed by Bishop Frantisek Radkovský, the Czech Republic Episcopal Conference delegate for the laity: “The Church has great expectations for the movements,” he affirmed during his remarks, “because they are her most dynamic part, a gift of the Holy Spirit for the modern times. Society today is secularized, but now there is an openness to spiritual things and it is important to show with (our) life that Christianity brings the humanism that is true. The movements have the ability to reach everyone and the most diverse fields of action are open to them, from the family to the school, from politics to the economy, from the mass media to sport.” As the meeting drew to a close, the musical quartet which had been offering some fine music throughout the day, began to play the theme song from “Mission Impossible”. It made everyone think that what is impossible for us will be possible for God. By Aurora Nicosia [nggallery id=42]
Maria Voce, president of the Focolare Movement, and co-president Giancarlo Faletti were welcomed by an unseasonably warm climate at their arrival from Moscow. And they arrived half an hour early, shortening the waiting time for the thirty people who were at the airport to receive them with applause. Their itinerary would be intense. It included meetings with representatives of the local Church, the archbishop of Prague, Archbishop Dominik Duka, as well as with priests who live the spirituality of communion. There was much expectation among the youths who planned a day meeting at the Mariapolis Centre in Vinoř, and among the entire Focolare community all over the country, which would converge in large numbers on Prague. An open meeting was planned to remember the 10th anniversary of the visit of Chiara Lubich to the Czech Republic and the launching of “Golden Prague”, promoted by Chiara herself on that occasion for the implementation of the “new evangelization”. 
Maria Voce and the small group from Rome were offered hospitality at the small Mariapolis Centre, which was begin over two years, in the heart of the Focolare town which is under construction. “In 2001, when Chiara Lubich came to Prague,” some of the pioneers tell us, “she expressed a twofold desire: to provide a house for the family of the Movement and to have a place where people she had met – members of the political and ecclesial world – could meet.” Said and done, with much entusiasm and many initiatives, the latest being the “first Saturday projects”, which continue until now. Gradually the Mariapolis Centre has taken form and also the little town which is still under construction. Every first Saturday of the month people are invited to come and help in the work, brick by brick, to build a place that is bcoming a centre for the spreading of the spirituality of unity. Ten families have already built their own houses and moved in, others are planning to do the same. Before she left, in 2001, Chiara had buried medals of Our Lady at the various construction sites of the small town which is located in a suburb of Prague. “Some of our neighbors didn’t understand,” report those who were present at the time, “they thought we were burying money. But with time they came to understand the true sense of what was being born here.” Even people who seemed far from God drew near to us and now somehow belong to the family of the Movement. Oh yes, someone explained, because here it isn’t so much atheism, as much as a type of non-belief, which is the result of non-awareness. The desire to know God hasn’t diminished.
The Archbishop of Prage, Msgr Dominik Duka
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
In 1986 a Hungarian family from the Focolare Movement, the Fialowskys, moved from Budapest to Dugna, some 130 Km from Moscow. Some families and youths immediately began to gather around them. In 1989 and in 1991, two centres of the Movement were opened in the capital. At that time, the community was comprised of around 40 people. In August of 1991 there was the first and long-awaited meeting between Chiara and the members of the Movement from Eastern Europe, in Katowice, Poland. It was an important milestone for the members of the Movement in Russia, because for the first time, they would go beyond their borders to meet Chiara and the other members of the Movement in Eastern Europe. In April 1992 the first puclic gathering was held, the Mariapolis, with 220 participants. 
In September of the same year a first journey was taken to Celiabinsk, a city beyond the Ural Mountains, some 1900 km from Moscow, which up until shortly before had been closed to foreigners. Little by little a community of the Movement developed and, already in 1995, a first Mariapolis was held. This was followed by the birth of new communities in Novosibirsk and Omsk. In 2001 a focolare was opened in Krasnoyarsk, dedicated to the Siberian region of the country. It was the first encounter with the people who had already been receiving the Word of Life for some time. The spirituality was welcomed by in several cities of Siberia. The first Siberian Mariapolis was held in 2004 at Divnogorsk, a city near Krasnojarsk. The participants came from different cities, after having travelled distances of up to 2000 km. Ninety were of different nationalities and churches. After the fall of the Soviet Regime, Russian society was in search of an identity. In this journey, the Movement’s way of acting was always appreciated, especially in the relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church. At times, official representatives of the Patriarchate of Moscow took part in Focolare gatherings. Focolare co-president Giancarlo Faletti’s presence at the enthronement of Patriarch Kirill, in February 2009 was of significant importance for the community of the Movement.Some members of Orthodox associations watched with great interest the “Together for Europe” project, and have been attending the event since 2004. Among the early Focolare pioneers in the then Soviet Union, we cannot forget to mention Guedes, a Portoguese focolarino wh died in January of this year, and lived for 20 years in Russia. His humble generosity is a characteristic that is very appreciated by this people, who abundantly reciprocated his love in many ways, especially the many Orthodox friends. Then there was Regina Betz, a German focolarina, who lived in Moscow from 1990 until 2008, establishing true and lasting relationships with many people. One episode that she tells of, seems to express what building unity in Russia has meant in these many years: « I taught German at the Lomosonov University of Moscow. One of my colleagues, Alla, wasn’t well with her health. She saw it as a punishment from God because she had given up living as a Christian. She told me that during an udating course in Lipsia she had returned to the Church, but coming back to Moscow, she drifted away. One day she asked me if she could go with me to Mass. I explained to her that I wasn’t Orthodox, but Catholic, so as not to create any problems for her. The following Sunday we went together to Mass at Saint Lousi Church, at that time, the only church in Moscow. Then I didn’t hear anything from her for quite a while. When we finally met again, she told me that she had been baptized ‘Russian Orthodox,’ she said almost apologetically. I told her that she had done well, since she was Russian!” 
Presently, the majority of the Movement’s members in Moscow are Orthodox. One of them, Nina Vyazovetskaya, spoke in Rome, at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major’s, on the occasion of the third anniversary of Chiara Lubich’s death. She said: “I come from Moscow, and I belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. I am a doctor and I did my internship at the Moscow Hospital. I grew up in a family of unbelievers, as many people are in Russia. In 1990 they baptized me a bit ‘by accident’ because, with the fall of Communism came a time of change and everyone was searching for something new. But after that day, I never went to church. The encounter with the Focolare Movement marked a change in my life. I met God and my life changed. In order to get to know Him, I turned to the focolarine, who are Catholics, and they brought me to my Orthodox church. This was how I began to disover the beauty and richness of the church, of the Christian life, of living for God. And now I have decided to follow God along the way of Chiara in the focolare.”
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes.
The global economy is a very powerful machine yet it is fragile and unstable. This is one of the messages of the crisis we find ourselves in. Specifically, the globalized economycreates enormous opportunities of wealth but also produces new costs. Among them is the radical uncertainty of the financial systems and stronger social imbalances. Oftentimes the consequences of these crises are borne not by the social sector that caused it and normally the much poorer ones. This is why the theme of social justice today is also the dominant theme of the new economy. We are witnessing it in the mid-Orient (we should not forget that the revolution these months were triggered by issues relating to economic justice). I believe we will continue to see this in the coming years not only in the Arab countries but also in China and in India. When individual freedom and democracy takes over, the enormous inequality we find in these new giants will no longer be tolerated. It is my belief that the there is a growing intolerance for inequality, whether within countries and among countries. It seems as if the post-modern man, informed and global, after having achieved political democracy, is now seriously demanding economic democracy. It seems as if he’s become aware, with much struggling and with much delay, that economic democracy is an essential part of political democracy. In fact, the market, though being a venue of life in common, governed by rules based on mutual advantage, is not able to ensure a just distribution. Moreover, in the absence of other principles and institutions, the market tends to augment the inequalities in time. On one hand, the market is in fact a free place, of creativity based on individual talents and the talents are not evenly distributed across the population. On the other hand, we do not part from the same starting line in this market race. He who has more (resources, education, opportunities) tends to have even more tomorrow. What can be done then? 
May 29, 2011 marks the anniversary of the Economy of Communion (EoC), the economic project launched by Chiara Lubich in Brazil. It was the same month that Pope John Paul II published Centesimus annus, an encyclical that Chiara had meditated on during that trip. Representatives of the EoC from various parts of the world will come together in San Paolo ,from May 25 to 29, to celebrate this occasion. It will be a chance to review the first twenty years but more importantly, to look into the next twenty years. (www.edc-online.org). The message that Chiara launched during that trip remains alive today and continues to mature and grow in history. It has reached beyond the Focolare community where the EoC was born. Pope Benedict XVI has cited it in Caritas in Veritate as an experience that needs to be developed and propagated. The message is simple and clear: the enterprise has to be, above all, an instrument and a place of inclusion and of communion. While it produces wealth, it should also distribute wealth, thereby making it a place of justice. If we really want economic democracy and just redistribution, we cannot and should not rely on the States or on the governments. It should be the same enterprise, with the encouragement of civic society and the citizens of the world, which evolves and looks after the new things, of those res novae in the global context we live in. The enterprise cannot limit itself to operating legally, paying taxes (even when they pay) and to engaging in some philanthropic efforts to gain clients. In this new phase, there is so much more that is demanded from the enterprise, if we want civil society to consider the enterprise and economy as partners for the common good. If all enterprises remember this need to become more and to evolve into an economy for the person, we then welcome the anniversary of the EoC. Editorial published on Mondo e Missione n.5/2011
Crossing the threshold of the church of “Mary, Joy of the Infirm” is to enter directly into the heart of the Orthodox faith. The praise expressed by the hymns and prayers, from inside the doors of the temple continued for two hours, and created among the faithful a climate of deep prayer. The liturgy was solemn; the vestments were splendid and rich, all of them red because of Easter. Maria Voce, wore a veil over her head, like the one all the Russian women wore who were attending the liturgy together with the Orthodox members of the Focolare Movement. It was a time of fellowship and respect for the different churches in attendance. At the conclusion, everyone exchanged three kisses to seal a pact of mutual love, as a witness to a bond of unity that recalls the words of Saint Paul: “there is neither Jew nor Greek” which, now, in front of iconostasis could be translated: “there is no Orthodox nor Catholic, but we are all one in Christ.” The celebration was followed by a greeting to Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, who presides over the external relations department of the Patriarchate of Moscow. He was visibly pleased to see the president of the Movement and her Catholic delegation together with the Orthodox who accompanied her. Father Dimitri Sizonenko, acting head of the Secretariat for inter-Christian relations, was particularly overjoyed by the testimony of unity given by the Movement and called for a wider spreading of this spirit. T
wo more meetings remained for the afternoon of May 15, with the families and with the young people. “How are we to convey the spirit of the Movement to our children? How can we help other families to appreciate the faith? What should we do when we feel overcome by our weakness?” These were some of the questions posed by the thirty persons – most of them young couples. Some were married in the Church after having encountered the charism of Chiara Lubich, while others came to appreciate the importance of fedelity in marriage after having had quite another kind of experience. Years of atheism have left their mark on the family institution. Marriages are often unstable and the decision to get married is often more a matter of tradition than of personal conviction. There are many divorces, unmarried couples living together, and alcoholism. “The messages is given by the testimony that you offer as a family,» Maria Voce responded, “by your capacity to say you’re sorry, to go back and look at the other with love after a moment of difficuulty. This is worth more than many words,” Giancarlo Faletti continued: “No one likes to suffer. But God meets us in our suffering and he allows himself to be met so that he can tell us something and give us something, to help us go on loving.” The meeting with youths began with an informal gesture. Neckties were removed, guitars began to play, and photographs were taken. There was open discussion about the challenges of Russian society, including corruption, excessive freedom, and the difficulty of finding a place for the upcoming Genfest (Budapest, September 2012). One young man would leave his job after he had unwittingly endorsed a fraud. “You need to take a decisive step give witness. In these places you can change if there are people like you,” is the encouragement of Maria Voce “You’re in an environment that needs to be Christianised,” Giancarlo Faletti affirms, “and Jesus is using you to convey a message. Inside a ruthless economist, there is always a man with a soul. We cannot give up, we must bear witness.” “Free choice is an opportunity that God gives us to exercise our freedom,” the president replied to Liza who could not find a sense of direction for his life. Considering your actions with your brothers can help to amplify what God is asking you and help you to give a firm response.” There was seriousness and fresh commitment during the two hours of discussions, concluding with Maria Voce’s words of trust: “I leave you to do, I trust in Jesus in you and among you. The Genfest will be a surprise and will be most beautiful because you will do it.” By our correspondent Maddalena Maltese [nggallery id=40]
In 1977 Vita e Pensiero Pubishing House published “Sign of Contradiction”. The book is a collection of the spiritual exercizes preached in 1976 by Karol Wojtyla to Pope Paul VI and the Roman Curia. The following year, shortly after the election of Wojtyla to the Chair of Peter, Igino Giordani wrote a letter to the new Pontiff:
25 November 1978
Holy Father,
I am an 84 year old (!) focolarino.
I read your book: “Sign of Contradiction” and found it particularly enjoyable for two reasons: firstly, because of the way in which you dealt with the exalted topic with such rare wisdom and clarity; secondly, because I too, more than 40 years ago, with considerable presumption, wrote a book with the same title.
I take the liberty of sending you a copy of the latest edition of my book, as a humble tribute and expression of the joy that I, like all the focolarini and nearly every other living person feels, because of your election to the Pontificate and because of the depth and spontaneity of your daily apostolate.
Please forgive my boldness, and grant me your blessing.
Devotedly yours,
Igino Giordani
An immediate response from the Vatican Secretary of State:
1 December 1978
Dear Sir,
In a greatly appreciated gesture of courtesy, you sent as a tribute to His Holiness, a letter and a copy of the volume edited by you with the title, “Sign of Contradiction”, already in its fifth edition.
The Holy Father has asked me to share with you his feelings of deep pleasure and heartfelt gratitude for the delicate act of homage, which he greatly appreciated. The Supreme Pontiff, therefore, is happy to reciprocate such veneration, giving the desired apostolic blessing as a sign of appreciation for your long activity in the service of Holy Church and as a wish of heavenly graces.
I gladly take this occasion to confirm with distinct deference to your illustrious person.
Most devotedly yours,
+C. Caprio
The trip will take place over three stages:
Maria Voce will visit the Focolare Communities in each country. In Moscow she will hold meetings of particular significance with the bishop Mons. Paolo Pezzi as well as with the Apostolic Nuncio Mons. Ivan Jurkovic. In Prague the Focolare President will meet Archbishop Mons. Dominik Duka. On May 21st there will be an event to commemorate 10 years since Chiara Lubich’s visit and the foundation of Operation “Golden Prague”: a project launched by Chiara in view of the ‘new evangelization’. The Focolare Movement has been present in the ex-communist bloc since 1961. In July 1960 the Bishop of Lipsia Mons. Otto Spulbek offered Chiara Lubich the possibility to send focolarini men and women who work as doctors to the hospitals in his diocese as a response to the lack of medical professionals in the region. Exactly 50 years ago on 13th May 1961 the first focolarini arrived in Lipsia. From Eastern Germany, thanks to personal contacts, the Movement spread immediately to Czechoslovakia, Russia, Lithuania and other countries of the communist bloc. Currently, the Focolare Movement is present in all the countries of the region.
Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti are given the official welcome
Regina Betz (right) was a pioneer of the Focolare Movement in Russia
The president of the Focolare Movement then confided, “When I arrived in Russia I found myself immerged in a deeper union with God and I remembered the expression ‘Holy Russia’- that I perhaps heard when studying Russian literature. I felt carried along by this life of holiness that is in the air here in Russia as well as in its history of Christianity. And I understood that Russia’s gift to me and to the whole of humanity can be this holiness- thanks also to its martyrs of all denominations”. Giancarlo Faletti, using the image of the golden domes in many of the Russian Orthodox churches, underlined, “God is the gold of our cities, He is the gold of the Russian Orthodox and Catholic Churches and He guarantees the journey of communion that this country witnesses in many important ways”. Many participants were openly moved, experiencing the possibility to give new meaning to those dark years and at the same time they felt the challenge to give witness to the ever old and ever new Gospel “revolution”. Eduardo Guedes – a Portuguese focolarino who passed away last January- was remembered by many as a companion in this journey; someone who, without sermon, gave humble witness to a God who does not forsake, who does not forget, but who always knows how to welcome both the disadvantaged and the powerful and to expand the desire for a more modern sainthood, open to everyone in this “Holy Russia”. by our correspondent Maddalena Maltese [nggallery id=39]
13 May is a day of celebration for the Catholic world, the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima. And 13 May is also a symbolic date for the Movement, recalling the night of the “stars and tears” when, because of the bombing of Trent, Chiara Lubich had to evacuate her home and take refuge in Goccia d’oro forest. As she wept for hours, she observed the movement of the constellations and she realized that only love could overcome such a horrible tragedy. On this 13 May 2011 Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti landed in Moscow for a visit to the Focolare communities in Russia. This is a trip that Chiara Lubich was looking forward to since the 1960’s, as she mentions in a speech from those years. In fact, she was never able to accomplish her desire, although many of her first companions did spread the spirituality of unity in this land up until the 1970’s. 
Landing at the Sheremet’evo airport, there was a tiny ray of sunshine trying to challenge the uncertain sky, which became rainy at times. The airport, modern and bright, easily be mistaken for a western city: the brands that fill shops and restaurants are the same. After passing through the regular checkpoints, which were bit tighter following the latest attacks, they were able to exclaim that they were in Moscow. A small group of focolarini with flowers and smiles stepped forward to welcome the visitors with a three-fold embrace. On the highway going to Moscow there were large construction projects, a sign of a growing city in both commerce and residents More and more Russians are moving there, and the population already stands at 15 million. “On this special day, we entrust to Mary our visit to Moscow, all the people we meet, and all those who are praying for this event.” This was the prayer chorally expressed by Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti before an icon of Our Lady, during a Mass dedicated to the Mother of God. There was much expectation for the meeting of 14 May with Focolare members from all over Russia. It is the first time since the beginning of the movement in these lands that Catholics and Orthodox Christians from Chelyabinsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, and St. Petersburg will gather to witness their living, cheerful, and active presence that has been able to win over mistrust, diversity and the long distances that challenge the eight time zones of the country. But some wanted to anticipate the first “face-to-face” meeting with the president. The little children, painted like colorful Matryoshka dolls, made the welcome festive and traditional, a reflection of the many souls of the people who live in the city, a mixture of modernity and history of national pride and unavoidable globality. From our correspondent Maddalena Maltese
“Lighthouse” is the prophetic name of the Croatian Little Town, a formation center for people of different countries, churches, religions, and for men of goodwill. This is how Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement, envisioned it, when in the ’80s, a few-hectare piece of land with some buildings no longer in use was put at disposal of the Movement in Križevci, about 60 km far from Zagreb. Nowadays Lighthouse is known as a privileged meeting place for persons coming from all over the Balkans, in particular after the reconciliation effort among all the ethnic groups during the ’90s war. In this Little Town, in April a formation school organized by the New Humanity Movement took place, addressed to participants coming from 12 different counties of Eastern Europe. Some of these countries were at war with one another in a recent past, others were characterized by enormous economical problems and a difficult transition to democracy. These are delicate situations, not always easy to reconcile, and this is why from April 15 to April 17 the focus was on the knowledge of all the values that characterize the commitment of New Humanity, the social branch of the Focolare Movement. The aim was to provide a concrete expertise, in order to apply these values in the different challenges, which professionals have to face in all the social fields: from medical doctors, to youth workers, politicians, economists, judges. Everybody has his own specific job, but all together they are fraternity witnesses. Indeed this is mainly what came out of the intense dialogue among participants and members of the central New Humanity Secretariat, arrived from Rome and other regions of Italy. Delia from Split writes: “I think that for each of us this school was a new opportunity to feel like being a protagonist in living for fraternity in his or her environment, and to roll up one’s sleeves in order to improve the place where he or she lives. Indeed nothing of what we do for love is too small”. Sanja Jurić echoes her; she tells us: “Coming home, I told everybody what I had experienced: in my family, with my colleagues at work, and I started to live more intensely, trying to do as best as I can my share where I am“. These are just few validations to the message which Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement, had sent the first day of the meeting: “I wish you can draw on the strong and enlightnening presence of Jesus in your midst. His way of thinking and acting for the common good, knowing that – as Chiara has often reminded us : “The world belongs to all those who love it most, and can best prove it“.
The events of 20 years of EoC in Brazil are just around the corner. The final preparations are in full swing. People have been passionately working for several months in preparation for these 5 days which are important to all those who have EoC in their DNA. The preparations are being made on two fronts: one fof the EoC Assembly at the Mariapoli Ginetta of Vargem Grande Paulista and the Open day in Sao Paulo, where some 1600 people are expected at the Memorial of Latin America. The organizers inform us that for the Assembly, we have reached the threshold of 630 participants: a truly ambitious goal, especially for the diverse countries of origin of the people. Some 37 countries, coming from 4 continents, are expected to be represented. If the majority are obviously the Brazilians, with over 240 participants, Italy comes in second with 85 participants followed by Argentina with 62 participants. There is also a significant representation from Korea with almost 30 people! Following by order of numerical representation, are Spain, Chile, USA, France, Uruguay, Switzerland, Bolivia, Germany, Venezuela, Slovenia, Paraguay, Mexico, Portugal, Belgium, Ireland, Canada, Serbia, Panama, Philippines, Cameroon, Poland, Croatia, Costa Rica, Peru, Kenya, Slovakia, Hungary, Ecuador, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Congo and Romania. With our suitcases almost ready, we are now preparing a staff that will work actively to maintain the site as updated as possible — providing daily news, photos, documents and echoes of what’s happening in real time. The young people present will create a blog and will do their part through the social networks … Those who cannot be present in Brazil can still participate in events in real time through live streaming that is being prepared. The link to access will be published on the website once available. Live broadcasts will be made during the days of the Assembly at the Mariapoli Ginetta (25-28 May) on the final day in Sao Paulo on Sunday May 29. There will be an opportunity to organize listening points, especially for the final day, creating opportunities to get together in celebration of this important anniversary. We have already been informed of a listening point at the Business Park Lionello in Loppiano, the Business Park Giosi of Abrigada (Portugal), in Vienna, in Lugano, and perhaps in Madrid. The list may become longer in the following days. The live streaming during the days of the Assembly will be in the morning to allow everyone to take part in the themes of the Assembly. The language of the live transmission will be in Italian. On May 29 the live streaming will be on-going throughout the day. Further details will be published as soon as they are available. In the meantime, see you all in Brazil! by Antonella Ferrucci – www.edc-online.org
“God loves me – God is calling me”, was the slogan printed on cards that identified the young people present at Loppiano (Italy), between 14 and 19 March 2011. This slogan expressed the goal of the days: to delve deeply into the vocation of a focolarino, someone who is called by God to become an “apostle of unity” – a beautiful expression used by John Paul II – and to follow Jesus by pursuing his prayer to the Father: “May they all be one” (Jn: 17: 21).
The thirty-three young people came from different parts of the world. There were students, labourers and entrepreneurs among them. But they were all united in the single desire to put aside everything for God, to renounce starting a family, in order to dedicate themselves to the building of the unity of the human family that Jesus prayed for. Many impressions were shared during those days, like Andrew and Jonas from Brazil. Andrew who just finished his master’s degree in history, said: “I left behind some nice things, some very nice things, only to find more beautiful things here.” Jonas, who is an airline pilot, remarked: “I’m left with the certainty of God’s call, because of the strong spiritual experience I had here.” Indeed, it is often the presence of the Risen Christ in the midst of the community who amplifies the voice of God and allows it to be heard in one’s heart. Stephen, an engineer from Rome, talks about the intensity of those days: “I will take home with me the relationships that I built with each one of you. I understood that Jesus Forsaken is the essence of our vocation.” He was referring to a central point of Focolare spirituality: Jesus dying on the cross for everyone and experiencing the abandonment of the Father, taking upon himself all the abandonment and suffering of humankind. The focolarini choose Jesus forsaken as a model of self-giving and the basis of their choice in life. Renzo, who is also Italian from Bari, added, with his face beaming, “I take with me the extraordinary beauty of life in a focolare”. 
Jay is a journalist from the Philippines. He says he learned in Loppiano “to recognize in pains and difficulties the face of Jesus forsaken.” Not only: the real discovery for him was that he had tried “to love Jesus forsaken with joy, not merely to get through the difficulties.” Anthony a young Kenyan student summarizes the challenge: “To aim high. This is the vocation of the focolarino, it’s mine, it’s ours.” At the end of those days that they will never forget, they wrote the following to Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement: “It was Jesus guiding us deeper into our vocation, in order to take us to a new level of intimacy with Him. We asked him to help us to be always faithful to Him.” And they affirmed their decision to live this “divine adventure, trying to imitate the transparency of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who never thought about herself but only of God, the most perfect model for a Christian of today and always.” Here are some images of some of the highlights of these days, which speak louder than words. [nggallery id=38]
