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Piergiorgio Colonnetti has left us

Jul 18, 2013

Following a brief and unexpected illness, Piergiorgio Colonnetti passed from this life on the morning of July 17, 2013. He had been a member of the Focolare Movement’s General Council, co-responsible for the Centre for Dialogue with Movements and the New Communities of the Catholic Church. A funeral will be held on July 18, 2013 at 15:00 in Rocca di Papa.

A man of great humility, Piergiorgio had a gift for placing himself at the service of others with intelligence, deep listening and understanding.

He passed away on the morning of July 17, 2013, following a brief, serious and unexpected illness. He was surrounded by family members and focolarini.

Born in Turin, Italy, in 1930, he met the Focolare in 1956. Later he attended the first Mariapolises in Fiera di Primiero. In 1957 he married Simonetta and they became one of the first “family focolares.”

They moved to Rome in 1967 when Piergiorgio was asked to work in the Aid to the Church in Need Foundation. From 1987 he was asked by Chiara Lubich to hold various positions of responsibility in different sections of the Movement.

“I thank the Lord for the countless graces I’ve received since my encounter with the ‘Ideal of unity’ until today, and for the time that will remain to me and how I will be able to live it. But the will of God is all that matters, asking Him only, if it is possible, to be able to continue loving until the last moment,” he wrote this spring. “This phase of my life, whether it will be long or short, is full of light and peace, and I try only to live for God, for his Work, for the whole universal Church, in full unity with Pope Francis.” “The important thing is to do only what He has in His Heart and to reach Him.”

A funeral will be held on Thursday, July 18, 2013 at 15:00 in the Focolare’s international headquarters in Rocca di Papa, Italy.

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