Margaret Karram is the third President of the Focolare Movement, after its foundress, Chiara Lubich. She succeeded Maria Voce in 2021. Maria Voce passed away on the 20th of June last year. <\/p>\n\n
Margaret is a Christian Arab born in Haifa, Israel, she grew up in a multi-religious environment, developing from a young age a strong commitment to dialogue between different cultures and faiths. She graduated in Judaism from the American Jewish University in Los Angeles (USA), before taking on positions of responsibility in the Movement in the Holy Land, while also working for 14 years at the Italian Consulate General in Jerusalem. <\/p>\n\n
Internationally recognised for her contribution to interreligious dialogue \u2013 Mount Zion Award (2013) and Saint Rita Award (2016) \u2013 she participated in the Invocation for Peace in the Vatican Gardens in 2014 with Pope Francis and the Israeli and Palestinian presidents. She was elected President of the Focolare Movement for a first term in 2021 and has strengthened the Movement’s action in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. She met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and participated as a guest in the recent Synod of the Catholic Church. <\/p>\n\n
In 2023, she was appointed Member of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life. She has travelled to Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific to meet with Focolare communities and organisations engaged in interreligious dialogue. Among her most recent visits were Genfest 2024 in Brazil, the peace forum in the United States in 2025 and the international conference for the tenth anniversary of Laudato si’<\/em>. Co-author with Monica Mondo of the book Per non sfiorarci invano<\/em> [So as not to pass each other by in vain] (2023, Ed. Francescane), in 2025 she published Prossimit\u00e0, via alla pace – Pagine di vita<\/em> [Closeness, the path to peace – Pages of life] (Ed. Citt\u00e0 Nuova), dedicated to the culture of fraternity and dialogue. <\/p>\n\nRoberto Almada is the new Co-President of the Focolare Movement<\/strong><\/p>\n\nRoberto Almada is an Argentine focolarino who is a priest, psychiatrist and psychotherapist. With a doctorate in philosophy, he was one of the promoters of the School of Logotherapy in Uruguay and Paraguay. He is part of the group that coordinates spiritual and psychological accompaniment programmes at the Sophia University Institute for Latin America and the Caribbean and at the Logos Institute in Caserta (Italy). His pastoral activity has focused on the family through the New Families Movement, where he follows projects accompanying couples. <\/p>\n\n
Author of the book El cansancio de los buenos<\/em> [The Weariness of the Good], which explores the dynamics of burnout and has been translated into several languages (in Italy: \u201cIl burnout del buon samaritano\u201d [The Burnout of the Good Samaritan], published by Effat\u00e0), and co-author of Desaf\u00edo Parejas<\/em> [The Challenge of Married Couples], both published by Ciudad Nueva. He served as a collaborator at the International Centre of the Focolare Movement in Rocca di Papa (Italy) from 1999 to 2009 and as a Councillor for the same Centre from 2014 to 2021. Until 2026, he lived in Buenos Aires, working for the Movement in the Southern Cone in the areas of evangelisation, supporting local communities where he facilitated processes of reorganisation, of cohesion and of study. <\/p>\n\nHe has gained considerable experience in ecclesial and educational settings across various Latin American countries, including Colombia, El Salvador, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina; supporting priests, religious communities and Catholic teachers through courses and spiritual retreats, with a particular focus on offering support during times of pastoral burnout and helping them rediscover the meaning of their mission. He has also worked in youth ministry and in the social sector with migrants. <\/p>\n\n
Role of the President of the Focolare Movement<\/strong><\/p>\n\nAccording to the General Statutes, the Presidency will always be entrusted to a woman focolarina who has taken perpetual vows: a choice that reflects the lay and female leadership envisaged by the foundress, Chiara Lubich, and confirmed by Saint John Paul II. The President is called to accompany, \u201cin a spirit of unity\u201d, the Focolare communities present in 150 countries, which embrace the Gospel message of universal fraternity within a context of cultural, social and religious diversity. Her tasks include guiding and directing a movement that addresses the local and global challenges of our time and is called in particular to heal the personal and social divisions of humanity. The Statutes also outline the way in which the President is to exercise her responsibility: a leadership based on service and Gospel-based charity, in accordance with Jesus\u2019 invitation to be a servant to all (see Mark 10:44). She is called to be a bridge-builder, a promoter of unity and a witness to the central message of the spirituality of the Focolare Movement, acting as its spokesperson with coherence and dedication. <\/p>\n\n
The task of the Co-President<\/strong><\/p>\n\nThe Co-President \u2013 elected from among the focolarini who are priests in the Focolare Movement \u2013 is called first and foremost to work in close collaboration with the President, sharing decisions with her and helping to ensure the Movement\u2019s discernment and unity. Alongside this primary role, the Co-President collaborates in the general guidance of the Movement, offering his input on the most significant issues and ensuring that the life of the Movement is fully in line with the faith and doctrine of the Church. <\/p>\n\n
The Assembly of the Focolare Movement continues<\/strong><\/p>\n\nOver the coming days, the Assembly shall also elect the Focolare Movement\u2019s new governing body \u2013 the general councillors, who will serve as the President\u2019s closest collaborators \u2013 and shall discuss proposed amendments to the General Statutes.<\/p>\n\n
On the 21st of March, the participants and observers of the Assembly will be received in a private audience by Pope Leo XIV.<\/p>\n\n
Stefania Tanesini<\/em><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With over two-thirds of the votes cast by participants at the General Assembly and a long round of applause, Margaret Karram was re-elected yesterday, 12 March 2026, as President of the Focolare Movement for a second term (2026-2031). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":397340,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2893],"tags":[4137,3349,3196],"class_list":["post-397341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-centro-internazionale-2","tag-assemblea-generale-2026-en","tag-notifiche-en","tag-ppg-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397341"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":397381,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397341\/revisions\/397381"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/397340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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