Even during the summer period, the Loreto School continues to welcome those families who want to have a community experience of reciprocal love.
During the month of July there was a continuous flow of families arriving from different regions of Italy, from European countries (Portugal, France, Switzerland) and from other Continents (Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines), for long or short periods, donating their holidays, energy and talents to help keep alive the international New Families centre in Loppiano.
They lived and experienced the communion of goods, for example there was someone who donated a lawn mower in pristine condition which was precious for maintaining the gardens around the different houses; then there was somebody else who gave a sanding machine for smoothing out the wood surfaces. This made it possible to quickly restore windows, doors, benches.
By working together (cleaning and tidying the apartments to make them ready to receive the families who in September will begin the new courses of formation) they were able to do various maintenance jobs such as mowing the lawns and pruning the trees in an atmosphere of deep communion. Day by day, they experienced that in unity even manual work can be lighter and more joyful.
In the same climate of mutual love, we welcomed together families and various groups who visited Loppiano in order to get to know the experience of the Loreto School and of New Families.
There were also meaningful moments of gathering together to deepen the various aspects of family life, with the help of some experts: they participated in the events of the little town of Loppiano, and there are also open-air dinners, excursions, moments of relaxation, all done in a profound sense of Christian love and brotherhood which is the law of Loppiano and in which we were immersed!
Of course, challenges were not lacking: the cultural and linguistic backgrounds were diverse, yet, everyone willingly made the effort to communicate and to learn a little Italian.
Among the participants there was a French family which had been been present in Nice the evening of the 14th of July 2016, when the terrible massacre unfolded along the seafront promenade. Fortunately, they had decided to watch the fireworks from above the city and so were not in danger. They experienced that life is a gift and felt a strong calling to spread love around them.
Several of the families who alternated have expressed the desire to have a similar experience next year. Despite the hard work, they said that they felt strengthened and fortified!
