A “Dream” that is Renewed

A few days ago, Father Alexandre Awi Mello, Secretary of the Dicastery, participated in the event “The great attraction of modern times”, that was organized at the Mariapolis Center in Castelgandolfo on the 10th anniversary of the death of Chiara Lubich, foundress of the Focolare Movement.

Nearly 2000 people gathered for the program that highlighted the influence of her thought and social action. Testimonies of strong experiences of evangelical life, under the motto “Dying for their own people,” animated the day, alternating with artistic moments. The protagonists included a teacher from difficult districts in Paris, an artist from Brazil, an Italian micro-cooperative of fishermen, testimony about life in a citadel in the Ivory Coast during the war, “Open Hands - Bungas Palad” of the Philippines, and a family in Syria.

The Gospel is the answer to every problem, as the movement’s president, Maria Voce, emphasized: “Chiara said that Mary the Mother of God is the form and model of the social action of the movement.”

The co-president, Jesus Moran, highlighted the prophetic aspects of Lubich’s words and life, while Secretary of State Pietro Parolin spoke of how Chiara confidently entrusted herself to the Church by waiting for “the times of the Spirit to be fulfilled,” and hence “her charism was able to become a gift not only for the movement but for the whole ecclesial community.”