  Brief history
From the very beginning of
the Focolare Movement, men and women religious of different orders and congregations, were
attracted to this new charism because it revealed the freshness and radical commitment of
living the Gospel in daily life.
Once they had understood something of the spirituality
of the Focolare – the spirituality of unity – they
discovered a light which revived their understanding of the spirituality of their own
founder.
| This has borne many
fruits: a greater commitment to living and revitalising their own charism in the Church of
today; a greater appreciation of the Rule of their founders and a consequent desire to put
it into practice; a deeper unity with the superiors of the order; a profound
communion among religious of different congregations. |
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Contact with the modern spirituality of the Focolare has opened up new horizons for
religious orders such as those indicated by Vatican II: ecumenical dialogue, dialogue with
the faithful of other religions and with people who have no religious affiliation.
The members of the Movement are all nourished by the wisdom of the saints, especially the
founders of religious orders. Spiritual gifts are therefore shared between the Focolare
Movement and men and women religious, since all are members of the mystical Body of Christ
(cf Cor. 12:4-27).
Pope Paul VI, in speaking of this new
experience whereby religious of different congregations meet under the auspices of the
Focolare Movement, said:
"Hasn’t love among your members grown? Has something of the originality of
your Institutes been taken away? No! There is a reciprocal enrichment in the spirit of
love – that’s the Focolare! It increases mutual and collective charity.
And Chiara Lubich: "The words of Jesus, ‘Where two or
three are united in my name, I am there in their midst’, would certainly encompass:
"Where a Franciscan and a Benedictine, or a Carmelite and a Passionist, or a Jesuit
and a Domenican … are united in my name, there am I.’
He deduced from this that if Jesus were truly in their midst, their encounter with Him
would have made the Franciscan a better Franciscan, and the Domenican a better Domenican.
Thus the Church would shine forth with even greater beauty – also through the
contribution of the Work of Mary (Focolare Movement) – and so become a more worthy
spouse of Christ in its marvellous diversity as well as in its sublime unity."
About us
| The
Movement for Men and Women Religious began officially on the 14th of April 1971 with the
blessing of Pope Paul VI who, on that occasion, spoke of the "Religious adherents to
the Focolare Movement". |
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The General
Statutes of the Work of Mary (Focolare Movement), approved by the Holy See in 1990, state
that the members of Religious Orders and Secular Institutes can be fully-fledged members
of the Movement, and therefore an integral part of it (Article 12).
Centres of Spirituality
In 1979, "Villa Achillia", the first International
Centre of Spirituality for Women Religious, was opened in Grottaferrata, Rome.
In May 1998, this Centre was transferred to "Casa Emmaus" in Loppiano, one of
the little towns of the Movement, near Florence.
With the permission of the superiors of their religious orders, the sisters can spend long
or short periods at this Centre which Chiara Lubich defined as a "school of life
where you go to love". In communion with the charism of unity and with the charisms
of the other congregations, the sisters become more authentic in their vocation because
the charism of their own founder is strengthened.
Similar centres of spirituality are developing in other little towns of the Movement: in Hyde
Park NY (USA), O’Higgins (Argentina), Tagaytay (Philippines), San Paolo (Brazil) and
Rotselaer (Belgium).
| The Men Religious
have "Claritas" as their International Centre of Spirituality. This was opened in 1975 in
Rome and is now located at Loppiano. Since it began, more than 2,350 men religious
belonging to 139 different orders, from all 5 continents, have spent time at this Centre. |
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"Claritas"
provides religious priests and brothers with the opportunity to experience and share the
life of the Gospel with other religious and with all the other people who live in the
little town of Loppiano. It also offers a formation course in theology and spirituality
which focuses on consecrated life, the ecclesiology of communion, communitarian life,
prospects for a new evangelisation, inculturation, dialogue with the contemporary world
and so on.
Other Centres of Spirituality for men religious operate in some of the little towns around
the world: Mariapolis Araceli in Brazil, Mariapolis Luminosa in New York.
The International Centres for branches of the men and women religious maintain contact
with religious around the world. They organise annual international meetings and
conferences for those who work in the various sectors of Church and society. There are
also secretariats of the movements for the men and women religious which operate at a
local level in the various nations where the Focolare Movement is present.
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