After more than four years work, the great candelabra of the coronation of the German emperors of the Holy Roman Empire is now back in its place in the centre of the octagonal nave of the cathedral. Beneath it, in the centre of this temple, where history oozes out of every stone, stands Charlemagne’s golden casket. It is a reminder, not only of the historical roots of the one Europe, but also a call to the conscience of the former city, of its present-day commitment to central Europe in that triangle of nations formed by Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

It was against such a backdrop that Chiara Lubich, on Friday 13 November, during a solemn celebration of vespers, recounted her experience of inter-religious dialogue.
If at first glance the choice of theme might seem a surprising one, a closer look reveals just how apt it was. Dialogue between cultures and religions is not only important globally at international level. Europe itself is increasingly faced with the question of how to handle the multiplicity of cultures and religions contained within it.

Chiara’s answer, given to the 2,000 plus participants at the ceremony, was both simple and challenging: the pre-condition and the means for genuine dialogue between religions is love, that love which Christians learn from the Gospel. In a passionate appeal, during which she often strayed from her prepared text, she asked her audience not to be satisfied with a love for neighbour which was reduced to "just sending a few parcels to the needy". "The art of loving, insisted Chiara Lubich, "consists in being open to everybody without distinction and without excluding anyone, in making the first move towards the other without expecting a response". When she turned directly to her listeners saying: "Try it!" the emperor’s cathedral broke into applause.

Then she drew particular attention to one aspect of the "art of loving", which she called "making yourself one". It is in these words, she said, "that the secret of a dialogue that can lead to unity lies". "It means putting yourself in the other person’s shoes, to look at things through their eyes". But, she continued, in order to do this, we must be empty of ourselves. "We cannot empathise with the other person in order to understand them and share in their joys or their sufferings if our spirit is full of worries, judgements, thoughts or other things. It’s not so difficult - just love!"

The president of the Focolare Movement, world-wide movement with about 30,000 adherents belonging to other religions, explained that this "art of loving" is truly an effective way - an imperial way, one might say in Aachen - of realising inter-religious dialogue. The large number of Muslims present in the cathedral that day was an impressive witness to that fact.

(19-02-2001)