THE  FOCOLARE  MOVEMENT

The Focolare Movement is present in 182 countries in all 5 continents.
With more than five million people
from different races, cultures and languages,
it is like a small people.
It includes people from widely differing professional and social backgrounds,
from different Christian traditions, different religions and beliefs,
all of whom are committed to being
the seed for a united world

   Founder and president: Chiara Lubich. Trent, northern Italy, 1943, and the unfolding tragedy of the Second World War made it blindingly clear that "everything is crumbling, everything is vanity of vanities. Only God remains." God-Love intervened in Chiara’s life and in that of her companions, transforming it totally. They communicated their discovery immediately and shared it with many others. This was to be the first spark, the first inspiration. In response to love, they rediscovered the Gospel as a personal and collective revolution which heals division, conflict and social injustice. In Jesus’s plea "that all may be one" Chiara had the intuition that this was a plan for universal unity for which she was to commit her life. Thus was born a movement for spiritual and social renewal. Right from the early days the nickname "Focolare" (hearth or fireplace) was given, because of the "fire" of evangelical love that was felt.

   Spirituality for a new humanity: from Chiara Lubich’s charism, with the rediscovery of the Gospel, the spirituality of unity, a communitarian, collective spirituality is defined. "New people" are forged: evangelical mutual love removes all hatred and rancour from the heart, takes people out of themselves, making them open to others by putting in common their material and spiritual goods. Chiara’s intuition from the very beginning was that it was here that "the law that men and women and things should be recomposed into a new order" lay.
   As the Movement spreads across the world, albeit in small "microcosms", flag waving, nationalism and racism disappear. The spirituality is the unifying element which transforms the differences into a creative richness and contributes to the growth of the seeds of truth and love implanted in men and women from the most diverse cultures, religions and beliefs.
   Reciprocal love is the basis, the "code" for bringing about change in society, by influencing the worlds of economics, work, politics, health, culture and social communications.

   The spirituality is lived by Roman Catholics and by Christians of other traditions, by the faithful of other religions and by people with no specific religious conviction.

   Dialogue among the Churches: the "ecumenical spirituality" helps break down prejudices between Christians by promoting a "dialogue of life", a "dialogue of the people". There are approximately 47,000 members of the Focolare belonging to some 350 churches and Christian communities. Many of the leaders of these churches have blessed and encouraged the spread of the spirituality in their churches, including the Ecumenical Patriarchs of Istanbul (Athenagoras I, Demetrios I and Bartolomeus I), the Primates of the Anglican Communion (Drs Ramsey, Coggan, Runcie and Carey), the Lutheran bishops Dietzfelbinger, Hanselman and Kruse and also Br Roger Schutz, founder of the Taizé Community.

   Interreligious dialogue: this is growing in a number of countries, with Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists, Sikhs and animists (altogether approx. 30,000) who live some aspects of the spirituality of unity and who take part, at various levels, in the different activities organised by the Movement for justice and peace and for social justice. For several years now, annual meetings have been held at the Mariapolis Centre, Castelgandolfo, Rome, with Jewish and Muslim friends of the Focolare.
The Focolare Movement is a member of the World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP). Since 1994 Chiara Lubich has been an honorary president of the WCRP.

   Dialogue with people with no specific religious belief: the spirituality of unity also attracts people with no specific religious belief (approx. 70,000). They adhere to the Movement and to its initiatives which are directed at spreading the new emerging culture, with the aim of achieving the unity of all peoples.

   Organisation: at the head of the Movement is the president who, according to the statute, will always be a woman. She is assisted by a co-ordinating council.
Although the Movement is one reality, it comprises a wide variety of people: families, young people, priests, men and women religious from different congregations, and bishops. This is why it is subdivided into 18 branches, 5 of which are broad-based movements operating in various environments.
"New Families" - for the unity of the family, with a particular care for those who are suffering or in difficulty. Their activities include: formation for married and engaged couples, a spontaneous communion of goods to help those in need, adoptions and the care of young people in difficult situations, help for mothers in difficulty, the care of the elderly and the terminally ill, and adoptions at a distance.
"New Humanity" - for the renewal of society, through the various "worlds": economy and work, the relationship between groups and cultures, public morals and social ethics, nature and physical well-being, social harmony and art, education and culture, the means of social communication, politics and public administration.
"Parish Movement" - in the ecclesial environment, to make of the parish community a "community of communion". Activities include: meetings for sharing and putting into practice the Word of Life, the spreading of the "culture of giving" in the parish, the promotion of dialogue and unity between the various parish groups and organisations.
"Youth for a United World" - contributes to the unity of peoples. It organises both at local and international level, various activities and initiatives including: meetings on the spirituality of unity, cultural and sporting events, work camps and ecological actions. It also responds to emergencies such as earthquakes and other natural catastrophes.
"Teenagers for Unity" - they spread their ideas through concerts, debates and school assemblies. They also organise races, tournaments and ecological campaigns. They take initiatives for peace and campaign for a "different" approach to television programmes, in order to spread - as an antidote to consumerism - the "culture of giving", so that boys and girls in poor or war-torn countries can experience a love without boundaries.

   At the heart of the Movement are the "focolare centres" (men’s or women’s): small, new-style communities, comprising lay people, celibates and married people, who have given their lives totally to God, according to their state in life. It is a new vocation in the Church.

   Working towards a united world - International congresses in Rome, with satellite linkups, broadcast by hundreds of national and local TV channels:
"Genfest" - a five-yearly festival for young adults. The last one, in 2000, witnessed the participation of 25,000 young people from all over the world. At the previous Genfest, in 1995, during the UNESCO International Year of Tolerance - 14,000 young people from 80 nations were present.
"Familyfest" - a festival of the family. The most recent one, held in 1993, had 14,000 participants from 87 nations and was officially sponsored by the UN.
"Supercongress" - a festival for teenagers. The third one was held in May 1997, entitled "The World of 2000 - A World of Unity". It was sponsored by UNESCO and by the European Commission for Education.

- There are also annual summer conferences, called "Mariapolis", for the spiritual and social formation of the members. These take place in 70 countries, covering all 5 continents, with some 100,000 participants. They are important moments of formation in peace and unity, especially in those countries torn apart by war.
- There is an international "Mariapolis Centre" at Castelgandolfo, near Rome, and another 62 such centres in 45 nations.

   Focolare towns: these are small "towns", models of a new society, with houses, schools and factories, whose law is the Gospel law of mutual love, with the consequent full communion of spiritual, cultural and material goods. Tens of thousands of people visit these small towns every year.

   There are 20 such small towns in 5 continents. Each has its own characteristics. The characteristic of the first of these small towns, which started in 1965 at Loppiano, near Florence, is internationality. Some 800 inhabitants from 70 nations live in what is a microcosm of a "united world". In Cameroon, Kenya and Ivory Coast the focolare small towns are centres for the inculturation of the Gospel in African society. In Brazil and Argentina, with their new-born businesses, they are a models of the new "Economy of Communion". In the Philippines the small town is characterised by the dialogue with the great religions of the East. In Germany, ecumenism is the hallmark, with Roman Catholics and Lutherans living together. The small town near New York has a particular emphasis on the dialogue between different races and cultures.

   Culture: new lines of thought are now emerging from the Focolare spirituality in the fields of theology, philosophy and the social sciences. The culture of unity is broadcast and nourished by a number of different publications:
   Nuova Umanitą, a cultural journal published 6 times a year.
   37 editions in 25 languages of a magazine (New City, Living City, Cittą Nuova etc) giving news and comment informed by the spirituality.
   The Word of Life, a leaflet published monthly, with a spiritual-theological comment on a sentence from Scripture, to help put it into practice. The Word of Life is translated into 90 languages and dialects, with a circulation of more than 3,000,000. It is also broadcast on radio and TV.
   "Mondo Unito" (United World), a three-monthly youth magazine, translated into various languages.
   "Gen’s" and "Unity and Charisms" - magazines for priests and religious.

   26 publishing houses in the same number of countries publish a total of more than 300 new titles every year.

   Courses in theology, ecumenism, interreligious dialogue and social sciences are held every year in various countries.

   Art: architecture, sculpture and stained glass are produced by "Centro Ave", and other forms of art and handicrafts are produced at "Centro Azur", both based at Loppiano.

   There are two international, multi-artistic performing groups, "Gen Verde" and "Gen Rosso", who do concert tours and make records.

   International initiatives for solidarity - Their main characteristic is "reciprocity" between giver and receiver, giving rise to the creative process of self-development.
the "Economy of Communion" - an economic project born in 1991. It is the motivation behind more than 750 businesses and manufacturing activities spread over 5 continents. Experts have said that in the Economy of Communion they can discern social and economic initiatives which bring together economics, solidarity and freedom in such a way that they influence the world-wide economic inequality.
   "Azione per un Mondo Unito" AMU, (Action for a United World) is a non-governmental organisation founded in 1986. It is present in Italy, Luxembourg and Portugal. AMU in Italy supports long-term projects in Argentina, Brazil, Ivory Coast, the Philippines and Guatemala. It has also carried out more than 100 smaller projects in Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.
   "Adoptions at a distance" (more than 10,000 in 38 countries) promoted by "New Families".
   "United World Fund" set up by "Youth for a United World" in 1995, through which they sustain more than 30 small self-development projects.
   "New Humanity" is recognised as a non-governmental organisation at ECOSOC, the UN’s Economic and Social Council.

   Official approval: the first approval of the statutes by the Roman Catholic Church was in 1964. The last was on 29.6.1990, with a Decree of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. This recognises the "Opera di Maria" (Work of Mary - Focolare Movement) as a "Private, Universal Association of Faithful of Pontifical Right."

(07-02-2001)