From its humble beginnings in the Italian city of Trent, the Focolare has become a worldwide movement, and now numbers over 87,000 members and about two million friends and adherents in over 180 nations. There are many ways to belong to the Movement, ranging from a more committed lifestyle in small communities to collaboration in its various activities. The Movement is made up of persons of all ages, races and walks of life. It is ecumenical. Members of the world's religions as well as persons of no religious affiliation also participate in the life of the Movement in varying degrees.

The Scriptures as a guideline

The Focolare movement came into being when Chiara Lubich and her friends started trying to live the Gospel. From this came the practice of choosing a passage from the Scriptures each month as a guideline for daily living. Chiara Lubich's commentary on the "Word of Life," as these selected passages are called, is translated into 84 languages and reaches more than 15 million people through the press, radio and television. The Movement has also established 30 publishing houses worldwide. English-speaking countries are served by New City Press in New York, London and Manila. The Focolare Magazine "Living City" is also published in numerous editions.

An outpouring of life

In the midst of the destruction and hopelessness of the Second World War, A group of young women gathered around twenty-three year old Chiara Lubich. What bound the group together was their faith and their experience that God is love. That experience radically changed their lives. They resolved to live as persons whose actions and thoughts would be based on the Gospel. The consequences were many. One was that this life spread and soon a community of 500 people of all ages had come to life around them. The group around Chiara was often referred to as the "focolare," the Italian term for the hearth or family fireside.

The presence of Jesus among people

Some words of Scripture particularly drew their attention: "Love one another as I have loved you" (Jn 13:34), "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst" (Mt 18:20). They discovered that evangelical mutual love united them and they experienced the presence of Jesus. This unity transformed their differences into mutual enrichment. "May they all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you; may they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (Jn 17:21). This sentence became the program of their life. Chiara and her friends understood that Jesus had died on the cross to bring about this unity; an for everyone else as well the way to unity is through the cross. The spirituality that developed was to be a spirituality of unity, a way to go to God together. The image of a coin has often been used to explain the spirituality. On one side "unity," on the other "Jesus Crucified and Forsaken." The thickness of the coin contains all the words of scripture put into practice. In 1962 the Movement was approved by Pope John XXIII.

Models for a new humanity

From 1949 on the Dolomite Mountains were a regular meeting place each summer for the members of the growing movement. These vacation gatherings were microcosms of humanity, small temporary "cities" based on the law of mutual love. Now over a hundred of these summer gatherings (called "Mariapolises") take place all over the world each year, with over 100,000 participants. In the meantime, a number of "mini cities" have come into existence, based on the model of these summer gatherings. The first of these was founded in 1964 at Loppiano, near Florence, Italy. At present more than 700 persons from some fifty different nations live there. Most of them are young adults participating in a two-year "school of life" on how to live the Gospel. Other "mini cities" of this kind are located in Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, Cameroon, Kenya, the Philippines, Australia, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. In the United States the "mini city" is located in Hyde Park, New York. During its first years of existence it has developed into a center for spirituality, a training ground for unity, offering an experience of it that can then be brought back into one's environment as a contribution towards a united world.

Wide-ranging renewal

Through the years a number of specialized movements have emerged within the Focolare Movement such as the New Humanity and New Families Movements, the Parish Movement, Movements for diocesan priests and for women and men religious, and Youth for a United World. All of these have as their common goal the renewal, through the Gospel, of their segment of society as a contribution toward the unity Jesus prayed for. The animators of these movements are the core members of the Focolare Movement. In 1988, New Humanity was approved as a non governmental organization (NGO) of the United Nations.

Ecumenism based on life

At first the spirituality of unity spread within the Catholic Church. From 1958 on Christians of other traditions began to come in contact with the Focolare and to feel that its spirituality was also for them.

Interreligious dialogue

When, in 1977, Chiara Lubich was awarded the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, the committee, made up of representatives of various religions, explained its decision in these words: "By stressing love, Chiara Lubich has contributed much to the spiritual development of many people of various denominations. Her work of building unity is one of the most important contributions to the relationships among churches and religions today."

In 1981 Chiara Lubich was invited to Tokyo by Rev. Nikkyo Niwano, founder of the Buddhist lay movement Rissho Kosei-kai. There she shared her Christian experience with over 10,000 Buddhists.

Fruitful contacts between Christian members of the Focolare and members of other religions have multiplied. The Focolare Movement is a permanent member of the World Conference on Religion and Peace. The Movement views the cooperation of all believers in God as a most important factor in bringing about worldwide solidarity and peace.

The road to unity

The road to unity leads to dialogue: dialogue among Christians, dialogue among members of the world religions, dialogue with persons of other convictions. This cannot be done without knowing one's own position and that of one's partner in dialogue. To that end, the Movement organizes seminars for its members on ecumenism, interreligious dialogue and dialogue with those of other convictions.

For a united world

"That all may be one," the goal towards which the Focolare wants to give its contribution, has attracted many young people on every continent who live and work for a united world. Meeting with 18,000 of these youth on March 31, 1990,Pope John Paul II spoke of a united world as "the great expectation of today's humanity, the great challenge of our future."

Chiara Lubich

Chiara Lubich, foundress of the Focolare Movement was born on January 22, 1920, in Trent, Italy, the first of four children of a working-class family. She was an elementary school teacher and always had a special interest in philosophy. In 1943 she decided to give her life to God. Before long, other young women joined her, and so the Focolare came into being. She is currently the elected president of the Focolare whose main thrust is to work for the unity of humankind. In 1977 she received the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion and in 1988 the Augsburg Peace Prize, which is awarded to honor accomplishments in inter-denominational dialogue.

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