Focolari president Maria Voce in Israel

On February 11, 2011, Dr. Maria Voce, present president of the Focolari Movement, will arrive in Jerusalem. She will stay for three weeks and her visit has different objectives. In the light of the visit, it is worth saying something about who the Focolari are.

The spirituality of the Focolari was born in Trent (northern Italy) with Chiara Lubich and her companions during the Second World War. The horror of the war made them realize that all is ephemeral. They desired therefore to rediscover God in their lives, the God who is love and is the foundation of all things, the One who is not ephemeral. They began to live the Gospel in their daily lives, sharing among themselves their lived experiences. This constitutes the beginnings of the life of the Focolari, which attracted hundreds and then thousands of people. One day, opening the Gospel, they found the section of the Gospel of Saint John in which Jesus prays to the Father that all might be one (John 17:21). From that moment on, they understood that this particular prayer of Jesus was the principal call of the spirituality that was emerging. Thus, in the 1960s, with the signature of Pope Paul VI, the Church officially recognized this spirituality as one of the ecclesial, lay movements, which appeared as “signs of the time”. They specified that their charisma was that of unity and they gave the movement the name “Work of Mary” (Opera di Maria). Today, the spirituality of the Focolari has reached millions of people in diverse cultures in more than 180 countries (for more details see: www.focolare.org)

Since the 1970s, the Focolari are also in the land of Jesus, seeking how to contribute in order to help the local Christians and bringing a spirit of dialogue in promoting relations with the Jewish people and the Muslims. Notwithstanding all the challenges, the community grew and today there are about a thousand members and adherents among whom are also Jewish and Muslim supporters. Most of those who adhere to the spirituality of the Focolari are families and young people from among the local Christians, especially in the area of two cities where the community is present: Jerusalem and Haifa. At the same time there is also a significant presence in places in the Palestinian Territories, in Bethlehem, Ramallah and Gaza.

Maria Voce (born in 1937) was elected president in July 2008, a few months after the death of Chiara Lubich, the foundress of the Movement. Her present visit has different objectives. One is to visit the community of Focolari present in the country and learn about the circumstances in which they live. Another objective is to live a spiritual experience during days of retreat and visits to the Holy Places, programmed for the last week of her stay. For this purpose, she will joined by the leadership team of the movement, about eight people who will come from Rome.

The program of visits will undoubtedly include visits to the different authorities in the local Church, meetings with the leaders of other communities and religious movements as well as with the civil authorities.

I ask myself, as one who lives according to the spirituality of the movement and who has received much from it, what do I expect from this visit of Maria Voce, president of the Focolari? Perhaps, instead of expecting “great” things, I expect a simple and profound encounter, which will reinforce the living presence of Jesus Christ, not only among those Christians who live here and are nourished by this spirituality but also among all Christians who seek greater peace and fraternity in this holy place.