First stop "Luminosa", the Focolare little town situated in Hyde Park (NY)

Here in Luminosa, the Focolare town for North America, the welcome was second to none. For the visit of Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti, it was as if the unusually long winter had been prearranged, so that the snow on the ground would enhance the appearance of the buildings surrounded by woods and grassy banks. While the two important guests were visiting the offices of Living City and New City Press, a group of agile deer passed by just 10 meters away from the surprised visitors. “It never happened before’, the residents exclaimed. “It's the presence of the media” was the thought of others.

New York, 4 April 2011. Mass in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral for the 50th anniversary of Focolare in North America. The mass was celebrated by Archbishop Timothy Dolan who invited everyone to bring light everywhere. A message from Pope Benedict XVI.

Red and black. Red vestments for the celebrants, and black the color chosen by the guest of honor, the President of the Focolare, Maria Voce. At the end of the Mass, Archbishop Timothy Dolan invited her up to the altar, put his right arm around her shoulders, and looking down at her from his full height said: “Come back soon! This is your home.” The archbishop was visibly happy, and his warm welcome was in every way anything but formal.

Marigen and Antonio, Focolare delegates in New York, with Dr William Vendley, Secretary General of WCRP

On April 3 leaders from the world’s main faiths met together at the UN’s Church Centre, to celebrate 50 years of the Focolare movement in the USA.

At the UN Church Center, where religions meet together, leaders from the world’s main faiths met on April 3rd to celebrate to 50 years of work of the Focolare Movement in the United States. The meeting was set up by “Religions for Peace”, and was hosted by its secretary general, William Vendley.

1,300 people from Canada, the United States and the Caribbean came together to celebrate the 50 years since the arrival of the Focolare Movement in North America. Members of the Jewish community and African American Muslims were among those present.

It could have been the finale of a Broadway musical. Men and women wearing black shirts, girls with yellow and blue scarves, dance routines, and a medley of well known songs about the joys and worries, the hard times and the dreams of Americans. The lengthy applause expressed joy and gratitude for “an unforgettable day for the whole of north America”, that, as one of the presenters put it, “took fifty years to prepare.”