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.

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.”

“You are bursting with Chiara’s legacy”, Maria Voce told the young people from the USA during two lively hours of music, graphics and a confiding exchange of experiences and questions.

Up close and in person, it’s always a different story. In fact these young people had often seen Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti on DVD, their tone of voice was familiar, everyone knew how simple and uncomplicated they are. However, they were always president and co-president of one of the world’s biggest Ecclesial movements. The excitement among the 130 Gen (young people closely involved in the Focolare) who came from all over the USA for the event was therefore understandable. But any tension was dissolved once the meeting began. The backdrop: a snow-covered Mariapolis Luminosa, the Focolare’s ‘little town’ two hours north of New York.

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.

A memorable evening was held by the Focolare Community in Montreal thus concluding the important visit to Canada by Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti.

PRESS RELEASE:

In 2011 the Focolare marks its 50-year milestone in North America with anniversary celebrations throughout the United States and Canada.

Theme for 2011:
"One in the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer." (Acts 2:42-47)

The annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (PCU) gives witness to the unity that Jesus asked for when he prayed “that they all may be one” (John 17:21) and focuses on all that Christians of many traditions have in common.

Ever since it was established in 1908, the week has been observed each year from January 18 to January 25 in the northern hemisphere and at Pentecost in the southern hemisphere.

On January 1st, the World Day of Peace, we offer a synthesis of a talk given by Chiara Lubich in 1997 for a Symposium at the United Nations in New York.

"...our Movement, aims at bringing peace into the world. (...) As it seeks to build unity among individuals, among groups and among nations; as it dreams of a future in which the world will be truly united, it is a force for peace in the world.