On February 11th the Pope announced his resignation from the petrine ministry. The Pope's words and gesture have brought about a great echo from the whole world.

On behalf of the Focolare Movement, the president Maria Voce also sent the Holy Father a message of affection and gratitude:

LUMINOSA AWARD FOR UNITY 2012

NEARLY 1 MILLION SERVED: 45 YEARS DEDICATED TO DIGNIFYING IMMIGRATION

Award recognizes the Catholic Charities Spanish Catholic Center of Washington
for 45 years of service to the city’s diverse immigrant population,
bringing them together and helping them give back to the community

The 12,000 young people of a hundred countries who will be present at the appointment in Budapest (Aug 31 to Sept 9), represent tens of thousands of their contemporaries in the world who share the ideal of fraternity.

The Genfest was born from a prophetic intuition of Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement. The Genfest is a meeting of young people who want to show the world that universal brotherhood, a united world, is an Ideal worth living for.

 "Let's bridge" is the title of the 10th edition of the Genfest, the "celebration" of the youth.