‘Work of Mary’: Vancouver Focolare mark Chiara Lubich’s 100-year legacy

Chiara Lubich, the foundress of the Focolare Movement, offered the Church a simple message of Gospel love and a powerful support to the men and women of our time. Now, 100 years after her birth (and 12 years since her death), the Catholic Church in Vancouver is still giving thanks for her witness.

Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving for her life and work at St. Patrick’s Church in Vancouver March 7.

The Focolare Movement first came into being 77 years ago, in 1943 in the city of Trent, northern Italy. Chiara Lubich was then a young teacher, and she gathered her friends around her and set off on a journey based on a spirituality of unity and living the new commandment of Jesus: “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34). From that initial group, the Focolare spread far and wide, arriving in Vancouver in the mid-1970s.

Its original presence in Vancouver can be traced to Emma Tinio, who first met members of Focolare in the Philippines. She experienced the encounter as a gift to herself personally, but also as a gift that would make the Church more beautiful, more open, and more welcoming to all.

When she moved to Vancouver, she wasted no time in planting the seed here. Among the first who responded to this new life was Vancouver priest Father Pat Kenny who recalls going with Tinio to visit a sister who was terminally ill. When they arrived and the sister saw the priest, she said: “Father, I cannot pray anymore.”

Immediately Tinio responded by saying: “But you can love to the end!” From that moment, the sense of new life found in Chiara’s charism took root in the priest’s soul.

Sometime later, Tinio invited Sharry Silvi, a North American Focolare directors, to visit Vancouver. Her visit began in the office of Archbishop James Carney who observed the hand of God in what he heard and therefore gave his permission for members of the Focolare community to increase and multiply in his diocese.

Soon afterward, the first Mariapolis (meaning “City of Mary”) retreats were organized and promoted by Focolare. Many fruits began to appear in the garden of this local Church. Particularly interesting was the number of families and youth who attended, all discovering this communitarian way modelled after the family of Nazareth. In fact, “Focolare” means “hearth,” where the family gathers. A Focolare Centre was established in the archdiocese and is still present now, in Coquitlam, giving a witness of unity and seeking to fulfill all the aspects of Chiara’s charism within the heart of the Church. The centre also provides a link to the movement worldwide.

When Pope Francis visited the Focolare community at Loppiano, near Florence, Italy, on May 10, 2018, he encouraged members to consider that they were just at the beginning of their service to the vitality of the Church.

He stated that “the charism of unity is a providential stimulus and a powerful support for (…) the men and women of our time to walk together as one heart and one soul.”

He stressed the importance of continually rooting ourselves firmly in the communitarian way of going towards God, because the spirituality of communion saves us from all self-interest and individualism.

When the Focolare Movement was approved by the Church in 1962, it was given the name, “Work of Mary.” Pope Francis told its members that they should place themselves “in the school of Mary in order to learn to know Jesus, to live with Jesus, to keep Jesus present in each one of us and among us.”

He also said that Mary is a model for responding to a crisis, as at Cana. She was faithful, patient, creative, and courageous. He concluded by saying: “Always look to this, this lay woman, Jesus’ first disciple, how she reacted in all the conflicting episodes of her son’s life. It will really help you.”

We can take these words to heart as we face so many crises in our Church and in the world today. In this new movement, Mary is offering a way to resolve each situation.

The words of Pope Francis underline the importance of all our meetings and our place in the garden of the Church, where there are already many other beautiful blossoms of faith and life. The goal of the movement is to stimulate many new buds on the tree of the Church, many new shoots and many fruits that will fulfill the prayer of Jesus to his father on the night before he died: “Father, may they all be one” (Jn 17:21).

For more information about Chiara Lubich or the Focolare Movement, see www.focolare.org/en or centrochiaralubich.org/en or contact the Focolare Center in Coquitlam at [email protected].

What is special about this year?

The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement and a charismatic figure of the 20th century, who, through her thoughts and actions to promote universal brotherhood and peace, has left a legacy spread across the globe.

The centenary provides an extraordinary opportunity not so much to remember Chiara Lubich with nostalgia, but to meet her today through some of the thousands of people who are living and working for a more united and peaceful world. The Focolare includes various economic, political and cultural initiatives, such as the Economy of Communion, the Political Movement for Unity, and hundreds of social, environmental and humanitarian projects that are contributing to a more just and harmonious world.

In collaboration with other organizations and institutions, the Focolare Movement is celebrating Chiara Lubich through numerous initiatives and events happening around the world, such as the event on March 7 at St. Patrick’s Church, Vancouver.

Who is Chiara Lubich?

Chiara Lubich (1920-2008) is the founder of the Focolare Movement, which is present in 182 countries and promotes the spirituality of unity. Its goal is to contribute towards the fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer: “May they all be one” (Jn 17:21).

Chiara, a great charismatic figure of our times, is well known for her tireless work to increase communion, fraternity and peace among people of different Churches, with followers of various world religions and with people who have no religious belief.

The spirit of the Focolare Movement aims at promoting a new lifestyle also in the civil field, as for example, in economics and in politics. International academic institutions awarded Chiara Lubich honorary degrees in a number of disciplines (theology, philosophy, psychology, economics, social sciences, etc.).

Chiara built a relationship of friendship with popes, heads of churches, founders of movements and political and civil leaders. She has left a great legacy that does not cease to inspire individuals and groups, who in turn influence every area of society. The process for her beatification and canonization began in 2015. The diocesan phase was completed in 2019 and so the cause has now been sent to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in the Vatican.

What is the Focolare Movement?

The Focolare Movement has the features of a large and varied family, of a “new people born of the Gospel,” as Chiara Lubich, its founder, defined it.  It is a movement of spiritual and social renewal, founded in Trent, Italy, in 1943, during the Second World War. The Focolare Movement, officially known as the Work of Mary, was approved by the Catholic Church in 1962. It is now present in 182 nations and more than 2 million people share closely in its life and work.

It aims at spreading the message of unity worldwide. Inspired by Jesus’ prayer to the Father, “That they may all be one” (Jn 17:21), its goal is to promote brotherhood and to achieve a more united world in which people respect and value diversity. To achieve this goal, people of the movement engage in various forms of dialogue and are committed to building bridges of fraternal relationships among individuals, between cultural groups, and in every area of society.

Members of the movement include Christians of different Churches and ecclesial communities, members of the major world religions and people of no particular religious belief. Each one adheres to the movement’s goal and spirit, while faithfully following the precepts of their own faith and conscience. 

At the heart of the movement are small communities of men and women who consecrate their lives to God with vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and live in separate households called “focolares,”  from the Italian word for “hearth.”

Married people are also members of these communities, while remaining in their families and being faithful to their commitment to marriage. They too make the same radical choice of the Gospel and offer their lives to bring unity in the world.

Father Harry Clarke is a Focolare member in the Diocese of Nelson.