“If one day all people, not as individuals but as peoples; if one day all peoples learned how to set themselves aside, to set aside the idea they have of their homeland and their kingdoms, and offer them like incense to the Lord … and if they were to do this for the sake of mutual love among states, which God asks for in the same way that he asks for mutual love among brothers and sisters, that day will be the beginning of a new era. On that day, just as there is the living presence of Jesus between two people who love each other in Christ, so too Jesus will be alive and present among peoples….”[1]

With these words, on August 30, 1959, Chiara Lubich, foundress of the Focolare Movement, outlined her dream for unity among all peoples. It became clear that this was the task that God entrusted to the new Movement, for the sake of humanity.

In the aftermath of a war laden with hatred and pain, thousands of men and women from 27 countries and representing all continents made a solemn pact. It was the 22nd of August, the day on which the Catholic Church celebrates the Virgin Mary as Queen; and the Mariapolis in the Primiero Valley was coming to an end.

Sixty years later, on the 10th of August, at the end of the European Mariapolis at Tonadico, everyone there celebrated this anniversary and re-launched the value and relevance of the commitment to unity among peoples. Below is the full text by Focolare President Maria Voce.

“Sixty years ago, in this locality, parliamentarians from different countries united in prayer to consecrate to Mary their own people and all peoples on earth. Each of them bore in their hearts the hopes and aspirations of their countries, to which they had to respond with responsible and fitting political choices. They faced significant challenges, at a time when ideological conflict was dividing the world into opposing blocs that threatened world peace. After the war, cities needed to be rebuilt, communities re-established, economies developed, lawfulness guaranteed and services maintained.

All these were urgent problems calling for political competence and care for society. Yet those politicians did not gather round a table, nor did they organize an international summit; instead they prayed for unity among peoples.

“It was an unusual choice, indeed, but it guaranteed the future.

”The world of politics calls for skill and responsibility, honesty and consistency, the ability to work with passion and courage. But the value that most enhances political action is farsightedness, the ability to see beyond, to see further, so as to plan the future frameworks of society and foster their growth.

“Yes, at times of crisis and rebuilding, interpreting change can be important; being able to envisage the future can make all the difference. And the further ahead one is able to see, the more influential and transforming is one’s action in the present.

“Those politicians who, sixty years ago, asked God for the gift of unity and decided to commit to its fulfillment, knew how to look very far ahead. From their involvement with Chiara Lubich’s charism they had learned an important lesson: the destiny of the universe is unity.

This was not only clear to them in an intellectual manner, because unity was the lifestyle and the norm of the Mariapolis: they had actually experienced it in the smaller or greater actions and choices of daily life. Unity lived in the Movement as it developed shed a special light on relationships in society that all people were called to edify, in whatever circumstances they found themselves.

“Unity is seen, always and in any age, as a new and revolutionary way of conceiving life and the world. It is not simply an ideal like any other, because it arises from the prayer that Jesus himself addressed to the Father, when he raised his eyes to heaven and prayed that all may be one.

It is from this prayer that human history draws meaning. It is not by chance that one of the first politicians who followed Chiara Lubich was Igino Giordani, a member of the Italian Parliament. He welcomed the ideal of unity interpreting it with this most effective expression: “History is a fifth gospel” because history shows the constant and progressive fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer and, therefore, of God’s plan for creation.

“Everything is marching towards unity. This means that social changes that can positively transform the present are ones that accompany citizens, associations and states towards a world that is more cohesive, where there is greater solidarity. All that contributes to cooperation, peace and greater closeness among communities and groups is in line with authentic progress and enables development.

“In other words, if you want to do your people some good, you need to busy yourself with the good of other peoples. That is why, strengthened by a prophetic and ever relevant message, Chiara Lubich never ceased to spread the message of unity, speaking to politicians and all those actively engaged in society with the exhortation to “love your neighbor’s party as your own,” to “love your neighbor’s country as your own.”

“The challenges we face today are no less urgent than those of 60 years ago. Quite the opposite. The need to work for unity among peoples is clearer today than ever. The global processes we are witnessing show the interdependence of states, nations and communities on our planet.

“It is ever clearer that all peoples on earth share one destiny and that the big issues of our day concern matters that are vital for all people: care for the environment, older and newer types of poverty, the invisible conflicts and the wars that make the news, migration on a global scale (which is more often than not the outcome of poverty, war and climate change), the redistribution of wealth, access to natural resources and the recognition of human rights.

“These issues cut across civil, cultural and political differences. Hence, they engage countries in an ongoing cycle of dialogue aiming to develop processes of political integration and convergence in decision making.

“The Focolare Movement responds to this appeal by fostering dialogue among different political parties (for example, through the Movement for Unity in Politics), by encouraging the communion of goods and the culture of giving (through the Economy of Sharing), by studying the doctrine of unity (for example, at the Sophia University Institute); by promoting unity in places of professional and social engagement and by way of many specific projects and initiatives (through the New Humanity Movement).

“Today too, like 60 years ago, we can pray to God for unity among all peoples on earth.

“My deepest wish is that this prayer should be accompanied by a renewed commitment, taken on both personally and as communities, to live for a united world. We will spread the seeds of change that are needed to transform the present and write new pages in

the history of the human family as it progresses towards unity.”

Maria Voce

[1] Excerpt from the editorial article signed by Chiara Lubich in Città Nuova issue for August 15-30, 1959.