The 660 million inhabitants distributed in 33 nations, more than 530 ethnic groups, 120 official languages, and more than 19 million square kilometers constitute a paradise of diversity, wealth, and vitality known as Latin America and the Caribbean. This subcontinent with profound historical inequalities is a real appeal to those who have decided to make universal fraternity the ideal of their lives.
Indeed, what Chiara Lubich bequeathed to the members of the Focolare Movement present in Latin America was: “Towards unity along the social path.” Over the last sixty years, they have opened welcome centers for migrants; schools and centers for the accompaniment of sick children, and many associations. They have increasingly emphasized that, besides actions that promote development, the social aspect is, above all, about transformation of relationships, welcoming those faces that have become “invisible” because they are different or disfigured, like those of violent people.
Yungay, a popular and historic neighborhood in Santiago, Chile, has welcomed artists, social activists, migrants and disadvantaged families, and political leaders. Paula Luengo, who moved there with three other focolarinas, narrates: “We felt the need to live in the places of inequality, and enter into the divides that strongly characterize our country, to bring ourselves close to the people there so that the Focolare could be part of the social fabric of that territory, to live the Gospel from there.” They did not bring a predefined project, yet ways of giving came up, such as the community gardens, the joint work with civil and social organizations for the Yungay 2030 project, and an intense collaboration with the parish and the Haitian community. This life, lived in the midst of uncertainty, fragility and illness, attracts lay vocations that carry out new forms of engagement, and provoke generosity and initiative from many young people.
Pope Francis extended the invitation to take the first step towards peacebuilding during his visit to Colombia. Here violence has taken root in the culture, after decades of armed conflicts in which the civilian population was the primary victim. “In response to this invitation,” Leidy Vargas recounts, “the Focolare l’Arca was born. In Medellin, it wants to be a meeting place for the people involved in the conflict, and where those who are already working for peace can find comfort, a community-based reality.
Latin America is a name that would seem to indicate a common cultural horizon, but it is also an expression that has rendered invisible the presence of hundreds of peoples whose roots are not Latin, brought in as slaves, or the natives of these lands which are rich in life, initiative, creativity and wisdom.
In Guatemala, for example, it is impossible not to see, touch and feel the deep wounds that pierce the indigenous communities, extending like a mosaic across the land. A womb that was home to the Maya civilization, one of the most flourishing in Mesoamerica, with astonishing astronomical, architectural, artistic and religious knowledge. They were a tenacious people who were able to face the bloodiest colonial and dictatorial assaults and keep their cultural and spiritual heritage. In January 2023, four focolarinas, including Moria Elel and Carolina Velázquez who come from these communities, moved to Chimaltenango where several Mayan people live together. Through this experience, a new phase in intercultural dialogue is beginning.
The joy on the faces of Sirangelo Galiano, Eugenio Chica, and Luis Manuel Herrera is visible and contagious. They have taken the focolare into the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon jungle and there, in profound silence and respect, they met the faces and deep roots of ancestral humanity. Sirangelo says: “We are embracing a great opportunity for service and accompaniment. We are rediscovering a charism capable of illuminating the peripheries and we feel strengthened in our vocation, in accompanying the native populations who welcome us to preserve together our common home.”
The Wichi are a transnational indigenous people, present in Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina. Betiana Colina, Virginia Osorio and Renata González, after what they defined as 1,700 kilometers of discernment, decided to enter the challenging experience of living with these communities, in Fortín de Dragones, in the Argentinian Chaco. They had two keywords: dialogue and interculturality. This is what they write: “If we were to add a few words, born out of the life of these months, one would be FEELING, and the other learning to STAY. In the proximity and coexistence with different cultures, the first experience is linked to FEELING, from where one thinks, from where one observes, and that is why STAYING acquires value, more than doing.”
Thus, men and women write a story that is nourished by the Gospel, in complete self-giving, living in the wounds of the people, and drawing near to build relationships capable of effecting change in the social fabric. In this way, by valuing its cultural and social riches, Latin America can offer even more its contribution to universal fraternity.
Cristina Montoja
