It was an afternoon dedicated to Igino Giordani (1894-1980), politician, writer, journalist, and co-founder of the Focolare Movement. On Sunday, April 18, 2021, at the International Center of the Focolare Movement in Rocca di Papa (Rome), Italy, an event took place remembering Igino Giordani 41 years after his death. Giordani was a rich and multifaceted figure – a politician, a member of the Constituent Assembly and later of the Italian Parliament, a journalist, a writer, and, with Chiara Lubich, co-founder of the Focolare Movement. The event included a presentation of the sculpture by the artist Peter Kostner which is dedicated to Giordani and of the new biography “Igino Giordani: an unarmed hero” edited by Alberto Lo Presti with a preface by the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, and published by Citta Nuovà. The program was livestreamed and enriched by personal testimonies recalling Giordani.
“As I was preparing for this event, I was moved, recalling one the most beautiful moments of my life. In 1978, I was with a group of girls my age who had just finished a Focolare youth congress when we met Igino Giordani in person in the park.” This was the personal recollection with which Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, began her testimony during the afternoon dedicated to Igino Giordani on April 18, 2021, on the 41st anniversary of his death. She continued, “Other people told us that he was a great personality, but for us, he was simply ‘Foco.’ That’s how he was known by all those who loved him. He was the person who had helped Chiara Lubich in the early years of the Movement, thanks to his rich experience in cultural, religious, and political fields. Thanks to him, many people came to know the ideal of unity. Moreover, since he was married, he had opened up a totally new path of consecration to the focolare for married people.”
At that time, Margaret Karram was with a group of girls from the Holy Land and when they introduced themselves to Giordani, they saw his face light up. “The reference to the Holy Land had given him great joy,” she explains. “He had such a radiant smile and such a penetrating gaze that I can still picture him now. He told us, ‘Remember to be another Mary!’ ”
“During his studies, Foco had often focused on the events and places where Jesus was born and began preaching. It was as if he had wanted to discover the most intimate aspects regarding the life of the family of Nazareth to be able to imitate them.”
Karram recalled that this meeting took place on the grounds of the International Focolare Center in Rocca di Papa (Rome), Italy where Giordani, a widower, lived in a focolare during the last years of his life. He often sat on a bench in the garden and those who passed by or participated in the international meetings taking place there would greet him and often sit beside him. “We have collected many testimonies of what happened on that bench,” Margaret Karram continued. “Some young people talked about doubts regarding their faith, some parents confided in him their family difficulties, while some professionals asked him for advice on how to reconcile their careers with their moral values. There were also priests and religious who asked him for help concerning their vocation. Igino listened, understood, and then gave wise advice which was often decisive in solving people’s problems.”
After the Focolare President’s address at this event dedicated to Giordani, several testimonies followed from people who as children had sat on that bench and, many years later, still treasure the richness of the conversations with him. They include Margarida Pereira Da Silva, a focolarina living in Portugal, Manoel Araujo, a Brazilian doctor and Stanislao di Piazza, a senator of the Italian Republic.
Peter Kostner, now an artist known in various parts of Europe, also sat next to Giordani when he was a boy. He is the creator of a sculpture placed on the grounds of the Focolare Movement’s Center, representing Giordani sitting on an empty bench. “If people see the sculpture,” explained Kostner, “they will go and sit next to him. I hope they will want – or even be enticed – to learn about his ideas, his life, the person he was and thus also find inspiration for their own lives.”
As some of the speakers at the event clearly testified, Giordani continues to arouse profound interest in the academic sphere. His experience and prophetic wisdom have inspired others in making personal choices and courageous decisions on the path leading towards fraternity and peace in the political, civil, and social spheres.
“I’m at the beginning of my political career, so there are a lot of opportunities to do good, but also a lot of doubts when I’m not quite sure what’s right and what’s not,” said František Talíř, the young Vice President of the South Bohemian Regional Government in the Czech Republic. “In those moments,” he continued, “I would often remember Igino Giordani. I pray and ask him for help.” Referring to a time when he had experienced conflict with a colleague in the government, he asked himself what Igino would have done in his place. “After a few days, I invited my colleague for coffee. And even though our perspectives did not change – he saw the truth one way and I, another – we managed to find a way to move forward. I think it was a small miracle, maybe thanks to Igino Giordani. There will always be situations like this but I believe we’ll manage to change our way of engaging in politics.”
Anna Lisa Innocenti
