An element of genius that we can attribute to Chiara Lubich, foundress of the Focolare Movement, is having drawn out, from among the many words of the Gospel, the word unity. A word, a timeless horizon for all times, much more so for our time in which people are so divided. The problem is how to articulate it in every age, in ours in particular. What kind of unity does humankind need today? The exegete Gérard Rossé would say that Chiara Lubich was “at the service of unity,” because, in theological terms, the charism of unity is, first and foremost, a prerogative of the Church of Christ as a whole.

Chiara Lubich, therefore, had a great personality, with a broad vision and a universal outlook, but at the same time, she had an unparalleled practicality and attention to detail. To make this clear, at major events, she was capable of dictating guidelines for thousands of people, but also of looking after the color of the flowers and their arrangement. This was a witness to a presence that chose the times and filled the spaces. Obviously.

Such a person could not depart from this earth without leaving consequences for those who have followed her. Indeed, she left a void that is not easy to fill, along with the big question about the charism and its concrete formulations. Hence, the repercussion was not light. The three assemblies that followed Chiara’s death ̶ in 2008, 2014, and 2021 (delayed for a few months due to COVID) ̶ highlighted the attempt of the Focolare Movement as a whole to give a community response to this question.

Let us call to mind that according to the statutes of the Focolare, such an assembly is the highest authority of the Movement, superior to the presidency itself. Thanks also to the ingenious and non-nostalgic contribution of the co-founder Pasquale Foresi and the intelligent docility of Giulia “Eli” Folonari, Chiara Lubich’s closest collaborator since 1951, the General Assembly of 2008 succeeded in proposing a relatively unprecedented presidency. In fact, neither the elected president Maria ‘Emmaus’ Voce, nor the co-president Giancarlo Faletti, were among Lubich’s first companions in the adventure of the Movement. In the frank debate that took place at that General Assembly, the synthesis between tradition and innovation was found, something that was not guaranteed in advance.

For six years, Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti carried out their role without repeating the foundress’s ways of doing things. Here is an example, among others: Maria Voce immediately refused to follow the tradition that Lubich practiced of giving new names and assigning sentences taken from Sacred Scripture considered most suitable to those who requested them. After this period, the Assembly of 2014 had to face some serious problems that had afflicted the Movement. In particular, these included the crisis of new memberships in the Focolare and the aging of its leadership, making it necessary to carry out painful mergers of organizational structures, at all levels, both central and local. Dialogue had become urgent and effective in its own way, with proposals that were later implemented to a large extent. The president was confirmed, with the innovation of a co-president of the third-generation and non-Italian, Jesús Morán, a Spaniard and theologian with extensive experience in Latin America.

Another six years, or rather seven, because of the pandemic, and the General Assembly of 2021, the result of six months of consultations and voting at the local level, gave a further boost to the renewal of the Focolare with the election of a non-Italian president and was an expression of the radically dialogical nature of the Movement. Elected president was Israeli-Palestinian Catholic Margaret Karram and, at the same time, Jesús Morán was confirmed co-president for a second term. Despite the fact that, at the Assembly, dialogue took place mostly online, with the authorization of the then Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Family, it was extremely vivacious. It called attention to the need for a renewed choice by individuals and the group to be present there where the most acute and serious wounds of society were found. The result was a voluminous orientation document, which is currently being implemented. Margaret Karram immediately enriched the Movement’s “vision” with a more international outlook, paying attention to non-European cultures.

At the same time, it was necessary to accept and bear the shock from the cases of abuse that had emerged from a number of members of the Movement, in the sexual sphere, of authority and spiritual abuse. The aim was to recognize the finiteness of the people who adhere to the Movement and the failings of human organizations, including ecclesial ones. Two operations that are undoubtedly not easy, but necessary. Another note from the General Assembly of 2021: the internationalization of the Movement was completed, with the election of general councilors from all over the world. A worksite that, in any case, is still open, in view of future elections, to ensure that those who will be elected will have the necessary competence.

The next General Assembly will take place in 2026, not in 2027 as anticipated, since, in the meantime, the Vatican modified the duration of the presidency of movements and associations. Under the new norms, those who hold offices in the central leadership of international Catholic lay movements and associations may serve a maximum of two five-year terms.

Michele Zanzucchi