By C V Joseph
Bengaluru, March 20, 2020: Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore has urged people to follow Blessed Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement that strives to foster unity and universal fraternity.
The archbishop said this during a Mass on March 14 to mark the birth centenary of Lubich at the Holy Ghost Church in Bengaluru, capital of Karnataka state.
Lubich, a charismatic leader, has left a legacy of fraternity and peace spread all over the world
Lubichs ideals and teachings are relevant even today, asserted the archbishop, president Karnataka Region Catholic Bishops’ Council
The prelate also comforted people who now live in fear of Coronavirus epidemic.
“It is a tribulation which is a crown God gives to all. God who visits us more than we do enjoys our isolation and suffering. God is aware of the happenings in the world. Jesus came to quench our thirst and our journey goes on with our endless needs,” he added.
According to him, Lubich met thousands of people and tried to quench their hunger and thirst. “Nothing in this world would satisfy us except love that we have to give others. When Chiara did this, not only her faith was strengthened but also many others.
Archbishop Machado appealed to the people of Karnataka not to panic and not to get discouraged, instead turn Corona to Karuna – compassion and mercy to support the poor.
Earlier. Focolare members presented a brief narration of Lubich’s life, upbringing and factors. The movement canceled most programs following the local government directives to avoid public function.
Lubich is considered a remarkable Catholic woman who played a significant role in ecumenical, interreligious and intercultural dialogue.
Her life-long commitment to building peace and unity among individuals, generations, nations and social and cultural groups, earned her numerous awards, such as the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion (1977), UNESCO Prize for Peace Education (Paris 1996) and the Human Rights Award of the Council of Europe (Strasbourg 1998). and the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Prize (1998).
Lubich, a bestselling author and spiritual leader, was born Silvia Lubich on January 22, 1920, at Trento in Italy. She died on March 14, 2008. She was trained as a teacher, but felt a religious calling and changed her name to Chiara in honor of St. Clare of Assisi. She, however, rejected joining a convent.
She founded the Focolare (hearth) Movement in 1943 as a lay organization dedicated to peace, spiritual renewal, and ecumenical dialogue. She was then studying the Bible with some young women who had come together during the World War II.
Pope John XXIII endorsed the movement in 1962 and in 1990 the Vatican approved the group’s formal constitution. Countless people now follow her way of life because of its evangelical message, universal dimension and cultural and social impact.
She created “an example of a new planetary, prophetic and emancipatory humanism,” as recognized by the numerous honorary doctorates conferred on her by universities in various parts of the world.
By 2008 the movement claimed 18 branches in 182 countries, including India. It has millions of followers, including several thousand living in religious communities.