Chiara Lubich (1920-2008)

She was someone who never sought to be in the limelight or even to be recognised, yet during the course of her life, Chiara Lubich addressed the UN, the Council of Europe and Synods of Bishops.

This Catholic laywoman was held in high esteem by religious and spiritual leaders of all shades and creeds. She spoke to 3,000 African-Americans at the Malcolm X Mosque in Harlem, New York, in 1997 and to 10,000 Buddhists in Japan in 1981, who were interested in hearing from her about Mary.

The Italian-born founder of the Focolare movement was as equally at home with children, families, entrepreneurs and professors, as she was with politicians and religious leaders. Wherever she visited, she was not just welcomed but sought after. Universities and civil authorities throughout the world recognised her with honorary citizenships and degrees.

Chiara gave her life to building unity among the great religions, and among Christians of many denominations. In her latter years, she worked tirelessly with other Christian and Catholic lay movements and groups to ‘give a soul’ to Europe through the Together for Europe and similar events. Representatives of all the above attended her funeral in Rome on 14 March last, as did thousands of the members of the Focolare.

In the preface of her Essential Writings (2007), she wrote: “If my words in this book have any value, it is to be attributed to the charism that the goodness of God wished to entrust to me: a gift of the Spirit which by its nature, as other similar gifts poured out on the human race, is meant to be given to everyone in the world who wishes to receive it.” So what is this gift? And how did it become manifest through Chiara’s life and that of the Focolare movement?

Chiara Lubich was born in Trent, Italy in 1920. Her mother was a practising Catholic and her father, a printer by trade, was a socialist. Her brother, Gino, became an anti-fascist resistance fighter and later wrote for L’Unita the official newspaper of the Communist party.

Chiara qualified as a primary school teacher and started studies in philosophy, but the Second World War intervened, making it impossible for her to travel to the University of Venice. The bombardment of Trent in the 1940s caused many to flee the city, including Chiara’s family, but she and her companions remained. All they found dear collapsed around them and so they turned to God and read the Gospel in the air raid shelters, seeking to put what they read into practice. Two phrases had a particular resonance for her: “Father… may they all be one” and “Where two or three are gathered, there am I in their midst.”

Founding a movement was never Chiara’s intention. Certainly she had no inkling of what was to come from the initial moments with her companions in the air-raid shelters and helping those around them. In the period before her death, she wrote of those early days: “In living the Word at the beginning in Trent, our relationship with both God and our neighbours changed. This is how the ‘Christian Community’, as we then called it, came to life, that is, the Focolare movement.”

The practice of living out the Word spread, and the Focolare (meaning hearth) was born. The official name of the movement is 'Work of Mary', and it received its first diocesan approval in 1947 and full Church approval in 1962. It was a long period of waiting, but Chiara retained her fidelity to the Mother Church.

The Focolare spread around Chiara’s native Italy and all over the world, and gave birth to a new model not just in the spiritual world but in politics, economy, international relations, communications, education, healthcare and all aspects of society. This was because, as people found new meaning and depth to their lives through living the Word, they wanted to be a more positive force wherever they were, be it in parliament or the classroom or a hospital.

Although she was unable to finish her third level education in the course of her lifetime, she was awarded over a dozen doctorates. These range from Social Sciences from the University of Lublin, Poland; to Economics in Brazil and Italy; and a joint degree from all 13 Academic Faculties in Argentina.

The most recent was in January 2008, when Liverpool’s Hope University, an ecumenical foundation with Catholic and Anglican colleges, conferred a Doctorate of Divinity (Honoris Causa) on her. Although Chiara was not well enough to attend, she sent a message stating: “The ecumenical scene is changing. Some see it as a winter, others as a springtime and others see it as a crisis."

"In reality, we are experiencing new approaches to ecumenism as well as the need for a new way forward. It is in this context that we can speak of the desire for a ‘dialogue of life’ which can facilitate progress, providing fertile ground in which the various expressions of ecumenism can flourish.”

(‘Dialogue of life’ refers to how those of different denominations living the Gospel together become one heart and one soul and what unites them is stronger than their differences).

Awards such as the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education (1996) were given to Chiara, and dozens of civil recognitions throughout the world, such as the Southern Cross from the President of Brazil for her efforts on behalf of the most disadvantaged and for promoting the Economy of Communion*.

In November 2007, when Chiara’s book, Essential Writings was published in Ireland, Professor Ray Kinsella of UCD’s Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, described the Economy of Communion as “prophetic” and he said that it involved changing the markets and market economy from within. The recent financial crisis has underlined just that.

He added, “Chiara’s vision is sustainable because it is rooted in core gospel values and it is rooted in values that resonate right across the human experience of different faith groups and individuals. I think we’ve seen the recent catharsis in the world economy and it has become very clear that the answers don’t lie in band-aids, ‘fixes’ or regulatory make-overs, or the hijacking of the word ‘ethic’ as if it was something that could be re-sprayed on a failed corporate model."

"I think our responsibility is to ensure that the practical implementation of the sustainable model of the economy, at the heart of which is the person, is encouraged and facilitated, taught and fostered.”

Though not a politician herself, Chiara Lubich inspired politicians the world over. In January this year, President Mary McAleese celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Focolare centre in Co Kildare. She spoke warmly of her meeting with Chiara Lubich on her visit to Ireland in 2004 and how Chiara’s simple idea of love lived as a reality had been important in the dark days of the ‘Troubles’ and in the more recent challenge of multiculturalism.

At the celebration of the Mass for Chiara’s ‘month’s mind’ at Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral, Archbishop Martin recalled his memories of her from his time in Rome. “She had no inferiority complex about being a laywoman. She showed us how vital the contribution of lay people is to the Church through her authentic witness and coherence.”

He added that Chiara’s was a true charism and ‘a gift for the building up of the Church.’

Factfile:
The Focolare
• present in 182 nations
• 143,000 members world-wide
• 2 million people linked to Focolare
• 20 towns giving witness to the Gospel
• 750 businesses based on *Economy of Communion
*Businesses that work in a way that respects both worker and customer and gives profits to those in need.

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