World Food Day and the Chiara Lubich Center

Dear Readers,

October 16 is World Food Day. Keeping our eyes focused on both the local and the global, we decided to dedicate this issue to the emergency food situation worldwide.

Despite dire forecasts, we also found reasons for hope, as a culture of “having” makes way for one of “giving.” Reflections and life experiences of people committed to making a difference are themselves food for thought and action.

As readers of Living City, you are already familiar with Focolare founder Chiara Lubich, the inspiration and guide for this magazine. Since her death in March, a center has been established for preserving her rich heritage and making it available to the movement and the public at large.

The Chiara Lubich Center, which is run by Eli Folonari, Chiara’s personal assistant for more than 50 years, was announced by the new Focolare president, Maria Voce, at the movement’s General Assembly. There were more than 500 delegates from around the world who attended the assembly from July 1–31 in Castelgandolfo, near Rome.

“I depend on everyone’s collaboration,” said Eli, perhaps the most authoritative observer of Chiara’s intensely charismatic work. “Chiara was well aware that her charism was a gift of God, for the Church and for humanity. She sometimes set aside personal monetary gifts in order to buy the equipment required to keep the archive at its highest level.”

One huge task that lies ahead is to create a definitive historical account of Chiara’s life, which will shed light on how a work of God comes to life and develops. As you can imagine, eyewitness accounts will be essential, especially those of Chiara’s earliest collaborators.

We’ll have more on the Chiara Lubich Center as its work moves forward.

Thank you for reading Living City. We count on your support this fall as we start our annual subscription drive. Feel free to click on our banner in the right side-bar and learn how you, too, can take part in the drive.