Remembering Chiara and Rabbi Leon Klenicki

Dear Readers,

This anniversary issue, a year after Chiara Lubich left this earth, celebrates her legacy and is inspired by the ideal of unity she communicated to so many around
the planet.

She was undoubtedly a multifaceted pioneer in her many endeavors. She not only birthed a worldwide movement and its spirituality of unity but also remarkable projects and initiatives. The Economy of Communion, Sophia University Institute, the Political Movement for Unity, the New Families Movement, publishing houses and magazines (Living City is just one), centers for the media and for the arts, and symposia for interreligious dialogue are just a few. We could never even begin to cover all aspects of her legacy in a single issue; this month we’d like to display some lesser-known treasures.

Then, as we were preparing to go to press, we heard that Rabbi Leon Klenicki, a close friend of the Focolare community, had passed away. Many of you have read his articles in our magazine or knew him. He was one of the main speakers at the Isaiah School for Jewish-Christian Dialogue, forerunner of the Focolare’s Center for Education in Dialogue that Chiara started at Mariapolis Luminosa in 1998.

Cardinal William Keeler, moderator of Catholic-Jewish Relations for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, called him a “pioneer” in Jewish-Catholic relations. In a letter to Klenicki’s wife, Myra, the cardinal wrote: “This faithful son of Torah leaves behind more than 30 years of scholarship and leadership in interfaith relations.” Quite active in the U.S. Reform Jewish Movement and as chief interreligious officer of the Anti-Defamation League, the rabbi was “a prophetic voice in our dialogues … a true bridge-builder between faiths.”

We pray for him, grateful to God for these pioneers in our journey toward a world of unity and peace.