Directions to Mariapolis Luminosa

Mariapolis Luminosa

One of 32 Focolare little cities of the Focolare Movement around the world. Mariapolis Luminosa, the Focolare little city for North America, is located in Hyde Park, New York, in the beautiful surroundings of the Hudson Valley. In 1986, at its inauguration, Focolare founder Chiara Lubich wrote in a message: “This city of Mary could be the model of a new humanity where unity has become a reality.” Day after day this plan of unity is coming about. All year round, a great variety of gatherings is taking place at Luminosa for children, families, teenagers, youth, entrepreneurs, men and women religious and priests.

At Christmas time, Luminosa traditionally hosts a unique display of over 100 Nativity Scenes from all over the world.

Since 1988 the annual presentation of the Luminosa Award for Unity has been a means of recognizing a person or group whose life and works have given a significant contribution to unity, which is the Focolare’s goal.

In 1998, the Center for Education in Dialogue was inaugurated. It promotes seminars and interactive dialogue sessions are held where experts in ecumenism, Christian-Jewish dialogue, Islam and Buddhism offer an in-depth look at various points.

Special events, such as the summer 3-day gathering called Mariapolis, offer families and people of all ages and walks of life an experience of how life can be transformed if love and unity are its foundation. When the Mariapolis ends, people find that it was not only a tremendous weekend, but they have experienced a way of living that they will be able to bring back home.

Mariapolis Luminosa hosts the New City Press Publishing House headquarters and the editorial office of Living City Magazine.

The Ave Center, an arts and crafts studio, gallery and gift shop, is located at Mariapolis Luminosa. An international team works together to create original fine art and handicrafts.

Visit the Ave Center web site at http://www.home.att.net/~avecenter

Models for a new humanity

Each summer from 1949 on, the Dolomite Mountains were a regular meeting place for the members of the growing Focolare Movement. These vacation gatherings were microcosms of humanity, small temporary “cities” based on the law of mutual love. Now over a hundred of these summer gatherings – called “Mariapolis” – take place all over the world each year, with over 200,000 participants.

The need to prolong the experience of this temporary Mariapolis (city of Mary) gave birth to permanent Mariapolises or little cities.

Loppiano, in Italy, the first Permanent Mariapolis, came to life in 1964 and now numbers over 900 inhabitants. They are people of all ages and social backgrounds, single men and women, families, priests, men and women religious. They come from all over the world.

In time, a similar international "little city" developed in Montet, Switzerland, and others in different countries, each with its own characteristics:

Cameroon , Kenya and Ivory Coast in Africa - meeting point of many peoples
Philippines - center of dialogue with the Asian religions, especially Buddhism
Brazil , Argentina and Venezuela - concrete proof of the Gospel's effectiveness in resolving social ills
Germany and Great Britain - fostering the ecumenical journey towards unity
United States – a model for dialogue among people of different races, cultures and religions