The Story of Chiara and the Focolare (1961-1964)

March 23, 1962 marked a historic date for the young movement: the approval ad experimentum of the Rule of the men focolarini. 

This was the first official endorsement by the Holy See, with Fr. Agatangelo da Langasco OFM Cap assigned as the Focolare’s ecclesiastical assistant. He was tasked with supervising the implementation of the Rule during the probationary period.

Although this brought much joy, since it confirmed the movement’s “being Church,” it was mixed with a sense of dismay, because only the men’s section had been approved.

At the school of Mary

Throughout that period, Chiara Lubich’s experience was infused with the reality of Mary, who at the foot of the cross, in total detachment, participated, through her offering, in that of her son. Chiara looked to her to learn how to let go — even of the most sacred thing she had.

That summer spent in Einsiedeln, Switzerland, brought Chiara a special insight. On August 12, contemplating the inner beauty of Mary as Stabat Mater, she perceived Mary’s capacity to generate and bring new life — a result of her suffering and detachment. 

As a result it became Chiara’s life goal to relive Mary Desolate, the queen of all virtues, the epitome of charity. She wrote, “I have only one Mother on earth: Mary Desolate.”

A few years later, Chiara wrote in her diary on June 15, 1964: “We are at the ‘school’ of Mary Desolate … Let us gather up all the occasions that she offers us [to relive her] day by day, without ever betraying her, because otherwise, it would mean betraying our journey to reach holiness. And what would it matter if we conquered the world, neglecting our own soul?” 

The second approval

The first official, albeit partial, admittance of the movement into the Catholic Church took place during the start of Vatican II. But on June 3, 1963, Pope John XXIII died. He was succeeded 18 days later by Giovanni Battista Montini, who took the name Paul VI.

A few months later, in November 1963, the Rule of the women’s section of the movement was also approved ad experimentum. Although grateful to God and to the Catholic Church for this sign of encouragement, the Focolare nonetheless appeared as though divided into two huge, separate parts, which did not reflect “everything that God had built,” Chiara felt. 

That was the state of things when Pope Paul VI received Chiara Lubich in an audience for the first time on October 31, 1964. Paul VI indicated, with wisdom and finesse, the key point missing: a trait-d’union to link the men’s and women’s sections. It could be a council where it would be possible for a layperson to be president. 

Paul VI spoke with such understanding and boundless welcoming. He told Chiara: “You shouldn’t be afraid of anything. No organization, no arrangement, no matter how strange it might seem, is impossible. Everything is possible.” 

The pope’s paternal support

After the long period of the movement living under scrutiny — in fact, on several occasions it was on the brink of being dissolved, with the suggestion that Chiara enter a convent — the openness so clearly expressed by Paul VI was a turning point. From that moment on, through the pope’s support, preparations toward the definitive approval began to take shape. 

By November 1965, Chiara Lubich was recognized as the president of the movement, officially titled the Work of Mary, and in February 1966 its Coordinating Council was approved ad experimentum for five years.

Other papal audiences followed, and they allowed Chiara to experience the paternity of God through the person of the pope who, heeding the voice of the Holy Spirit, trustingly encouraged and pointed out pathways for the movement’s development.

On September 6, after the pope told Chiara, “You are working for the Church,” she wrote in her diary: “These words sank into my soul like the sweetest balm, like the most sought after praise to Jesus among us! The Church! To be able to work, to live, to die for her. And more than anyone else, the pope is the one who knows if we are indeed working specifically for the Church. Now the only thing we have to do is to remain faithful to our ideals.”

Trips to Eastern Europe

The “Church of silence,” or the Church behind the Iron Curtain, and ecumenical dialogue were among the main directives encouraged by Pope Paul VI for spreading the spirit of unity and communion. 

The first trips of Focolare members into nations under the communist regime started in 1955. In fact, on September 8, Guido Mirti left for Prague, taking with him a blessing from Pope Pius XII for the Church that was living in hiding.

Chiara’s wish to help those Christians further intensified after the Soviet suppression of Hungary in 1956. Help began to take shape toward the end of 1959 when Natalia Dallapiccola, Chiara Lubich’s earliest companion, went to Berlin to establish the first focolare center behind the Iron Curtain. It soon became a reference point for many people from East Germany, who found there a welcome, comfort, spiritual strength.

In July 1960, the first Mariapolis was held in Berlin, with the presence of Chiara and co-founder Fr. Pasquale Foresi, together with people coming from the Eastern Block. 

During the audience on October 31, 1964, Paul VI wanted to know about the spreading of the movement behind the Iron Curtain and suggested a further line of development. He encouraged the establishment of a tourist agency in Rome to welcome people coming from Eastern Europe, so as to keep their contact with Christianity alive and to promote trips beyond the Iron Curtain. This agency could be of help and comfort.

In the meantime, Christians of different denominations met the movement. As often happens in the Focolare’s story, this wasn’t something planned. Through a personal contact, some evangelical sisters, the Marienschwestern or the Sisters of Mary, from Darmstadt (Germany) attended the Mariapolis at Fiera di Primiero in 1957.

This marked the discovery of a capacity for ecumenical dialogue that through the years, in unison with what the popes expressed, would develop widely on various levels and in different directions. 

In the historic audience of October 1964, the pope’s trust and encouragement were demonstrated explicitly toward Chiara. When she asked, “Your holiness, are you happy with my work [for the Church]?” Paul VI replied, “Yes my daughter, with all my heart.” 

First published in Città Nuova Italy