8th Anniversary of the Death of Fr. Giussani
Memorial Masses Around the World

To mark the occasion of the 8th anniversary of the death of Fr. Luigi Giussani (February 22, 2005) and the
31st anniversary of the pontifical recognition of the Fraternity of CL (February 11, 1982), Masses will be
celebrated (as they are every year) by Cardinals and Bishops in Italy and around the world; this year, they
will have the intention: “Moved by the Pope's announcement and even more aware of our responsibility, in
this Year of Faith we ask for the grace of an ever deeper knowledge of and affection for Christ through our
intelligent and passionate following of the charism of Fr. Giussani in the life of the Church, in service of our
sisters and brothers.”

The complete list of celebrations is available on the website www.clonline.org. We would like to indicate, in
particular:
- New York, His Eminence Cardinal Timothy Dolan, February 10
- Milan, His Eminence Cardinal Angelo Scola, February 12, 9:00pm, Duomo
- Genoa, His Eminence Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, February 21, 9:15pm, Church of St. Martha
- Madrid, His Eminence Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela, February 21
- Vienna, His Eminence Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, February 22
- Barcelona, His Eminence Cardinal Lluis Martinez Sistach, February 22
- Pretoria, His Excellency Monsignor William Slattery, OFM, February 23
- Amman, Monsignor Giorgio Lingua, Apostolic Nuncio of Jordan, February 23
- São Paulo, His Eminence Cardinal Odilo Scherer, February 26
- Nairobi, His Eminence Cardinal John Njue, March 3

On February 6, 2013, while receiving in Audience the participants of the General Assembly of the Priestly
Fraternity of Saint Charles Borromeo, Benedict XVI remembered Fr. Giussani with these words: “I was
familiar with his faith, his joy, his strength, and the richness of his ideas, the creativity of faith. A real
friendship grew up between us; thus, through him, I became acquainted with the community of Communion
and Liberation.” And immediately afterward, addressing Fr. Julián Carrón, President of the Fraternity of CL,
he said of the Movement, “I am happy that his successor is here with us; that this great work continues and
inspires many people—women and men, priests and lay people—to collaborate in the diffusion of the Gospel
and the growth of the Kingdom of God.”

In a recent letter to the members of the Fraternity of CL, Fr. Carrón wrote: “In order for our life to be thus
changed, our willingness toward conversion—toward following—is necessary, according to Fr. Giussani’s
invitation. ‘Following is the desire to relive the experience of the person who has provoked you, and who
still provokes you, with his presence in the life of the community […]; it is the desire to participate in the life
of that person, in whom something from an Other has been brought to you. And it is precisely this Other to
whom you are so devoted, toward which you aspire, to whom you wish to adhere, all within this common
journey.’ […] Remembering that ‘the Christian is attached to nothing but Jesus’ (Fr. Giussani), let us help
each other to walk in the memory of Him, obeying the voice of the Mystery who calls us through that great
witness who is Benedict XVI. If we spared ourselves this, which is the work of life, then we would fail in our
task of witnessing, for which the Lord gave rise to the charism of the Movement in the Church.”

CL Press Office

Milan, February 11, 2013.