Eleventh anniversary of the death of Fr. Giussani and 34th anniversary of the Pontifical recognition of the Fraternity of CL. Masses in Italy and throughout the world

To mark the eleventh anniversary of the death of Servant of God Fr. Luigi Giussani (February 22, 2005) and the 34th anniversary of the Pontifical recognition of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation (February 11, 1982), Masses will be celebrated by bishops and cardinals in Italy and throughout the world.
The Mass will be offered for this intention: “We ask the Lord for the grace that the entire Movement and each of us may live this Jubilee Year of Mercy truly, faithfully, intensely and actively, discovering mercy, as Fr. Giussani constantly taught and witnessed to us, as ‘the last word on even the most unfortunate possibilities in history,’ that ‘alone permits a people to walk, because only through this can something be generated.’ Full of gratitude to Pope Francis who understood our great need, we pray that the loving gaze of the risen Christ may reach us again today.”
The updated list of Masses is online at www.clonline.org. Here is a selection:
Milan, Card. Angelo Scola, Feb. 16; Rome, Fr. Julián Carrón, Feb. 15; Genoa, Card. Angelo Bagnasco, Feb. 22; Moscow, Archbishop Paolo Pezzi, Feb. 11; Karaganda, Bishop Adelio dell’Oro, Feb. 13; New York, Card. Timothy Dolan, Feb. 14; Madrid, Archbishop Carlos Osoro Sierra, Feb. 20; Prague, Card. Dominik Duka, Feb. 14; Perugia, Card. Gualtiero Bassetti, Feb. 16; Buenos Aires, Archbishop Paul Tscherrig, Feb. 11; Palermo, Archbishop Corrado Lorefice, Feb. 18; Pretoria, Archbishop William Slattery, Feb. 20; Jerusalem, Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Feb. 21; Philadelphia, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, Feb. 21; Bologna, Archbishop Matteo Zuppi, Feb. 21; Nairobi, Card. John Njue, Feb. 21; São Paulo, Card. Odilo Scherer, Feb. 23; Ancona, Card. Edoardo Menichelli, Feb. 22; Lisbon, Card. Manuel Clemente, Feb. 22; Florence, Card. Giuseppe Betori, Feb. 22; London, Bishop John Wilson, Feb. 23; Vilnius, Archbishop Gintaras Grusas, Feb. 25; Cologne, Card. Rainer M. Woelki, Feb. 28; Vienna, Card. Christoph Schönborn, March 1; Puerto Rico, Archbishop Roberto G. Nieves, March 18.

In an Audience with the members of Communion and Liberation on March 7, 2015, Pope Francis said of Fr. Giussani, “I am grateful to Fr. Giussani for different reasons. The first and more personal is the good that this man did for me and for my priestly life, through the reading of his books and articles. The other reason is that his thoughts are deeply human and reach the most intimate yearning of mankind. You know how important the experience of encounter was to Fr. Giussani: the encounter not with an idea, but with a Person, with Jesus Christ. Thus he educated in freedom, leading to the encounter with Christ, because Christ gives us true freedom.” He added, “After 60 years, the original charism has not lost its youthfulness and vitality. However, remember that the center is not the charism, the center is one alone, it is Jesus, Jesus Christ! (…) Fr. Giussani would never forgive you if you lost the liberty and transformed yourselves into museum guides or worshippers of ashes. Pass on the flame of the memory of that first encounter and be free! Like this, centered in Christ and in the Gospel, you can be the arms, hands, feet, mind and heart of a Church ‘which goes forth.’”

The CL press office

Milan, February 11, 2016.