Tenth Anniversary of Msgr. Giussani’s Death
Memorial Masses Around the World

To mark the 10th anniversary of the death of Servant of God Luigi Giussani (February 22, 2005) and the 60-years since the beginnings of Communion and Liberation, bishops and cardinals will celebrate Masses in Italy and around the world with the following intention: “On the tenth anniversary of Fr. Giussani’s birth into heaven and as we await the upcoming gathering with the Holy Father in Rome [March 7] let us ask the Lord for the grace to live fully Pope Francis’ invitation to ‘preserve the freshness of your charism... always renewing your first love … always on the way, always in movement, always open to God’s surprises.’”
The schedule of the Masses, regularly updated with additions, is available at www.clonline.org.
Among the many, we would like to highlight the following: Milan, Cardinal Angelo Scola, February 23, 9 p.m.; Rome, Cardinal Agostino Vallini, February 23, 7 p.m.; Buenos Aires, Cardinal Mario Poli, February 26; Nairobi, Cardinal John Njue, 22 February; New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, February 22; Pretoria, Archbishop William Slattery, OFM, February 21; Rio de Janeiro, Cardinal Dom Orani Joao Tempesta, February 20; Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, February 19; Florence, Cardinal Giuseppe Betori, February 17; Moscow, Archbishop Paolo Pezzi, February 17; Genoa, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, February 12; Madrid, Archbishop S.E. Mons. Carlos Osoro, February 12; São Paulo, Cardinal Odilo Scherer, February 5.

In preparation for the audience granted by Pope Francis for the entire Movement in memory of Fr. Giussani and the birth of CL, Fr. Julián Carrón (president of the Fraternity of CL) wrote a letter in which he reminds the community:
“We have all been educated to recognize the figure of Peter as the foundation of our faith. ‘The face of that man [Jesus] today is the unity of believers, … His mysterious Body, also called the people of God, guided and guaranteed by a living person, the Bishop of Rome.’ [Fr. Giussani] We are happy to be able to express to the successor of the Apostle all our devotion and gratitude for the way he supports our faith every day with his continual testimony and through his magisterium, so pertinent to the challenges of the present. (…) The more I delve into these reflections, the more my thought goes to Fr. Giussani, who educated us to look to the Pope because of his unique importance for our life. As the years pass, so grows our gratitude for the gift of his person, his testimony and his total dedication in accompanying each of us so we may become increasingly mature in the faith. This is how he has drawn us to Christ, making Him ever more fascinating, so He becomes the dearest Presence in our life. (…) How could we not spend this tenth anniversary of his death overflowing with gratitude to him for having introduced us to an undreamt of fullness of life! Our sequela of the charism that fascinated us can become increasingly faithful through our sequela of the Pope and the bishops united with him. (…) to live the charism that seized us ever more deeply, so the goal for which the Spirit kindled the charism in Fr. Giussani can be accomplished: making present in every periphery (…) the fascination of Christ, His unique attraction, through the materiality of our existence.”

The CL press office
Milan, February 9, 2015.