Supreme affection
LettersThe nostalgia for distant relationships and her decision to follow online. From Bethlehem, Caterina recounts her experience of the Audience with Pope Francis. From the November issue of Tracce.
Letters
Letters - 2022
An indelible point
LettersThe Audience on October 15 and a risky operation upon returning to the hospital. A surgeon recounts his new gaze on himself, his patient and colleagues after Rome.
The journey to Rome from around the world continues…
LettersFurther testimonies from those who travelled from across the world to participate in the audience in St. Peter’s Square with Pope Francis on October 15.
Uganda: "Here I can pour out my heart”
LettersFollowing her mother’s murder when she was just 11, Debora was left alone with her little brother. Today she speaks of an encounter that changed her life, "that day, in the school’s kitchen."
"Can there be a greater gift?"
LettersTommaso left the church at the age of 16. Then his encounter with Fr. Giussani's charism completely overturned his idea "of the Jesus I thought I knew." His emotion and gratitude for the Audience with Pope Francis.
Asking for an entire people
LettersA pilgrimage to the Nobol Shrine and then the live broadcast watched together via Zoom at 3 a.m. This is how the community in Ecuador experienced the Audience with Pope Francis.
"That 'more' that the Pope asks of us"
LettersGuly and Chicchi got married in 2008. Shortly afterwards she was diagnosed with ALS. But in recent years "everything was and is possible through the grace of a people,” like the meeting in St. Peter's Square with Pope Francis.
From the world: the journey to Rome, which continues
LettersThey travelled all the way from Germany, Peru, Puerto Rico, Brazil... Here are some testimonies from those who travelled a long way to be in St. Peter's Square with the Pope on October 15.
The most beautiful gift in my life
LettersAntonio, from Rome, grew up in religious circles, but "I thought I was on a path of my own." Then he met someone who invited him to the Pope's Audience with CL.
"What happened to me keeps happening again"
LettersHer first encounter with GS happened sixty years ago in Rimini. The surprise of the beginning, her friendship with Fr. Giancarlo Ugolini and Fr. Giussani’s fiery response. Emilia tells her story.
Florida: "A companionship that constitutes me"
LettersAlberto has been visiting a convicted prisoner in Florida for several years. It is a story that dates back to a few years ago and that has changed his life. "The movement is not a ‘container’ where I go and take the things I know how to do…”
Kazakhstan: "But who are you?"
LettersA work trip to Astana and Almaty, meeting the CL community there. And the surprise of Bettina’s colleagues at her way of being and her friendships.
Argentina: "Our meeting on the radio"
LettersThe six-day Rimini Meeting was also experienced more than 11,000 kilometers away. For one reason: "I want to understand why they are so happy." Here is the story of a young woman from Buenos Aires...
"Here and now, on the beach in Texel”
LettersHikes, bicycle rides, dialogues and meetings. "A continuous crescendo of gratitude." An account of the summer vacation of the Dutch community, where "time was not even wasted at breakfast.”
Hospitalization and the question that won’t go away
LettersSudden paralysis, two months in hospital and the support of friends, amid treatments and rehabilitation... and discoveries. Antonio recounts his story.
An open window to happiness
LettersFrom different cities in Kazakhstan and Italy to the mountains of Almaty. To spend four days together. And learn to recognize Christ present, "who is mysteriously incarnated before our eyes."
"More at home than among our families"
LettersThe Lithuanian CL community's three-day vacation. In a time of fatigue for all, an experience of unity, charity and gladness, and the surprise of being "loved and loving before the Presence that brought us together."
Living that "stable fullness"
LettersSara participated in the pilgrimage to Loreto for high school graduates, university undergraduates and graduates. An opportunity to rediscover that "it is not a matter of where I go, what I choose or what job I will do, but Whose I am."
"My roses are blooming"
LettersRachelle recounts community life in North Carolina. In 2011 there were seven people, but at their last gathering there were more than 40 people. "What are You doing, Lord, that You have created this community out of practically nothing?"
The People of God
LettersParticipating in the Synodal process, Luca witnesses the presence of Christ that transforms everything: "Who are you, Christ, who can change our heart of stone and transform it into a heart of flesh?"
Taiwan: A father, the question, the path
LettersA letter from Allegra, who received Baptism at Easter, faced with the sudden news of the departure of Fr. Donato, who has been a missionary on the island for many years.