Dear friends,

Last Saturday, March 29th, the Fraternity Diaconia met in Milan with the primary goal of electing the President, given that the six-year period provided for in the Statute had passed.

I had a concern, which I immediately expressed to the members of the Diaconia: that it not be a formal election, but the occasion to take stock of the situation of the Movement, after the challenges that we have faced in these years. All of them had seen the course that I proposed as a response to those challenges, in an attempt to take everything that happened to heart for our maturation, while following the path and the method suggested by the charism.

I furthermore pointed out that I am well aware that I am not the holder of the charism. And the fact of having been indicated by Fr. Giussani to guide the Movement is not a guarantee of all of my actions. Thus, having before them all of the journey that had been traveled, the members of the Diaconia had everything they needed for an evaluation of the pertinence of the proposal to life’s needs and, at the same time, the facts necessary for judging the faithfulness of the proposal itself to the charism received.

In order to facilitate a free discussion, I immediately clarified that no one had to feel indebted to me, not even those whom I had invited to participate in the Diaconia. In searching for the most appropriate person to guide us, the only concern had to be the good of the Movement. In order to carry out this task, there was only one attitude to have: obedience to the Mystery in identifying the person considered to be most suitable for bringing our story forward, so that we can respond in an increasingly less inadequate way to Pope Francis’ request that we be witnesses of the essential in all existential outskirts.

Following this introduction of mine, a sincere and profound dialogue took place, during which each person shared what he had seen and experienced on the journey of these years. It would be impossible to summarize the wealth of each contribution in a few lines. But I confess that I was struck by the level of self-awareness of the speakers, a communal sign of the vitality of the charism in many parts of the world. Believe me, nine years after Fr. Giussani’s death, this is the thing taken least for granted.

At the conclusion of the dialogue, which lasted throughout the morning and afternoon, we proceeded to the vote. The Diaconia decided for my reelection, which I accepted out of gratitude to the story that generated me, and continues to generate me together with you, and out of the desire to continue to live the fascinating adventure of these years.

I invite you, in this new stage of our story, to renew the desire to walk together toward destiny, toward Christ who won us over, in order to become children of Fr. Giussani more and more. May each of us, and each of our communities, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, always become more of a witness of the grace that fascinated us, striving together like Peter and John on the road to the tomb on the morning of the Resurrection.

Pray for me, that I may serve this wonderful story that has taken hold of us ever more.

I look forward to seeing many of you again in Rimini for the Spiritual Exercises.

Yours,
Fr. Julián Carrón