Stories - 2020

Monsignor Claudio Lurati

"My Christmas in Egypt"

EncountersLuca Fiore

The task entrusted to him by the Pope, the challenges of a "minority within a minority," and how the apostolic letter on St. Joseph is helping him. An interview with Claudio Lurati, the new Apostolic Vicar of Alexandria.

Basilica of the Nativity, Bethlehem

The expectant awaiting

EncountersAlessandra Buzzetti

With the world immersed in the pandemic, everyone’s Christmas will be different this year. In December Traces, the new patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, speaks of “the great question of the encounter with Jesus.”

The “guys” from the Los Angeles Habilitation House with Guido and Nancy

“I will be this heart”

US, UK and MorePaola Bergamini

The Los Angeles Habilitation House is a place where people learn to start over. What has been happening at the nonprofit during the pandemic? In December Traces, Guido and Nancy talk about the lives of their “guys.”

Elisa Fuksas (Photo: Marco Cella)

Elisa Fuksas: "I want to see"

Encounters

She was raised in a context that was distant from the church. In November Traces, author Elisa Fuksas describes the path that led her to baptism. And, above all, what began after that step: “Simply living.”

The cathedral of Saint Peter in Kampala

Uganda: Fr. Joseph’s continuous search

WorldPaolo Perego

He has come across Fr. Giussani several times in life. In time, Giussani has become an aid for him to “understand more about Christ and his Church.” A Ugandan priest talks about himself and that time he was stuck in traffic at the end of lockdown.

County Carlow, Ireland (Photo: Unsplash/ K. Mitch Hodge )

“Let’s wait and see”

US, UK and MoreAnna Leonardi

Scars from childhood, suffering, and her life in Ireland. From November Traces, the witness of Maria, who identifies with the “man born blind” of the Gospel. “How can such an awful fact open my heart to something so beautiful?"

Carlo Acutis

Carlo Acutis: the boy of miracles

WorldPaola Ronconi

Today, in Assisi, Carlo Acutis was beatified. From Italian Traces, the short and intense life of the boy in love with the Eucharist (and passionate about the internet), which continues to change the lives of the many that follow his path.

Daryl Davis

Daryl’s encounters

US, UK and MoreLuca Fiore

“How can you hate me if you don’t even know me?” This question has stayed with him throughout his life. From September Traces, the story of Daryl Davis, the African American musician who has befriended members of the Ku Klux Klan.

A concert in a long-term care facility in Montréal

Canada: A small "yes"

US, UK and MoreClaire Vouk

It started with a small “yes.” Héloïse, along with the rest of the Montréal CL Choir responded to an invitation to go and sing to the residents of the long-term care facilities in Montréal, which had been hardly hit by the pandemic.

Nicolas Lhernould, Bishop of Constantine

Algeria: "Our lives as pages of the Gospel"

EncountersLuca Fiore

Nicolas Lhernould, 45-years-old, was appointed Bishop of Constantina-Ippona a few months ago. Here he talks about his encounter with the North African Church, how his vocation was born and how there is mutual witness between Christians and Muslims.

Mustafà Boulaalam and Fr. Carmelo Vicari

Italy: A tête-à-tête between the priest and the imam

WorldFrancesco Inguanti

A meeting between Fr. Carmelo, a priest in Palermo, Sicily, and Mustafà Boulaalam, Imam of a mosque in the city. To look together at what has happened in their communities, starting from God’s tireless companionship to all men.

Portugal: Nothingness and the whale

WorldMaria Acqua Simi

"Affection for the story that has seized us." During the lockdown, Constança and some friends from university set up a series of online meetings to discuss readings, films, music. This is what happened.

Austen Ivereigh

Austen Ivereigh: Return to the people

EncountersVeronica Pando

Francis' role today, the Church's journey, and personal conversion in the context of our world in crisis. From June Traces, a (virtual) conversation between Latin America and the British journalist who is one of the foremost experts on Bergoglio.

One City Mission volunteers with the homeless in New York

“Something for the heart”

US, UK and MoreDavide Perillo

The experience of the volunteers at One City Mission, who provide companionship to homeless people so that “the whole city experiences the human.” From the June issue of Traces, a story born of an encounter, shaped by the Franciscan brothers of the Bronx.

© Turi Distefano

Where are we now?

EncountersLuca Fiore

A deep renewal. The “visceral reality of vocation.” From the June issue of Traces, New York author Paul Mariani describes what he is learning and what is at the center of the reawakening of our humanity.

Fr. Pigi Bernareggi.

Bernareggi: God does everything to win us over

WorldPigi Bernareggi

He has been in Brazil since the Sixties, "sent" by Fr. Giussani. The Italian missionary has been answering questions about the provocations of recent months, posed by his friend Rosetta, who has been in South America with him since day one.

Richard Cabral at the New York Encounter 2017 (Photo: Brenda Abdelmesih)

Richard Cabral: "Everything comes down to presence"

EncountersJosé Medina

He works for film and TV, he was in a gang and ended up in jail. The Californian actor talks about the turning point in his life and he compares it with the provocations in "Reawakening Our humanity".

The Cascinazza monastery

A continuous “Here I am”

EncountersPaola Ronconi

From the May issue of Traces, Fr. Sergio Massalongo, the prior of the Cascinazza monastery, explains how in his experience “our yes to Christ is, before all else, our contribution to the salvation of every man and woman today.”

Giacomo Poretti (Photo: Serena Serrani).

Giacomo Poretti: "Let us learn to accept the unexpected”

EncountersPaolo Perego

He fell ill and experienced fear and uncertainty. The famous Italian actor talks about his personal journey and the challenges posed in the ebook "Reawakening Our Humanity.” Faith? "It must be conquered every day. It is an experiment in love."

Maurizio Maggiani (Photo: Valerio Pennicino/Gettry Images)

Maurizio Maggiani: Life Changes

EncountersAlessandra Stoppa

Now that reality has been shattered, after a period in which we thought nothing could be greater or better than the world we had built, we find ourselves at the edge of a cliff. From May Traces, a conversation with author Maurizio Maggiani.