Stories - 2020 - Page 2

Giorgio Vittadini

The renewal of my humanity

WorldGiorgio Vittadini

From the May issue of Traces, Vittadini reflects on the temptation to cling to all sorts of “have to be’s,” his decision to stay in the present at this difficult moment, and his understanding of work as a form of prayer.

The New York skyline

Anne Snyder: "We are in a big delivery room"

EncountersLuca Fiore

She is editor-in-chief of the cultural magazine "Comment" and a keen observer of American society. From her "refuge" in Maryland she says: "Nothing had prepared us for this earthquake of uncertainty. Now we accept the call to change."

In the kitchen at "Tina Lesma" in Bresso

In quarantine, surprised by a hundredfold

WorldPaola Bergamini

The virus has also reached the “Tina Lesma” family home in Bresso, with ten guests with mild mental disabilities. Their initial fear and the difficulty in explaining what was happening. "But the struggles have not obscured the good we receive.”

© Victor Moriyama/Getty Images

At the wellspring

WorldRose Busingye

In Uganda, everything was organized for a vacation with friends from various African nations. Then, some Italian friends had to cancel because of Coronavirus: the initial reaction was fear. In April Traces, from Kampala, the story of a journey of freedom.

Alejandro Marius

Venezuela: "A human advantage”

WorldAlejandro Marius

He is in Caracas, with his four daughters. His wife got stuck in Spain when the pandemic broke out. He talks about his “struggle to get her back, but with the peace of mind of being able to live if that did not happen for a while.”

Pier Paolo Pasolini

Fr. Giussani and the Encounter with Pasolini and Testori

EncountersMassimo Borghesi

If faith is not experienced as an encounter, it is lost. In an article originally published in Il Sussidiario, November 4, 2014, we learn of Giussani's encounters with Pier Paolo Pasolini and Giovanni Testori.

Valentina Losa

"Work, my daughters and those prayers from Bahrain”

WorldEmmanuele Michela

Valentina runs a small business making trophies and medals for the World Cup, the Champions League, for Middle Eastern royal families. "Everything has now stopped." Except the possibility, starting from faith, "to not let fear get in the way.”

Angela Demattè during a performance about Etty Hillesum

Angela Demattè: “The authenticity that I do not want to lose”

EncountersLuca Fiore

The actress and playwright re-proposes Giovanni Testori’s protagonist “Redenta” to “accompany” us during this difficult time. She explains her choice, talking about herself, her origins, and about a shadow she has discovered within herself.

Pupi Avati (Photo: Meeting Archive)

Pupi Avati: "Me, fear and being able to say ‘I do not know’”

EncountersAlessandra Stoppa

A letter to RAI asking to bet on "beauty", to seize the "the opportunity presented to us during this tragedy." Isolation during the emergency, his story, his relationship with his wife, the Pope. The great Italian director recounts what he is discovering.

David Horowitz playing the piano

Horowitz: The warmth of a jingle

US, UK and MoreMarco Bardazzi*

In his studios, among a swarm of musicians, "creating the New York soundtrack". His story, his encounters, his words. This is how a friend recounted David Horowitz’s story in a book published a few years ago.

In a "Villa" in Buenos Aires

In the "villas", where the community fights the virus

WorldMonica Poletto

Fear in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, between poverty and the impossibility of self-isolation. There, a group of priests takes care of the people. Fr. Charly Olivero recounts their story.

Amedeo Capetti

A day in the hospital ward

WorldPaola Bergamini

Expectation and hope in the hospital ward. From April Traces: The story of Amedeo Capetti, an infectious disease specialist at Sacco Hospital in Milan who has been fighting the epidemic on the front lines since it began.

Antonio Polito

Antonio Polito: Fear and Presence

EncountersDavide Perillo

The coronavirus is sending a Western civilization “increasingly indifferent to the very idea of Jesus” into crisis, leaving us at a fork in the road... From April Traces: an interview with Antonio Polito, columnist for Corriere della Sera.

Luca Salvi, head of Orthopedics in the at the Alzano Lombardo Hospital

"One last look of tenderness towards those who die alone”

WorldPaola Bergamini

Luca Salvi works at the Alzano Lombardo Hospital (Bergamo), one of the hotbeds of the epidemic. Where everything has changed. From the conception of work to relationships amongst colleagues. "What is happening makes us reflect on our consistency."

Fr. Livio Lodigiani.

Fr. Livio: Back from Almaty

WorldMaria Acqua Simi

He spent twenty-three years in Kazakhstan as a missionary. Now he is back in Cremona, and re-evaluates everything he lived. Friends, encounters, works. Without regrets, but eager to discover what this path still has in store for him.

Let me live happily

WorldPaola Bergamini

From January Traces: “Any type of humanity, in any moment of life, can be seized by Christ.” The testimony of the Fraternity of Saint Joseph, which is comprised of women and men called to virginity in the conditions in which they find themselves.

John Williams with Fr. Luca Speziale (Photo: Luca Fiore)

“What I have been looking for all my life”

US, UK and MoreMichela Young

John, now 85 years old, became a Catholic at 22. After meeting the movement of Communion and Liberation 13 months ago, he says, “I have received a whole new understanding of what it is to be a Christian.”

Marco Martinelli at a rehearsal for The Sky Over Kibera (Photo: AVSI/Andrea Signori)

Marco Martinelli: “I am telling your story”

WorldAnna Leonardi

He brought to the stage the youth of the Kibera slum for an unforgettable performance of the Divine Comedy. One of the most interesting Italian directors talks about his life and Dante, a love that kept him from losing himself.

Fr. Pigi Banna

A gaze in the light of destiny

WorldPigi Banna

Fr. Pigi Banna, who follows the young people of Student Youth, talks about what it means to be a father, and at the same time, a son. A relationship that always needs to be nourished by a present so that it can “continue to generate.”