Encounters - 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.”

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.”

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.

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.

© 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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.