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.
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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 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.”
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.
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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, 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.”