News
During her first visit to the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, the president of the Focolare movement Dr Maria Emmaus Voce invited the staff of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and other ecumenical organizations to live out the words of Jesus Christ so "that they give us that unity which bears witness to God in the world."
Voce was elected president of the Focolare movement last July, following the death of its founder Chiara Lubich on 14 March 2008. Well-versed in ecumenical dialogue, particularly with Orthodox churches, and experienced in Christian-Muslim dialogue, Voce had worked closely with Lubich, who gave her the name "Emmaus".
The Focolare movement has over two million adherents in 182 countries. While it is rooted in the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, it includes people from a wide range of churches and ecclesial communities. More recently, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists and people with no religious affiliation have also joined the movement.
In an address to staff at the Ecumenical Centre on 9 March, Voce said she was happy to get to know the WCC personally, with whom the Focolare community has been linked by friendship, by a common passion for Christian unity expressed through prayer and action.
WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia in his greetings recalled his encounters with Focolare founder Chiara Lubich, who had come to the WCC offices in Geneva on three occasions. "Being sure that Chiara's charisma continues to inspire us and believing that she will always be with you and the movement she founded, I want to assure you that we welcome you with the same spirit of mutual love," Kobia said.
The programme of the 8-9 March visit also included meetings with representatives of local Swiss churches as well as the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the Conference of European Churches, the Lutheran World Federation and the World Student Christian Federation and a visit to the WCC's Ecumenical Institute in Bossey.