The office of Missio Malta in Mosta inaugurated a new chapel. It serves as a place of worship and meditation for staff, volunteers and visitors. The design of the chapel was entrusted to Maltese artist Anthony Patrick Vella who shares his experience with us.

One day I received a phone call from Fr Victor Agius, Director of Missio¹, who shared his dream with me. He wanted to build an Adoration Chapel within the Missio complex. He had learnt through Fr Adrian Caruana Colombo that I had previously built an Adoration Chapel in the parish of Santa Lucija, so he asked if I was interested in bringing this dream to life.

I accepted Fr Victor’s offer with enthusiasm and a meeting was quickly scheduled in his office with the staff and key stakeholders involved. I remember that throughout that meeting I tried to be like an empty vessel, mostly by welcoming each one and by trying to accommodate their needs and desires for the project.

Subsequently, through the sharing of ideas and life experiences with Fr Victor, I felt within me that ours was a meeting of souls with a single objective: that of coming together in the presence of Jesus. I had begun to jot down some suggestions on paper and I felt my determination to carry out the task was the effect of a special grace; in fact I did not limit myself to one proposal but four! Throughout the process, there was no shortage of difficulties and adversities, but with the presence of Jesus among us, we helped one another to better carry out our tasks.

Fr Victor told me that out of the four proposals, the first one communicated a sense of serenity to him, so we decided to go with this design. Since the space in the chapel is in the shape of an L, inverted vertically, and therefore a defined shape, I wanted to create the feeling of one journeying in a clockwise direction.

Design concept: A journey of Faith

I would like to briefly describe the concept behind the design. It starts in elevation, from the left wall, depicting the life of the missionary. This is represented by five small paintings hung horizontally, each narrating a stage in missionary life. These paintings include reflective elements, allowing visitors to see themselves within the context of the work, both literally and figuratively.

The stained-glass window in the adjacent wall features a mosaic that curves to the right which symbolises the “Yes of Mary” and her protective Mantle from which the shape of the Cross emerges. This is composed of a continuous recess that curves towards the right. The artwork is interrupted by a space in order to let in the natural light, and then the curve continues until it reaches the culminating part which is Jesus in the tabernacle.

The idea of ​​the curves in the overall design represents what Chiara Lubich once said: “In the presence of Jesus and Mary, we are in the bosom of the Father”. Through the choice of natural earthy colours, I wanted to convey the sensation of being in the midst of nature, at the centre of creation. For the benches and the altar we chose ashwood with a light grain and natural strain, to accompany the vision of nature. The four benches are made up of four concentric arcs.

The altar is in the shape of an ellipse; this does not rest on the ground, but rather protrudes from the wall like a shelf in order to give a sense of continuity to the environment. The tabernacle is crafted from a metal cylinder painted in antique gold. The diameter is seventy-five centimetres and at the centre is a small circular container which hosts the Eucharist. From the circular design, four acute-angled triangles emerge in the shape of a cross that form a star, symbolising the North Star guiding missionaries on their path.

A collaborative process

Right from the start, this experience was built on relationships with all those who worked to build the chapel. So many exchanges of ideas and time spent with these people! I feel that they enriched me not only professionally but also humanly. I will always carry them in my heart. Every moment was a human and divine story that added another tile to the mosaic. I will forever remember the beautiful relationships and the love that the Volunteers put in. I can say that this experience has strengthened my gaze towards the goal, that of being another Mary in society.

It was a unique experience that I will always cherish, and this is why I would like to communicate it to everyone because while working in the artistic field helps us build a harmonious environment, at the same time it also creates harmony and unites people:
“ars concordiae gentium”.

Anthony Patrick Vella

¹ The official Missionary agency of the Catholic Church in Malta

Website: www.anthonypatrickvella.com

This article was published in New City Magazine (UK), January 2025 edition, page 20-21

Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, in her greetings for Christmas 2024, invites us to ask the Child Jesus to open our hearts to ever truer and more welcoming relationships.

Christmas Message

I would like to send greetings to everyone in the world, the most beautiful Christmas greetings.

But first, together with all of you, I would like to thank Jesus,

because first of all he became small, he loved us first

and he taught us what being close means and what it means to love beyond measure.

So, let’s ask him to open our hearts, more than ever, to authentic and true relationships

and to be completely welcoming, so that we can truly

be bearers of peace and of hope for each person.

Happy Christmas to everyone!

Margaret Karram

“Lord, it is good for us to be here” (Mt 17:4).

for ages 4-8 | for ages 9-17  | Print | Audio

Jesus and his disciples are making their way to Jerusalem. When he announces that it is the place where he will suffer, die and rise again, Peter rebels and expresses a general sense of dismay and incomprehension. The Master then takes him and James and John and he climbs ‘a high mountain’ from where he appears to the three bathed in a new and extraordinary light. Jesus’  face ‘shines like the sun’ and Moses and the prophet Elijah converse with him. The voice of the Father is heard coming from a bright cloud and invites them to listen to Jesus, his beloved Son. When Peter witnesses this extraordinary event, he does not want to leave, and exclaims:

“Lord, it is good for us to be here.”

Jesus invited his closest friends to have an unforgettable experience that they would always be able to remember. Perhaps we too have felt wonder and emotion when we were aware of the presence and work of God in our lives. We may have had a sense of joy, peace and light and have wished that such moments would never end. We often have such experiences when we are with other people or thanks to what they do. Indeed, mutual love attracts God’s presence because, as Jesus promised: ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them’ (Mt 18:20). Sometimes, during these moments of intimacy with him,  God makes us see ourselves and understand events as he does.  It is as if we see through his eyes. Such experiences are given to us  so we will have the strength to make the effort and face the difficulties and challenges we encounter on our journey through life.  They help us be sure that God has looked upon us and called us to be part of salvation history.

In fact, once the disciples have come down from the mountain, they will go together to Jerusalem where crowds of people full of hope await them but they will also meet with pitfalls, opposition, aversion and suffering. There ‘they will be scattered and sent to the ends of the earth to be witnesses that our final dwelling is the Kingdom of God.’ [i] They will be able to start building God’s house among men and women on earth because they have been ‘at home’ with Jesus on the mountain.

“Lord, it is good for us to be here.”

 At the end of this mysterious experience, Jesus speaks to the apostles with the words, ‘Arise and do not be afraid.’  (Mt. 17:7)  He addresses the same words to us. May we face whatever awaits us with the same courage as the disciples had. This is was what Chiara Lubich did.  After a holiday period so full light that it was described as ‘the paradise of 1949’ because of extraordinary contemplation of the mysteries of faith and deep awareness of God’s presence in the small community with whom she was resting, she too did not want to return to everyday life. However, she did so with a new impetus because she realised that it was precisely because of that experience of enlightenment that she had to ‘come down from the mountain’ and set to work as an instrument of Jesus in the building of his Kingdom. This meant injecting his love and light into the very situations where it was lacking and even facing hardship and suffering.

“Lord, it is good for us to be here.”

When it seems that darkness is falling around us, let us remember the times when the Lord has enlightened us. If we have already not experienced his nearness to us, let us seek it now. Let us make the effort to ‘go up the mountain’ to meet him in our neighbourhoods, to worship him in our churches, and also to contemplate him in the beauty of nature.

Silvano Malini and the Word of Life team

He is always there for us: it is enough that like Peter, James and John, we walk with him and  humbly listen to him. [ii]

[i] T. Radcliffe, OP, 2nd reflection for participants at General Assembly of Bishops’ Synod, 1 Oct 2023

[ii] Cf Matt 17:6

Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, spoke during Genfest 2024 in Aparecida (Brazil) on the theme of peace. Her talk was part of a moment dedicated to this theme and to the commitment of young people to build it everywhere on earth.

We have just heard stories of peace that were expressed in the most varied forms: songs, prayers, experiences, real projects.

All this strengthens in us the confidence and hope that it is possible to be peacemakers. Pope Francis says that we must be ‘artisans of peace’ every day. And to do this we need perseverance and patience to be able to look with love at all the brothers and sisters we meet on our path.

From this Genfest we have learnt that peace begins with me, with small gestures of care for others, for our peoples and for creation.

So where can we start?

We have said it several times in these days: by breaking down all the barriers that divide us, so as to live for fraternity. And this we can do:

• by discovering that our common humanity is more important than all our differences;

• then by being ready to forgive and to make gestures of reconciliation. Because to forgive means to say to the other: ‘You are worth much more than your actions’.

And as we did in the first phase of Genfest, let us continue, even when we return home, to be artisans of peace in our relationships, taking the first step towards others. Love will inspire us what to do, and to whom we should go.

Let us forgive without waiting for the other person to ask for forgiveness.

May this Genfest be the moment of our YES TO PEACE.

We must never feel alone again. In these days we have seen and certainly we have experienced the power of ‘togetherness’… Juntos.

Let us be united with all those who are living and working for peace. The communities which we are going to build in Phase Three are already a possible way forward.

I want to conclude with a very beautiful poem called “A paz deve ser construída”. *

Open your eyes to visions of peace!
Speak a language of peace!
Make gestures of peace!
For the practice of peace leads to peace.
Peace reveals itself and offers itself to those who achieve,
day after day,
all the forms of peace of which they are capable.

Open, speak, act.

Therefore: May we not have peace until we bring about peace!

Margaret Karram

* Poem by John Paul II

Source: Focolare International Website

See also:

Genfest 2024 concludes second phase: a yes to peace

https://www.focolare.org/en/genfest-2024-concludes-second-phase-a-yes-to-peace/

On July 16th, 1949, Chiara Lubich and Igino Giordani made a “Pact of Unity.” It was a spiritual experience that heralded in a period of light and special union with God.

It had an effect on the life of the first Focolare community back then, but also impacted the history of the Movement together with its commitment to working toward a more fraternal and united world.

Seventy-five years after that day, here is a brief look at what that Pact meant then, and what it can mean today as we continue to live by it.

Watch video

Genfest, the worldwide event-experience organised by the youth of the Focolare Movement, will take place in Brazil, from the 12th to the 24th of July.  A further 44 local events will be held in 32 different countries

“Peace between peoples, the care of the planet, economics and politics that put the person, justice and dignity at the centre. At the Genfest we will work, discuss and plan for this at a worldwide level”. This is what the youth of the Focolare Movement say, explaining the gathering of thousands of young people for this international event from the 12th to the 24th of July. 

The event “Juntos para cuidar” aims, as the title suggests, to promote care together at a worldwide level for the most vulnerable and distressed individuals and sectors of humanity, regardless of cultural, ethnic or religious differences. 

In this period of change, a new cultural paradigm is needed, no longer based on the individual, but on social relationships open to all in a culture of universal fraternity. 

In this perspective complexities are valued rather than eliminated, in a deeper understanding of the story of humanity and its peoples. 

Genfest 2024 will have three phases: voluntary work, a main event, and the creation of groupings (‘communities’) according to academic or professional interest, which will remain connected and work for the furthering of a more united world in countries of origin.  It aims to be an immersive experience, where the leaders and thinkers are the youth themselves. Dialogue and collaboration between generations will be the essential components for the changes to be proposed to international institutions. 

Some parts of the event will be streamed on the Genfest 2024 Youtube channel. 

As a conclusion, the new steps and existing or nascent projects which aim to build a more united and peaceful world will be brought together in a document to be presented to the United Nations Summit of the Future (22-23 September 2024). It will contain projects and practical ideas for a more just and fraternal world, as a contribution to the UN 2030 Agenda. 

 Those who cannot participate in the main event in Brazil can find an event nearer to home. There will be 44 local Genfests: in South Korea, India, Sri Lanka, The Philippines, Pakistan, Vietnam, Jordan, Egypt, Burundi, Tanzania, Angola, Zambia, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, DRC, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Peru, Bolivia, Mexico, Guatemala, Argentina, Hungary,  Serbia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and Italy. 

Juntos para cuidar: the programme 

Experience – The first week of Genfest, from the 12th to the 18th of July, is an “immersive” experience of voluntary work in one of 40 projects and organisations offering opportunities in various countries of Latin America and elsewhere. These activities are the result of collaboration with UNIRedes, which brings together more than 50 organisations, projects and social movements in 12 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, promoting transformation in various spheres (art and culture, the environment, democratic government, education, work, etc.) through the active commitment of all those involved. 

 Celebrate – From the 18th to the 21st of July the youth will come together for the main event at the National Shrine Arena in Aparecida. They will hear experiences and share strategies for peace and fraternity also through artistic and musical presentations. The event will be streamed to more than 120 different countries. It will be a wide-ranging festival of ideas and initiatives and inspire thousands of young people of many different cultures, ethnic groups and religions to live for a united world. 

Learning and sharing – The third phase is from 21st to the 24th of July. The young people will come together in eight groupings called ‘communities’, according to their fields of interest: economics and work, interculturality and dialogue, spirituality and human rights, health and ecology, art and social commitment, education and research, communication and media, active citizenship and politics. 

In these spaces the young people will learn, discuss, and formulate new ways of shared commitment to spread the culture of fraternity, through local projects in a global perspective. Returning to their countries of origin, they will work locally in their preferred sector, growing in a culture marked by fraternity and relationality. 

An international team of academics, professionals, social and political activists and leaders – young and old – will assist the participants in their discussions and group work. 

Among those who have confirmed their presence: Luigino Bruni, economist (Italy), Choie Funk, architect and social activist (Philippines), Jander Manauara, rapper and activist (Brazil), Carlos Palma, coordinator of Living Peace (Uruguay), Myrian Vasques, Indigenous advisor (Brazil), Silvina Chemen, director of the Centre for Interreligious Dialogue at the Rabbinic Seminary (Argentina), John Mundell, director of the Vatican Laudato Si Action Platform (USA), Nicolas Maggi Berrueta, violinist, Peace Ambassador (Uruguay), Israa Safieddine, education consultant and specialist in the teaching of Islam (USA). 

Stefania Tanesini 

Genfest_Factsheet 1_Story, goals and perspectives