A celebration in the little town for such a significant anniversary on 21 May. The history of the school for religious was recounted by an eyewitness, Fr Amedeo Ferrari. There have been numerous fruits in the lives of the sons of many charisms, who have come to live the charism of unity at Claritas. A Thai Buddhist monk has just arrived.
By Paolo Lòriga
Even the cramped car park at Claritas contributed to the success of the evening’s celebrations. Most of the participants left their cars at the Theotokos sanctuary, thus encouraging a sort of—albeit brief—pilgrimage on foot along the narrow path through the olive groves and woods on 21 May. Welcoming everyone were Fr Antonio Porcellato, of the Society of Missionaries of Africa, and Fr Patrizio Sinigaglia, a Salesian, who are in charge of the school for religious. “Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Claritas is an event for the whole citadel,” noted Fr Antonio. “We are here with hearts full of gratitude for these 40 years of grace. This centre has developed as a place of dialogue oriented towards unity’. And indeed, from the very beginning, Claritas has been faithful to its vocation and its mission, which seems to have no equal: that of being ‘a school of the dialogue of life for members of many different charisms within the Catholic Church,’ explained Fr Antonio, ‘and an opportunity for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue as well’.
Thoughts immediately turned to the Thai Buddhist monk known as Luce Ardente (burning light) , an extraordinarily open and charismatic figure who recently passed away. It was here that he encountered the spirituality of unity, and before his death he expressed the wish that part of his ashes be taken to the cemetery in Loppiano, whilst some of his significant personal effects have already arrived at Claritas.
On 21 May 1986, Chiara Lubich visited the house which was hosting a dozen religious who had come to Loppiano to meet the founder of the Focolare Movement. “The furnishings were all made from recycled materials, from the mattresses to the towels,” recalled an eyewitness, Fr Amedeo Ferrari, “and Chiara was welcomed into the least damaged room on the first floor, where a strip of carpet had been laid.”
Amedeo is a Conventual Franciscan who had come from Milan for the occasion, and during the homily of the Mass he presided over, he recalled the history of Claritas. He immediately emphasised an apparent connection, which he described as “a providential divine coincidence between the Gospel we have read and the Word of Life that Chiara gave to Claritas”. That day, the passage was taken from chapter 17 of John, which recounted Jesus’ prayer to the Father (“May they all be one, as you and I are one… so that the world may believe”) and continued with: “The light that you have given me, I have given to them”.
It was Fr Amedeo himself, at the end of that meeting on 21 May 1986, who, “as I was going down the dilapidated stairs of the house,” he recalled with emotion, “took the opportunity to ask Chiara if she could give the house a name and a Word of Life for the school”. She replied in writing shortly afterwards, naming the new centre “Claritas” and indicating “The light that you have given me, I have given to them” as the Gospel phrase, with the added phrase: “To give everyone the light of the Ideal”, complete with date and signature to seal such a programme. Chiara had sensed years earlier the important presence of religious within the Movement, and on that day she confirmed it by giving them a specific place within the citadel.
Amedeo was given the task by the International Centre for Religious close to the Focolare of purchasing what was then the “Scaraggi farmhouse, which was completely dilapidated”. The renovation work took place from 1989 to 1990, whilst the religious were housed at the parish of San Vito. In 1991, Chiara sent the Conventual Franciscan to Claritas, where he remained in charge until 2009. Over those 18 years, more than 2,650 religious from 145 institutes across the world have stayed at Claritas. “I can bear witness,” Fr Amedeo confided, “to the countless fruits brought about by Jesus through the spirituality and witness of Loppiano. Religious who arrived seeking answers, facing issues such as vocational doubts, difficulties in remaining faithful to the consecrated life, or problems in their relationships with superiors or fellow brothers, return resolved, renewed, and happy to have rediscovered their relationship with God and with their brothers through a Christian experience rooted in the Gospel.”
The Mass was followed by the recitation of the Rosary and then a fraternal, convivial and delicious shared dinner, for which the participants had brought something tasty. A large cake to celebrate these first four decades was a must for the occasion. And there was even a new development. “Looking to the past,” Fr Antonio had pointed out at the start of the evening, “helps us to better discern the challenges that lie ahead for the future of this house.” And a sign of the future was certainly the arrival of Phra Pittaya, a Thai Buddhist monk and disciple of Luce Ardente, who arrived in Loppiano on 25 May for a two-month stay, following an initial three-month stay two years ago.
