Chiara Lubich visits Ireland 21st February 2004 to 27the February 2004 Arrival in Ireland "I thought I would never live to see this day." These words echoed in the hearts of about 200 people who gathered at the Focolare Centre in Prosperous, Co. Kildare to welcome Chiara Lubich, foundress of the Focolare to Ireland on 21st February 2004. Her arrival at the Focolare Centre in Kildare occurred in an atmosphere of festivity and a blaze of colour. Musicians played traditional music at the gates of the Centre, coloured flags and children with flowers lined the avenue to what was once a small family - run hotel in County Kildare. A drum roll sounded as her car drew up outside the old Georgian house, and the tricolour was hoisted alongside the 'Focolare' flag - a yellow star on a blue background. It was a moment of tremendous joy. Meeting with Members and Friends of Focolare in Dublin, 22nd February 2004 The following days were full indeed. The next day found Chiara at the O'Reilly Hall in UCD addressing a crowd of over a thousand members and friends of Focolare. She spoke movingly of dialogue and of union with God, which can be reached through loving your neighbour. The 84 year old Chiara Lubich, who spoke with gusto and energy explained that seeking universal brotherhood, fraternity, and solidarity is within the scope of everybody, just as Catholics and Christians can live the love of the gospel, and Buddhists, Hindus and those of other great religions can also live corresponding phrases from their holy books. She told participants from the four corners of Ireland and further afield "In Ireland there are lots of possibilities to dialogue, to love, for example the many people who have come from other countries. She quoted a priest who had died some time ago, and who commenting on Jesus' word "If your eye causes you to sin…." wrote in his diary, "Loose an eye, even loose a hand, but never loose a neighbour." To a mother who asked about finding union with God in the frenetic pace of life today, Chiara advised that loving her neighbours, including her children, would bring her to union with God. "If you love your neighbours, you will feel another within you and He will become your guide." She ended with the words "God is not a perfectionist, He is love." The coadjutor archbishop of Dublin, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin encouraged everyone at the concluding Mass to live this charism. "It is a charism of unity, " he said, "which strengthens the unity among Christians and promotes an ecumenism of heart, where love is alive in each one, helping us to understand one another better and to overcome the tensions of the divisions." Meeting with An Taoiseach, Berti Ahern, 23rd February 2004 The next day Chiara was at the Taoiseach's Constituency office in Drumcondra for a half hour meeting with the Taoiseach, who currently holds the Presidency of the European Union. During their cordial meeting the two discussed the challenge of European integration. Commenting on the meeting afterwards the Taoiseach said "Her message of working together is very relevant to Ireland where we have had a divided island, a divided society and religious difficulties. We were talking today about the difficulties in European union with the new countries joining, and the issues facing us in the future." Chiara meets eighteen Catholic bishops at Maynooth That same day, Chiara addressed eighteen members of the Catholic Hierarchy at Maynooth, including Primate, Dr. Sean Brady, Cardinal Desmond Connell and the Papal Nuncio, Cardinal Lazzarotto on the theme "The Spirituality of Communion." Proposing the church as a fresco of communion, she spoke first of the Fathers of the Church and of the magisterium and then putting aside her prepared talk, shared some personal experiences. This was followed by a moment of dialogue. In answer to a question about young people Chiara said: "There are many who teach, but few models, few witnesses. Today young people need witnesses, people who live what they say." Cardinal Connell commented after "I was struck by Chiara's vivacity which can only come from the Spirit." Meeting with President Mary McAleese On Tuesday, 24th February, Chiara was welcomed to Aras an Uachtarain by President Mary McAleese. In a warm and cordial atmosphere, they discussed the prospects for Europe and in particular the question of the Christian roots of the continent. Commenting at the end of the half hour meeting, Chiara said, "I appreciate the President's deep Christian faith, and I felt we were very much in tune with each other, in particular through her sensitivity to a united Europe." That same day, representatives of the Focolare met a group of politicians in Dail Eireann where Mary O'Malley and Professor Antonio Baggio spoke of the movement's vision of a politics based on fraternity, to an attentive audience. Economy of Communion Conference 24th February 2004 That day too a high level meeting took place at the Smurfit School of Business in Blackrock entitled 'Humanising the Global Economy - Towards an Economy of Communion', whch was introduced by the Governor of the Bank of Ireland, Laurence Crowley. Some 200 academics, business people and students attended the conference which studied the 'Economy of Communion', a new economic theory and praxis that aims at building an economy with the person at the centre. Chiara was not able to be present, but her personal secretary, Eli Folonari, gave her address in her place. At the core of the venture, involving over 800 businesses is the sharing of profits in favour of the poor in order to spread a culture of giving. The conference featured actual case studies from Brazil, Holland and the Irish 'Language Learning International company. Laurence Crowley commented "I'm interested in the 'Economy of Communion', certainly because of the aspects that concern the economic and business theory behind it. But as far as I have understood, the project was born from a spiritual culture which seems to me to be very important. Economy needs a profound ethical dimension which the economy of communion can bring also to Ireland where the economic dynamism needs a supplement of ethical values. " Inauguration of the Focolare Centre in Prosperous 26th February 2004 On Thursday afternoon, 26th February, the Focolare Centre in Prosperous was once again the focus of intense activity as hundreds of people arrived from all over Ireland for the official inauguration of the Focolare centre. The centre is a renovated hotel, with sleeping accommodation for about 40 people, to be used for meetings, training weekends, and annual get-togethers. Several newly built houses are clustered around it, for small communities of men and of women, with a separate house for diocesan priests. Since married people and their families are an essential part of Focolare spirituality, several families and laypeople have come to live near the centre where they are happy to be part of the friendly village community of Prosperous. In an atmosphere of great joy, Chiara officially inaugurated the Focolare Centre in the presence of the Italian Ambassador, Alberto Scepsisi, local bishop, Jim Moriarty DD, the Mayor of Kildare, Councillor Michael Fitzpatrick and local councillors, Tony McEvoy and PJ Sheridan. Unveiling a plaque with the name to be given to the Focolare Centre: Lieta, Chiara paid tribute to this much loved woman, who gave thirty years of her life to building up the community of the Focolare in Ireland, and who died suddenly last year. In her talk, Chiara also mentioned Bruno Carrera who contributed so much to the development of Focolare in Ireland. Bruno now works as Co-Director of Focolare in Australia. She gave the background to the 'little towns' of Focolare which have sprung up all over the world, and which aim to be places of witness to the ideal of fraternity. The Focolare Centre in Prosperous is the 33rd of these so- called 'little towns' in the world. Then local curate, Fr. Pat O'Brien presented Chiara with an original watercolour of a typical Irish landscape, and thanked her for coming in person to officially open the centre, and for the witness and support of the Focolare community in Prosperous. Describing the opening, John Duffe, Chairman of the local parish pastoral council said "It was a wonderful occasion for the movement, for Prosperous, for the country and for the church." Chiara left Ireland the next day, but her words of fire and encouragement, and her personal love for each one, will long linger in the minds and hearts of everyone she met, and we feel our country has been deeply blessed by her presence.