This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the participants in the General Assembly of the Opera di Maria - Focolare Movement, taking place from 1 to 21 March 2026 at the Mariapoli Centre in Castel Gandolfo, Rome.

The following is the address delivered by the Pope to those present at the meeting:

Address of the Holy Father

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Peace be with you!

I am pleased to meet you this afternoon, after you have taken part in the General Assembly of the Focolare Movement. I greet the President, Margaret Karram, who has just been re-elected for a second term, and the new Co-President, Fr. Roberto Eulogio Almada. May the Lord bless your service!

You have all been attracted by the charism of the Servant of God Chiara Lubich, which has shaped your personal existence and the style of your community life. Every charism in the Church expresses an aspect of the Gospel that the Holy Spirit brings to the fore in a given historical period, for the good of the Church herself and for the good of the entire world. For you, this is the message of unity: unity among human beings, which is the fruit and reflection of Christ’s unity with the Father: “That they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee” (Jn 17:21). You live this spirit of unity first and foremost amongst yourselves, and you bear witness to it everywhere as a new possibility for fraternal, reconciled and joyful life amongst people of different ages, cultures, languages and religious beliefs. It is a seed, simple yet powerful, which attracts thousands of men and women, inspires vocations, generates a drive for evangelization, but also social, cultural, artistic and economic works, which are a leaven for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. There is a great need for this leaven of unity today, because the poison of division and conflict tends to contaminate hearts and social relationships, and must be countered with the Gospel witness of unity, dialogue, forgiveness, and peace. Through you too, God has prepared, over the past decades, a great people of peace, who at this very moment in history are called to act as a counterweight and a bulwark against so many sowers of hatred who are dragging humanity back to forms of barbarism and violence.

In addition to this important witness of unity and peace, you, dear friends, have been entrusted with the responsibility to keep alive the charism of your Movement in the post-foundational phase, a phase that does not end with the first generational transition after the passing of the founder, but extends beyond it. At this time, you are called to discern together which aspects of your communal life and your apostolate are essential, and must therefore be maintained, and which, on the other hand, are tools and practices that, although long in use, are not essential to the charism, or have presented problematic aspects and should therefore be abandoned.

This phase also demands strong commitment to transparency on the part of those who hold roles of responsibility at all levels. Indeed, transparency is on the one hand a prerequisite for credibility and on the other is required because the charism is a gift of the Holy Spirit for which all members are responsible. They therefore have the right and the duty to feel that they are partners in the Work to which they have committed themselves with total dedication. Remember, too, that the involvement of members is always an added value: it stimulates growth, both of individuals and of the Work, brings out the latent resources and potential of each person, fosters a sense of responsibility and promotes the contribution of all.

The responsibility for common discernment, entrusted to you all, also encompasses the way in which the charism of unity must be translated into styles of community life that allow the beauty of the Gospel’s newness to shine forth and, at the same time, respect the freedom and conscience of individuals, valuing the gifts and uniqueness of each person. We can reflect on the fact that Jesus, in His priestly prayer, after saying “that they may all be one”, added “even as thou art in me and I in thee” (Jn 17:21), thus relating the unity among the disciples to a higher unity, that between the Father and the Son. This means that the unity you endeavour to live and bear witness to is achieved primarily “in God”, in the fulfilment of His holy will, and as a consequence in the shared commitment of communion and community life, sustained and guided by those entrusted with this service. Unity is a gift and, at the same time, a task and a call addressed to each one of us. Everyone is called to discern God’s will and how the truth of the Gospel can be realized in the various situations of community or apostolic life. And everyone on this path of discernment must exercise fraternity, sincerity, frankness and above all humility, freedom from oneself and from one’s own point of view. The unity of all in God is an evangelical sign that is a prophetic force for the world.

Unity, then, must not be understood as uniformity of thought, opinion and lifestyle; indeed, this could lead to a devaluation of one’s own convictions, to the detriment of personal freedom and of listening to one’s own conscience. Chiara Lubich affirmed that the premise of every rule is charity (cf. Preface to the Statutes). It is therefore necessary that unity be constantly nourished and sustained by mutual charity, which demands magnanimity, benevolence and respect; that charity that is not boastful, is not proud, does not seek its own interests, nor keep a record of wrongs, but rejoices only in the truth (cf. 1 Cor 13:4–6).

Dear friends, let us thank the Lord together for the great spiritual family that was born from the charism of Chiara Lubich. For the young people present in your groups, who see with clear eyes the beauty of. the call to be instruments of unity and of peace in the world. For families, who have been renewed and strengthened by the presence of Jesus in the midst of their family life. For the bishops, priests and consecrated men and women who have seen the gift of their ministry and their religious life renewed through contact with your Movement and your spirituality. For the many Focolare members who, often with heroic dedication, continue to live a life of prayer, work, dialogue and evangelization throughout the world, following the model of apostolic life of the first generations of Christians. And let us give thanks for the countless fruits of holiness, known and unknown, which the return to the Gospel, promoted by you, has brought to the Church throughout these years.

I encourage you to continue on your journey and I bless you wholeheartedly, invoking the intercession of the Virgin Mary upon you all, that she may protect you and always accompany you with her maternal help. Thank you!

I have heard that you like to sing: so, let’s sing together the prayer that Jesus taught us: “Pater noster…”

[Blessing]

Thank you! Best wishes.