August 16, 2012. (Romereports.com) The Catholic Movement of Communion and Liberation was created in Milan, Italy in 1954. Its founder Luigi Giussani was a priest that wanted to increase the Christian presence with younger students. He did this by quitting his job as a professor of theology and began teaching at a high school.
There a movement began called the 'Student Youth' but evolved into 'Communion and Liberation' in 1969. Today, it's present in 70 countries with 200,000 members, all working toward their purpose of 'education to Christian maturity'. They carry a Christian message in their approach toward art, culture and music. They also work toward promoting charitable activities.
As Giussani once said said that Christianity is primarily an event.
JULÍAN CARRÓN
President, Communion and Liberation (March 21, 2007)
“It's the event of an encounter with something fascinating. That was how it was from the beginning, when the first people that met Jesus were so attracted to him, by the impact it had on them, they wanted to see him again the next day, and then the next day, and so on until they became friends.”
On March 24, 2007, Benedict XVI held an audience with 80,000 members of Communion and Liberation. During this meeting, the Pope recalled his own friendship with Luigi Giussani, when he was a cardinal he presided at his funeral in the Milan cathedral in February of 2005.
BENEDICT XVI
“Don Giussani undertook to reawaken in the youth the love of Christ, 'The Way, Truth and Life'. Insisting that He alone is the only way to achieve the deepest longings of the human heart and that Christ does not save us without our humanity, but through it.”
The Meeting of Rimini in Italy is the most important event organized by Communion and Liberation. Since 1980, religious leaders, politicians, and many others have gathered for this meeting to improve dialogue across cultural lines.
OFL/AE
