In 2015, Fede e Luce marked forty years of community life in Italy. A double celebration. Because Fede e Luce places at the center of its gatherings young people and those with intellectual disabilities, alongside families and friends—all united in the joy of encounter. As Jean Vanier wrote: "The feast must continue until every disabled person has encountered a community where, without pretense to expertise but simply as Christians, we learn to discover and live together the extraordinary Good News of Jesus."
It must continue so that the prophetic vision of our founders remains alive, so that every young person facing difficulties—together with family and friends—can experience the gifts the Spirit pours into our hearts: love, the desire to welcome, readiness, understanding, patience. These are invisible gifts, profound and essential. Members of our communities feel them given freely, and they fill our hearts with joy and mutual love. Vanier helps us understand what Fede e Luce truly is: a community of encounter where disabled young people are the protagonists of a remarkable adventure authored by the Holy Spirit.
The charism of Fede e Luce can be found in the Beatitudes—Jesus's words to the crowds on the mountain (Matthew 5:3-12).
In the "gifts" of the Beatitudes lies an apparent paradox: suffering produces hope, loneliness becomes communion, affliction turns to consolation. So the suffering that mothers and fathers know intimately becomes a means of transformation—in the heart, in the body, in the very shape of who we are.
Like iron forged at high temperatures to take its shape, then tempered to become strong and unbreakable, parents too—in time, at their own pace—can learn to transform suffering into love, joy, and communion.
Friends relate to suffering differently, yet just as directly and immediately. It opens them to a new sense of what life means, orienting them toward simplicity, listening, sharing, the joy of true meeting. Fede e Luce carries the sacred task of bearing witness to suffering and its transfiguration into something far more meaningful and precious.
To witness is demanding work. It touches every part of your life.
A family that welcomes a disabled child knows well the pain that can bring isolation, withdrawal, fear of asking for help, abandonment, despair. Many parents find the strength to reclaim their lives, giving meaning to their circumstances and experiences, becoming witnesses to the transfiguration Jesus himself lived.
One such testimony is that of Mariangela Bertolini and her family. They transformed their suffering into hope and joy, witnessing to countless families and tirelessly proclaiming the spirit of Fede e Luce throughout Italy and beyond. Their affliction became welcome; their struggle became a beacon in the storm for so many.
A Precious Meeting
About twenty years ago, I met Lucia at a special gathering—a young woman with severe disability. Through her, I came to know suffering itself.
That meeting shifted me into a new dimension of life. It taught me to discern what truly mattered, to rediscover life in new depth. The wild nights at clubs, the endless entertainments—all of it began to lose its hold. My gaze turned elsewhere, toward what was more authentic, more whole. And so suffering worked its transformation. It changed me.
I began a new adventure with new friends, new relationships. In communion with suffering, I found the joy of sharing.
I had discovered a treasure beyond price—something I had to give away, something I could not keep for myself alone. Years later, when I married Angelica, I knew I had to share that joy with my community too, even those struggling. So I invited the whole community to our wedding. They came with laughter, smiles, companionship, songs, and dancing—like a summer camp—and made that moment something sacred and alive.
Like the man in Matthew's Gospel (13:44) who found treasure in a field and sold everything to possess it, so too those who carry the message of joy must announce a light that frees us from sadness and fear, illuminating life in all its colors—like a rainbow bringing hope for the journey ahead.
We hold so many hidden treasures. We must not hoard them. We must offer them to all who still live in anguish and pain.
It is a responsibility we cannot escape: we are called to be true messengers of joy—that joy which in Fede e Luce becomes salvation and hope.
Paolo Tantaro, National President, Fede e Luce Association, Salemi - Seas and Volcanoes
Starting a Community
Take two or three people armed with goodwill, courage, and persistence. People who want to "do something"—perhaps because they are connected somehow to the world of intellectual disability (a parent, a friend, a priest). People who have learned about community from others, who have heard Jean Vanier speak or read his words, who recognize in Fede e Luce's message the spirit they seek. These people begin to spread the word among those they think might be interested—perhaps in their parish, if the pastor supports them. Or they might start by visiting a community already underway: knowing others is always a help when you are beginning this kind of journey. They might organize gatherings to explore what such a community could become, read documents that reveal its spirit, listen to those already living the experience. Less common, but possible and desirable, is when one or more people from an existing community decide to multiply—not divide—the experience and bring it to another parish or setting. Slowly the word spreads. Four becomes eight; eight becomes sixteen. And suddenly the community has begun!