It began more than a year ago when Father Theodoros, the spiritual assistant of the Kimata province, told Pietro Vetro, the provincial coordinator, that he had met several Albanian families raising children with disabilities. The connection came through Bertrand, who directs The White Pebble at the Ark in Brittany. For years he has spent time in Tirana and built friendships with parents and young people with different abilities—the term Albanians use for disability. In Albania, there is nothing for disabled children and their families. Some parents are ashamed of their children and keep them locked away at home. Thankfully, not everyone shares that view. The families Father Theodoros met were interested and curious about Faith and Light from the start. Pietro and I decided to accept their invitation and travel to Tirana to introduce ourselves.
The meeting ended with plans for a gathering the following month. In May 2017, we held the first Faith and Light meeting in Tirana.
Month after month, this small Albanian seed began to take root. The group grew, learned each other's names, and walked together with hope and joy. By October we had organized a training session, formed a core team, set a calendar of meetings, and begun to chart our course within the larger Faith and Light family. We organized a Festival of Light in Tirana, inviting representatives from communities across Kimata (Fidenza, Rome, Greece, Cyprus) and from the Ark (in Ciampino and Brittany). Without The White Pebble and Bertrand, none of this would have happened. We wanted to help everyone understand: we are all one family.
The Festival of Light was meant to celebrate the gift of Faith and Light and the bonds that form—bonds that cross borders, different cultures, different faiths. What truly unites us and makes us community is the young people themselves. I am convinced that this experience touched everyone who came, because encounter with difference never leaves you indifferent.
The Tirana group is made up of families and friends from different religions—Catholics, Protestants, Muslims—and for them, this is not a problem at all. Quite the opposite. Their moments of prayer are always moving in their simplicity and in the respect they show for all different faiths. For them, what matters is being together, not dwelling on what divides them.
We meet in the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Tirana, where the bishop, Monsignor Frendo, has given us a room. When he can, he stops by the meetings to greet us.
The Muslim families spoke about us in their community. After the Festival of Light, we had the chance to meet with the Bektashi Muslim community. The Baba Mundi opened the doors of his home, giving us time to know him and his people.
It was a deeply moving weekend marked by diversity in every way—cultural, religious, national. A truly beautiful experience.
Daniela Guglietta, 2018
