1971 - Lourdes - Living Easter in Faith and Light
1975 - Rome - Reconciliation Between the Church and the World of Disability
1978 - Assisi - In the Footsteps of Saint Francis
1981 - Lourdes - To Give Thanks
1986 - Assisi - Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace
1991 - Lourdes - That They May Be One
1995 - Assisi - Blessed Be the Lord Who Has Visited and Redeemed His People
2001 - Lourdes - Come and Drink from the Source
2005 - Assisi - Walking Together for Peace
2011 - Loreto/Paola - Messengers of Joy
These themes have marked every pilgrimage since 1971.
It is beautiful to trace, through them, how Faith and Light has grown, how we have "multiplied," how we have managed, through all these years, by simply "being" who we are, to carry a message of hope to those who need it. Not only to our beloved families, who often discover that there exists a life made of joy, happiness, and sharing, but also to our young people, who learn that their gifts matter to the world, and to our friends, who discover each day that deep friendship is possible—not only among peers, but also with our special young people and their parents and older companions.
We call ourselves a movement, and that word defines us, because we are never still. We are in constant evolution, constant change, constant growth. Growing is not always easy: new friends arrive, families age, some pass on and are no longer with us. Yet we have been entrusted by God himself with the task of carrying our message of hope to those who have not yet heard it.
We do it every day, perhaps without even realizing it: we are witnesses to what we live, to the joy we carry within us, in our families, at work, with friends, every time we encounter the "poor"—as Jean Vanier loved to call them—all those whom society rejects and excludes.
Being a movement demands patience and will. We are constantly called to change, and we must have the courage to "let go," the courage to meet others, always remaining open to all the new things He places on our path.
Being a movement, being one large family, is also the joy of sharing this journey with so many families, young people, and friends who live the same spirit alongside us.
When we meet another community, from any country in the world, we feel as though we have known each other forever, as though we are picking up a conversation or an emotion we had just set down. This too is the beauty of Faith and Light: 1,680 communities around the world, yet one community.
We are guardians of this treasure that has grown richer every day over these first forty years. Our task, our calling, is not to "preserve" it or "hide" it away on some island of happiness, but to "spend" it so that it becomes richer, day by day, always more.
Carlo Gazzano, Coordinator, Seas and Volcanoes Province, 2015