The Faith and Light Council
On September 24-25, 1988, the international Council of Faith and Light gathered in Geneva.
Delegates from the twelve Swiss communities were present, along with the national council and the national coordination team.
For those who attended, this meeting was an experience of grace and light—a discovery of the living reality of the great Faith and Light family in the world, to which they belong in heart and spirit.
The words of Jean Vanier, Marie Hélène, Mariangela, and Marcin, always so rich with meaning, touched many hearts. Each person felt challenged and moved by the genuine testimonies of members from the international community.
The presence of Bishop Lacroix enriched the gathering and made for fruitful exchanges.
The joyful, warm atmosphere—saturated with the almost tangible presence of the Holy Spirit—brought comfort and renewal to every heart. It restored enthusiasm, energy, and confidence to each participant. The weariness of travel fell away at once, and everyone left happy and grateful.
Yvette Bonvin (national coordinator for Swiss communities), 1989
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Clarity and Inner Celebration
Each Faith and Light group in different parts of the world follows its own path, rooted in local reality, yet held together by a single anchor: the Charter and Constitution.
Our group, with its long history, felt the need to pause, reflect, and nourish itself in the light of the Constitution's principles. On Sunday, October 23, 1988, guests at the Young Women's House (ACISIF), we all gathered—friends, parents, young people—for a day together unlike any other. There was no external celebration, but a need for inner clarity and celebration. At 8:45 we gathered and welcomed one another. At 9 o'clock, Bishop Sergio Sacchi celebrated Holy Mass, the vital center of our entire day.
At 10 o'clock, after a brief pause for warm drinks and pastries, Luciano Benassi, our group's coordinator, wanted to clarify that the Molinetto Cooperative, which operates in spaces provided by the Parish of Santa Maria del Rosario for the benefit of young people with disabilities, has its own legal identity, distinct from Faith and Light—though Faith and Light was its spiritual founding soul. These are therefore two separate realities. Still, those who guide one may also take part in the other, just as the young people and their families may or may not participate in Faith and Light. At the heart, always, are the young people and their families. After several interventions, Don Sergio spoke about the meaning of God as Father, brother, friend—the great friend who stirs up friendship among us.
At 12:30 we shared lunch with joy and exchanged confidences and experiences. In the afternoon, while the young people went out for a walk, the current coordinator, the former coordinator, and Don Sergio led us through:
- a reading of the Charter with reflections interspersed with songs expressing the great joy of this wonderful adventure called Faith and Light, which makes us brothers and sisters;
- a reading from the Gospel of John 9:41 with commentary;
- a reading of a passage titled "For All the Sabines in the World."
We decided to give ourselves a Christmas gift: the booklet "For All the Sabines in the World," a precious document of faith and hope. Finally, filled with trust and renewed in spirit, we prayed together, singing: "We walk the roads of the world to be a witness of fraternity."
Laila Castagnoli, 1989
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Romina's Great Day
The great day had arrived. We were all in church, the whole community, waiting. Rosa had not come. She had sent her Annamaria instead, watchful-eyed and carrying a gift for Romina. Rosa had told me the day before: "I won't come! I know myself—I'm certain I would burst into tears!" It had seemed strange to me, for an event so joyful and long-awaited... to have to cry!
Suddenly everyone fell silent: the children came from the main entrance (four in all, processing in order). Where was Romina? She came last, in her wheelchair. Lucia and her mother pushed her forward, her mother almost triumphant... and she was beautiful, a white flower in her hand, her eyes shining with joy... I no longer knew what was happening to me. A deep emotion, almost overwhelming and uncontrollable, broke me into sobs. I gripped Nicoletta's hand to steady myself, but instead I drew her in.
I had never felt anything like it, not even at great family events. I had always known myself to be in control, even in the strongest moments. And to think I had almost smiled at what Rosa said the day before.
But Romina appeared to me as a miracle, a flower herself, whom the Lord seemed to draw to himself with infinite love. And she moved toward the Lord... accompanied, yet it seemed she—with that symbolic flower—was drawing the entire procession toward the "Bridegroom," who waited in longing for his "bride"!
All the other moments were wonderful. When it came time to lay the flower at the altar (the other three children had already laid theirs), Romina held back. Don Felice bent toward her to explain the meaning of the gesture, but she was reluctant to let it go.
Why, Romina? What was that flower to you—the flower I saw grasped in your small hand, which moved me so deeply, that mysterious sign of a hidden union between you, a small creature, and the Love of God?
I cannot forget those moments. The power of God can descend upon us in unforeseen signs and ways, can make itself present—immediate and blazing—overturning every ordinary way of relating to which we are humanly accustomed.
And when we perceive this Presence, it is unspeakable joy, an unforgettable sign, a foretaste of the mystical union that awaits us in complete encounter with Him.
Delia Mitolo (Bari), 1989