«Enza on the birth certificate—and that's already a program! I see myself as a suffix, really. I find myself in so many words: provid-ence, suffic-iency, val-ence…! I'm 54 years old and I teach mathematics and physics at a scientific high school. These are disciplines I love, and they've often helped me live better».
How did you first encounter Fede e Luce, and what made you stay?
I met Fede e Luce during a time of personal fragility and suffering, when I needed to know and embrace the wounded part of myself—the part that needed care. At first I thought I was coming to give something, but I stayed because I received so much. What did I receive? The embrace of the disabled young people, I think, saved me. I still remember the moment, the place, the hour. I felt so defenseless… Giovanni and Gaetano sat down next to me, one on my right and one on my left, and it was as if they were healing my need for attention in that moment. Jean Vanier says that young people have hands so small they can slip between the bars we've locked around our hearts.
Then you took on leadership roles: elections are particular moments, and you've lived through them at various levels…
I felt a deep sense of gratitude in receiving a grace of state—trust from people, the beauty of a task entrusted to me, a life and hope that made everything germinate. Leadership at the community, regional, and national levels taught me to step back, to surrender, to live as if everything depended on me while knowing nothing would improve by my merit alone. To not seize control of the reality handed to me, and at the same time, to fully assume responsibility.
The term "volunteering" seemed inappropriate. It was hard to fit an experience of pure friendship into that category.
The term "volunteering" seemed inappropriateIt was hard to fit an experience of pure friendship into that category.
In 2002 you were part of the transition to becoming an onlus. Was this a moment of deepened awareness for the Movement?
Absolutely! For better and worse, these moments are opportunities for real dialogue. The question then was whether to become a volunteer association. The term "volunteering," certainly of great value, seemed utterly inappropriate for us in Fede e Luce: it was difficult to fit an experience of pure friendship, exchange, and sharing into the category of volunteering. We studied every legal and administrative angle and came to the conclusion that the most suitable structure for us was to become an onlus.
As national coordinator, you then oversaw the launch of three provinces and the establishment in 2009 of a proper board of directors. What did this transition mean for Fede e Luce Italia?
One motto: believe, believe, believe. Even when we began dividing into three provinces. Despite the worry that we might drift apart, there was a strong conviction that communities and regions could be followed more closely and that this responsibility needed to be distributed in a new way. The National Council at that time carried the burden of handling all legal, administrative, and representational matters… There was a need for a body that could relieve the Council so it could pursue the vision and charism of Fede e Luce. Again, there was concern about creating structures that might conflict with one another. We discussed for months on end, documenting the tasks of the Movement Council and those of the Association's Board of Directors. I remember that after days, weeks, months of discussion, when we were finally ready for the decision and elections, a call came from a Council member who was terrified and wanted to undo everything. In that moment, I tried not to let panic, anger, or irritation take hold. I gathered all my faith in the path we had walked until then, I reassured him, and everything went well.
Particular people, memorable encounters?
Our spiritual directors, our priests. They are special because they have understood profoundly what Fede e Luce is about. Not because they come to offer a service or performance. Because Fede e Luce is part of their very existence. Because there is no place or space or time where they do not carry the message of Fede e Luce. Because they carry that message within themselves.
Cardinal Martini—the bishop who guided the movement even when I was national coordinator—met with the National Council once a year. A man of extraordinary intelligence and uncommon insight. He answered our questions (often spontaneous ones) with such precision and propriety that we were always astounded. Though he didn't participate constantly in meetings, he had grasped the full essence of the Movement. We gathered those conversations in a small booklet, The Little Key.
What more can Fede e Luce say?
I ask myself that constantly. When Fede e Luce began in Mazara, where I live, many resources did not exist. For many families it was the way out of pain and isolation. It was the place where you could live moments of shared life and draw out what you had lived through. Now many such organizations flourish, but I believe Fede e Luce remains unique because it brings together three components: parents, young people, and friends. Because joy and sorrow are still shared; the everyday is still shared. Because for so many it has meant a family to belong to. Of course there are misunderstandings and struggles like in any community. We grow old, but that too is part of life.