Twenty Years Later—The Same Embrace

This photo collage arrived in my inbox from a Fede e Luce camp at Tarquinia this past summer. The newborn at the top is my son Alessandro, five months old, cradled in the arms of our dear friend Carlo Rutigliano. We were in Lourdes for the movement's thirtieth-anniversary pilgrimage in 2001. Below: the same two figures, twenty years on. During a quiet moment at camp, Alessandro—tired—nestled into his old friend Carlo's embrace. Déjà-vu. When I saw those two photos side by side, I was so moved that I knew I had to share them. They hold something precious: the beauty of mutual protection, the soul of a friendship unlike any other. Alessandro is one of many children who grew up in Fede e Luce. He never questioned why he belonged there—it was his world from birth, a kind of extended, deeply special family. As a child, he came to camp with us. As he grew older, he chose to come alone, with a trusted companion looking after him. And even as an adult, he's stayed connected, spending vacations with people like Carlo, who have been woven into his life from the beginning. I'll never forget his first solo camp in 2015—the last one led by Stefano Spilungo, the person who understood, better than almost anyone, what this kind of friendship means and how it shapes a life. The fruits have been countless, and I am grateful.