The founding inspiration of L'Arche comes from the Gospel message of the Beatitudes. According to the Charter of L'Arche communities, the movement rests on a simple belief: «...every person, handicapped or not, has a unique and mysterious value... and possesses the right to life, to care, to education, to work... The person wounded in body and spirit has capacities for love that the Spirit of God can awaken, and we believe that precisely because of this poverty, God loves them with a special tenderness... We are deeply troubled by the world's suffering... but this concern must not paralyze us. Rather, it must drive us to work for those pushed to the margins by building communities inspired by the Beatitudes and the Spirit of the Gospel... where all share their joys and sorrows as brothers.
Read also: Il Chicco, a Family Home of L'Arche
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Everyone in these communities recognizes themselves as handicapped—though for some this handicap is more visible, for others more interior (selfishness, pride...). The communities embrace poverty, expressed above all in a simple way of life and in a spirit of voluntary renunciation of material wealth. L'Arche communities take two forms:
- the «foyers de vie»—homes that prioritize welcome and hospitality to any guest, visitor, or trainee;
- work communities (workshops) or centers of varied activity that help people develop a connection to craft, participate in creative work, and receive, when possible, professional training leading to employment...
These communities are embedded in society and benefit from it. Society provides them with partial funding, professional expertise, and work. The communities, far from ignoring society, wish—like leaven in dough—to transform its spirit (the individualism, the pursuit of pleasure, wealth, and honor, the priority given to intellect and technique) by recovering hope and drawing closer to Gospel values.
The People in L'Arche
L'Arche becomes, then, a sign of contradiction, a question mark, a call. Those who do not yet live these values feel drawn to make them their own and discover new direction in their lives...
L'Arche communities are made up of:
- men and women wounded in body and spirit (in reason, imagination, deep affection...) who stand at the very heart of the community. They are welcomed regardless of religion or social background, with priority given to the most forsaken and abandoned.
- assistants (with or without professional training) who have chosen to share their lives with handicapped people.
- professionals, who often do not live with the handicapped members but are part of the community through their commitment to shared goals and their genuine interest in handicapped people...
- parents of handicapped people, who hold a special place in the community... Parents must be helped to move beyond disappointment and sadness to discover their child's unique personhood and find the mystery of hope and joy in and because of suffering.
- people who have spent (or are spending) time at the foyer and, though they may not live there permanently, remain part of it in heart and spirit at various levels of commitment... Sometimes they become true inspirers and animators, helping L'Arche grow.
- neighbors: villagers or residents of the surrounding community, who also have a specific place in the shared life.
The communities are glad to welcome them and try to create an atmosphere of support, respect, and genuine friendship. By weaving together people of every age, intellect, and social rank in deep bonds, L'Arche seeks to help realize that unity to which Jesus calls all of us. At the center of this unity stands the small, the poor, the weak, the suffering—those to whom Jesus showed special love and with whom he identified himself».
Legal Structure
Legally speaking, Il Chicco, like other L'Arche communities, is an association (governed by a Board of Administration of ten members) that receives two forms of economic support:
- from the State, in the form of care allowances and maintenance subsidies;
- from Providence, in the form of gifts, donations, small private initiatives, and everything that grows out of friendship and people's desire to contribute in some way to the community's mission.
As an organization, Il Chicco (Arca Lazio - Via Ancona, 1 — 00043 Ciampino (RM)) maintains relationships with the Province, Region, and Municipality of Ciampino.
