On Sunday, January 19, during the program “A Sua immagine”, entirely dedicated to Chiara Lubich, Rai 1 will broadcast, the Holy Mass live, from Loppiano in the Shrine dedicated to Mary Theotokos. The occasion is the centenary of Chiara’s birth.
100 years have passed since Chiara Lubich was born in Trent on January 22, 1920. It is not only an anniversary that concerns the members of the Focolare Movement of which she is the founder but all those who have seen in her, as it has been written, one “among the masters and mystics most listened to for the genuine evangelical inspiration, the dimension of universality and the cultural and social impact that characterize her thought and work.
Rai, the Italian public radio and television service, also wants to pay homage to her on January 19, and it does so through the program “A Sua immagine“, which will host the journalist Michele Zanzucchi, the economist Luigino Bruni and the focolarina Ana Paula Meyer, three people who had the opportunity to live in close contact with her. The live Mass which, as usual, is an integral part of the transmission, this time will bring the Shrine of Loppiano, dedicated to Mary Theotokos, to the homes of television viewers.
Presiding over the celebration will be the Bishop of Fiesole, Bishop Mario Meini, accompanied by a large group of priests. Next to him will be Msgr. Piero Coda, Dean of Sophia University Institute and Fr. Giampietro Baldo, parish priest of San Vito and therefore of the Shrine. The prayers of the faithful will be expressed in various languages, while on the screens there will be the translation into Italian. Some families from various parts of the world, present in Loppiano for the Loreto School, will bring the gifts to the altar at the offertory. The music of the whole celebration will be provided by the musical groups Gen Rosso and Gen Verde, which have their headquarters in Loppiano.
Mass will begin at 11 am but will be preceded by a short presentation of Loppiano, through both repertory and current images. Everything will end at 11.55 a.m., when the transmission will go to the live connection with St. Peter’s Square, for the Angelus of Pope Francis.