Loppiano Experience and Summer School, an experience that changes your life. The young people who just finished the summer programs, left with the idea that “if they wanted to stay in Loppiano, they had to take Loppiano with them.”
Two paths, but the same effect: a deep change. The Summer School was centered on delving into the spirituality of unity, while Loppiano Experience simply offered a concrete experience of fraternity and, in the end, nobody wanted to leave.
“There’s somebody here whom I’ve known for a long time, and I saw her completely changed.”
“It was only one week, but it changed you inside.
“One week ago I didn’t have friends. Now I have 70.”
“Covid also closed up our minds. This was the moment to detoxify.”
“You’ve made me get over many obstacles. A month ago I would never have read anything even in front of my own parents. Now, I’m standing here talking in front of all of you.”
“I never felt judged. At times I lose focus. Here, I strengthened my relationship with God.”
“Thank you, because in these days you made me discover the true life.”
“A month and a half ago I was another person. I would never have made such a choice [as this]. But, at a certain point, I felt urged to find out what there is beyond evil and darkness. Never did I imagine that I would find this light, this joy.”
“THANKS! I finally have enough hope for going back to living, because here I was reborn.”
We’ve seen and heard these apparantly reckless kids, like many of their peers, but with a light in their eyes and a strength in their hearts that you don’t expect.
They come here to Loppiano from different countries: Bolivia, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia, Paraguay, Congo, Croatia, Portugal, Switzerland, Italy, Slovakia, China, Honduras, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Chile, Egypt and Korea.
They strove to have an experience of fraternity: “I saw that we all became part of the game. Each of us reached out to the other person – perhaps the person whom you would never have picked to be your friend. The result? We became brothers and sisters.”
But there is one keyword that is repeated often, and it’s a secret to the success of this experience. That key is deep listening. They tell us: “I always had someone who was ready to listen to me, to become silent and welcome my pain. This healed me.”
“I felt listened to with genuine interest towards me.” “I could sum it up in three words: deep listening, dialogue and communion.”
And now? How will we ever be able to leave this place? “If each one of us just took a tiny drop of what we experienced here, the world would be better.” “I wouldn’t want to leave Loppiano, but somebody convinced me, saying: “If you want to stay here, you have to take Loppiano with you.” “Here I experienced love, the possibility of being all one even though we’re so different from each other. We have to take this back to our community.” “I’d like my children to be born and grow up in an environment like this one.” “Come on, guys! Overflow with joy all the time!”
This is why Loppiano exists.
