What exactly are we celebrating in Pompei for the fiftieth anniversary of Faith and Light in Italy? Isn’t everything that has already been achieved in terms of inclusion enough? Many communities are still struggling to move forward.
And in the end, what is it that we really do?
As Mariangela Bertolini once said, we don’t run group homes, workshops, or tailored programs for that daunting “after us” that weighs so heavily on families…
And yet, a father of a boy with autism from one of the communities in Campania shared: “When kids like my son are little, the difference isn’t noticeable. But then middle school, high school… and contact with peers starts to fade. Classmates drift away. As a father, you end up being everything: a brother, a friend, their only point of reference. Faith and Light’s presence gave me the certainty that my son is not alone. That he has friends.”
These are words that reveal what often gets lost amid the daily struggles of every family: closeness, friendship, shared experience. These are the very values Pope Francis has proclaimed and embodied—with tenderness and resolve—throughout his twelve years of guiding the Church.
And for this, we can only be deeply grateful. Like when he said, speaking of inclusion in the Church, “Everyone, everyone, everyone! This is the Lord: everyone, no one excluded.” Or when, during another meeting with members of the international Faith and Light movement, he urged them to “be, in the storms that people and families go through, a small boat where everyone can find a place—knowing that Jesus Himself is on board.”
Faith and Light may not do much but—as Serena Sillitto clearly explains—it stands beside: a real network of relationships, the relief of not feeling alone, and the awareness that every life, even the most fragile, deserves to be heard, accompanied, and respected. That, I believe, makes at least a small difference. And surely deserves a celebration. OL
