A delegation of the Community from Rome, led by Cristina Marazzi, has been visiting the Sant'Egidio communities in Mozambique since 21 June. They first stopped in Maputo, home to the care centres of the Dream Programme - which first started here 21 years ago - and Bravo!
The visit continued to the Polana Canico School of Peace, one of the first in Mozambique, and sharing the service of the Youth for Peace of Maputo with the poor who live on the streets. Many are young people, who the Community has been meeting with in an atmosphere of friendship and family for five years. The Youth for Peace bring them supper, distribute clothes and blankets and support them in their needs.
On Saturday, an assembly took place attended by more than 200 people from the Maputo and Matola Communities. Cristina Marazzi stressed how the Spirit inspires the unity of the Community in so many places in the world, making it a global family, and how Mozambique and its history have been strongly intertwined with the life of Sant'Egidio for 40 years.
She recalled the 1992 peace agreement for Mozambique, signed in Rome thanks to the mediation of Sant'Egidio, and she emphasised that Sant'Egidio is a house of peace in the world where we live fraternity and friendship for all. Everyone is called to build peace in dialogue, friendship and solidarity in his/her own society. "Jesus identifies himself in the poor and invites us to meet him in the places of suffering and pain in our cities. Being community with the poor," she said, "is part of the charism and originality of Sant'Egidio. It is a transforming force that can change the world and build a world of peace."
