Communion and Liberation

Communion and Liberation, or CL, is a lay ecclesial movement within the Catholic Church. CL began in Italy in 1954 and grew out of Monsignor Luigi Giussani's experience teaching students at Berchet high school in Milan. The movement spread rapidly throughout Italy and is now present in some seventy countries around the world, including people of all ages and in every occupation at every level of society.

Related Topics:
Italy - 1954 - Luigi Giussani - Milan

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This ecclesial movement was originally known as Gioventù Studentesca (Student Youth). The name "Communion and Liberation" did not appear until 1969. Today, Gioventù Studentesca, or "GS", is used to refer to groups of high-schoolers and younger students who belong to the movement. Similarly, "CLU" is used to refer to groups of college students who belong to the movement.

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CL describes its purpose as "the education to Christian maturity of its adherents and collaboration in the mission of the Church in all the spheres of contemporary life". It grew out of an attempt by Monsignor Luigi Giussani to communicate the awareness that Christ is the one true response to the deepest needs of people at every moment of history. CL says that it requires only that Christ be recognized as immediately present. The person who encounters and welcomes the presence of Christ undergoes a conversion that affects not only the individual but also the surrounding environment.

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CL describes its charism by focusing on three dimensions: (i) the wonder of the Incarnation, an enthusiasm for it and a recognition of its reasonableness; (ii) the affirmation that Jesus of Nazareth is a present event in a sign of communion; and (iii) only in his presence can man be truer and mankind be truly more human.

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The main method by which members of CL are formed in the faith is a weekly catechesis meeting, known as a "School of Community". Each School of Community is a group typically of several up to 10 people. In cities with a larger CL presence there may be multiple Schools of Community. The Schools of Community usually open up with prayer, often in the form of the Angelus and the chanting of a form of the Liturgy of the Hours. This is usually following by the singing of songs. Next, the School of Community will read and discuss together some text, focusing both on what it says and comparing it to one's own lived experience. Often, the text comes from a portion of Monsignor Luigi Giussani's trilogy of works (known as the Per Corso Trilogy): The Religious Sense, At The Origin Of The Christian Claim, and Why The Church?. Finally, the School of Community will close with prayer, usually the Memorare.

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A distinctive element of CL spirituality is the prayer, "Veni Sancte Spiritus, Veni Per Mariam", or "Come Holy Spirit, Come Through Mary". Msgr. Giussani described it as a synthesis of the Catholic faith, given how the prayer links the Holy Spirit, the Creator of all through time and the One who works through the Church, with Mary's "yes" that allowed for the Incarnation to proceed.

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Pope Benedict XVI is said to view CL favorably. A longtime friend of Msgr. Giussani, then-Cardinal Ratzinger personally celebrated the funeral Mass of Msgr. Giussani, who died on the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter and whose funeral was the same day that Pope John Paul II was checked into the hospital before his subsequent death.

Related Topics:
Pope Benedict XVI - Pope John Paul II

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