Extracts from Chiara Lubich’s editorial dated 20 April 1958 in which she colourfully describes her impressions of Expo ’58 held in Brussels. She visited it during springtime of that year while she was in Belgium for Holy Week. The Focolare Movement had just started to go beyond the Italian Alps and to reach the heart of Europe. Evidently that visit had a profound effect on her: “On 17 April 1958, the International Exhibition in Brussels was opened. […] It’s something truly colossal! […] The most prominent nations from all five continents are competing to show off their foremost talents. […] Seeing these most amazing structures and ever new styles, one discovers the brilliant new ideas of our century, whether in shapes that are graceful or bold, narrow, transparent or sturdy; sometimes in the form of a cube or a sphere or a cylinder, with expressions of folklore and of religion too. They are real masterpieces, unknown to most of us until now, and each one bears the hallmark of its people, of its tradition, of its own taste. […] The pavilion that drew our attention in a special way however was the one set up by the Holy See. It stands almost opposite the Soviet pavilion and next to the American one. Its name is “Civitas Dei” (City of God). At its heart there is a church which is simple and harmonious in style, maybe because it is so rich in content; it is very elegant and extremely modern. […] Underneath this stands an altar where Mass will be continuously celebrated. […] So it is the living Jesus, who continues to sacrifice himself for everyone, and the word of truth of a King who is not of this world, which are the riches put on show in Brussels by the “City of God”, whereas nearby, among other things there are an atomic ice-breaker, Sputnik II and a huge statue of Lenin that fill the Soviet Pavilion. A blow up theatre and many expressions of modern art and folklore fill the American Pavilion. Yes, Jesus is at the Brussels Exhibition, just as one day Jesus was at the marriage-feast at Cana. The Son of Man does not disdain to get involved in all human activities, and through the harmonious peal of the bells he will give a reminder of what is eternal and divine to all those who gather there, to exalt the talents of all the peoples He created. It is Jesus who dies on the altar for everyone, also for those who don’t care about him, who are perhaps filled with pride in their knowledge and their discoveries, or who may even fight against him. It is Jesus who still teaches the Truth through those of whom he said: “Whoever listens to you listens to me”. These are the gifts and the “produce” of the Catholic Church which continues Him. Jesus in the Eucharist is the fruit of the Church, just as in the past Jesus of Nazareth was the fruit of the most pure womb of the Virgin Mary. And there at Expo ‘58 as in every church of ours, Jesus will try to quench people’s thirst for light, love, courage and strength. Jesus makes himself known, or rather he shows his tangible love. He offers himself to save people there too, where everything speaks of atomic energy, technology, inventions, and newness. He is the greatest new thing, the eternal discovery who is never discovered. He is the One who will remain, even when in future centuries no one will remember much about the exhibition in Brussels, just as no one today knows the names of the couple married at Cana. He is there so as not to let us down, so as to fill the emptiness that will be created in many people – despite the “showing off” of the most beautiful treasures of our day – when they experience the vanity of everything, even of all that is great, but is not rooted in God. Chiara Lubich Read more: Chiara Lubich Center