The beatification process of Alberto Michelotti and Carlo Grisolia completed its diocesan phase on 8 October 2021. Their story tells of a shared journey in true friendship.            How can we become “saints together”? It’s not easy. It takes time, for sure, and above all a commitment to travel in the same direction, focussing on the same source of light. This is the story of Alberto Michelotti (Genoa, 1958 – Monte Argentera, 1980) and Carlo Grisolia (Bologna, 1960 – Genoa, 1980), two young Italians, very different in many ways but linked by a great friendship and a shared desire to keep God at the centre of their lives. The charism and ideal of the Focolare Movement drew them both and forged true sharing and fraternity between them. They both departed this life in 1980, just 40 days apart: Albert in a mountain climbing accident, Carlo in hospital of a tumour. These two friends are united in a shared process of canonization, launched in 2005 by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Archbishop of Genoa. The diocesan phase just concluded on 8 October 2021. So who are these two young men? Alberto was a natural leader and a “winner”. But his leadership was always in the spirit of service, attentive to those around him, especially the most needy and the youth. Born and raised with his family in the port of Genoa in northern Italy, he attended the parish of St Sebastian with his parents. He was active in many aspects of parish life, including Catholic Action and later, through Rev Fr Mario Terrile, he encountered the spirituality of Chiara Lubich. He was overwhelmed by this. During the Focolare’s summer Mariapolis meeting in 1977, Alberto embraced the ‘good news’ which transformed his life for ever, the reality of “God who is Love”. The same year he became an active member of the Gen Movement, the “new generation” of the Focolare. Here he met Carlo and found a profound unity, overcoming the barriers caused by their very differing characters. Carlo was a shy and poetic young man. A student of agronomy, he loved reading, playing the guitar and writing songs. He was a dreamer, quite unlike the mountain-climbing, rational, mathematical engineering student, Alberto. And yet they shared a great desire to communicate the Gospel ideal of a united world with joy and enthusiasm. And to put into practice Jesus’ message “Where two or more are united in my name, I am in their midst” (Matthew 18:15-20). Carlo had known the Focolare since childhood through his parents. He drew from the spirituality the ‘strategy’ of “becoming saints together”. When Chiara Lubich launched this invitation to the youth, Carlo took it to heart, at the time his family transferred to Genoa. The Focolare founder called Carlo ‘Vir’, meaning “true person, strong person”, and Carlo took this as a guiding principle for his life, drawing his strength from Jesus, the only possible source of energy, as he wrote in one of his songs: “Breathe in the air the love which comes from the new sun which opens up on you”. The friendship between these two young men lasted just 3 years. But the sharing and understanding of their own life experiences indicate a maturity beyond their years. In their quest for authentic Love, they each discovered purity as an instrument to achieve true freedom. And they shared this ideal with their friends. We can see reflections of their deepest thoughts in letters they wrote, long before social media was available. “This is likely to be your military service year”, Alberto wrote in a letter to Carlo on his 19th birthday. “New difficulties and new joys. A bit like today which began with a beautiful blue sky and now by 4 in the afternoon has transformed into wintery grey. But anyway we know that beyond the clouds the sun is surely there”. Alberto and Carlo mirrored one another, recognising each other’s joys and fears, struggles and successes. Trusting in the Love that can achieve everything, they were ready to live the Gospel passage: “No-one has greater love than to give their life for their friends” (John 15:13). Alberto lost his life in the Cuneo mountains on 18 August 1980. He fell during a climb along a glacial gully in the Maritime Alps. Carlo was not able to attend the funeral. Two days earlier, he had been admitted for tests after some episodes of fainting and paralysis of the limbs. The results were unequivocal. The doctor did not hide the seriousness of the situation from Carlo and he was immediately rushed into hospital with advanced cancer. While there, he was told of Alberto’s fatal accident. Only 40 days would separate the two friends before they were reunited in eternity. From his hospital bed, in his last days, Carlo greeted all his visitors with a huge smile, despite being so weak. “I know where I’m going,” he said to a nurse, “I’m going to meet one of my friends who left us a few days ago in a mountain accident”. Carlo felt Alberto’s presence beside him as he looked to his own “leap into God”, as he described it to his mother in hospital. He made that leap into eternity and the home of the Father on 29 September 1980. Today, 40 years on, the ties of friendship between Alberto and Carlo seem as strong as ever as they move into a new and quite extraordinary phase. Never before in the history of the Church have two distinct processes of beatification been considered alongside each other and for two friends. Of course, they cannot be declared blessed or saints until two miracles through their intercession have been verified. But given that they are being prayed to together, they can only be “saints together”. This indicates that a spiritual friendship can be a pathway to holiness. In their lives we perceive the fulfilment of that phrase “thy kingdom come … on earth as in heaven” and such true joy, fruit of a prophetic inspiration expressed by Chiara: “I pray you will become saints, great saints, and soon. In this way, I’m sure you’ll find true happiness”[1].

Maria Grazia Berretta

[1]    Chiara Lubich’s message to “GEN”, Anno XV (1981), n. 4, p. 2-3