“We were invited to this enchanting place, the “green heart” of Austria, by Bishop Wilhelm Krautwaschl, current bishop of this 800 year-old diocese,” writes Thailand’s Cardinal Francis Xavier Kriengsak, who is coordinator of the Bishop Friends of the Focolare Movement. “For us, this this stay was an opportunity to live together as brothers, to share each other’s joys and sorrows, to regenerate our strength and to anchor ourselves once again in the essential.” History: The first meeting of Bishop Friends of the Focolare was held in 1977 upon the invitation of theologian Klaus Hemmerle (1929 – 1994), once bishop of Aquisgrana, Germany. That time, the meeting was attended by twelve bishops from five continents. At the General Audience in the Vatican, Pope Paul VI greeted them and encouraged them to go forward. At the next meeting when he met them for the last time, he said: “As the head of the Apostolic College, I strongly encourage you, I urge you, I exhort you to continue in this undertaking.” The same encouragement arrived from successive popes, including Pope Francis who sent his personal greetings. In 1981 these summer vacations with a small group of bishops were began. In 1984, Chiara Lubich invited them to “decisively launch themselves, along with the whole Work of Mary, towards the unity of the churches and dialogue with other religions and people of good will” in accordance with the Church’s and the Focolare spirituality’s objective. The bishops write: “That invitation provoked a leap in quality in our communion [with one another].” This year 63 prelates from 31countries attended, including Lutheran bishop Christian Krause, once president of the World Lutheran Federation. The goal was the same as always: “to enter more deeply and live the spirituality of communion” and to “explore the ways it could strengthen the Church’s journey” in various socio-cultural circumstances. The setting was the beautiful Palace of Seggau (XII century), ancient seat of the Bishop of Graz and now transformed into a conference centre immersed in lush green surroundings. The meeting opened amidst much joy and fraternity, they write, “with a review the beginnings of the bishops’ participation in the charism of unity, which has led them to aim for a life of communion not only during summer vacation, but also at a distance and throughout the whole year.” There were several presentations. Fr Fabio Ciardi, OMI, who is head of the Abba School, offered several reflections on Chiara Lubich’s experience of light in 1949. Archbishop Vincenzo Zan, Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, described the Synod on young people that will take place in October. Bishop Brendan Leahy from Ireland reported on the Meeting of Families that will be held in Dublin at the end of August. Focolare president, Maria Voce, anticipated the topic that will be explored by all the Focolare members throughout the next year: “The Holy Spirit, Soul of the Church and of the world.” Then, together with co-president Jesús Morán, she talked about their visit to several Asian countries last January where they met with communities of the Movement. They also described the recent large gathering of young people at the Genfest in Manila, Philippines. They listened again to the Pope’s speech at the Focolare town of Loppiano, Italy, on May 10th, which Moran described as a “kind of guidebook” for the Work of Mary’s journey.” The Governor of the region welcomed the bishops in the Main Hall of the university of the Jesuits and offered them a reception. This is an unprecedented event, he remarked, which places us in the good collaboration between civil institutions and the church “in an ecumenical spirit and openness to all religions.”