Sister Antonia Moioli departed this life on 30^th July, 2021. She was calm, had a beautiful smile and was surrounded by affection and prayers. Born in Alzano Lombardo (Bergamo, Italy) on 13^th June, 1949 to a deeply Christian family, at the age of 19 Antonia Moioli got to know the Focolare Movement: the discovery of God Love inspired her to love everyone: from the members of her family to those at the nursery school. “I was wondering what God wanted of me. A priest advised me not to worry, to continue living the Ideal and to trust Jesus who said: To those who love me I will manifest myself. I trust him and I count on that. In the meantime, I realize that many of my colleagues at work were lively, free nuns. They gave me a book of their Founder. When I read it, I experienced a joy as it was so much in harmony with the Ideal”. In 1971 she entered the Institute of the Sisters of the Infant Jesus. She made her first vows in 1974 and her perpetual vows in 1980. She threw herself into education with enthusiasm; everyone remembers her for her vitality, love and passion for children and young people. In 1977 she went to Rome, to the school of Santa Maria degli Angeli where she taught and became Head of the Institute. She was a reference point for many students. Her institutional duties did not distance her from the students, they allowed her to show them the beauty of following Jesus. In 1993 she was the only nun in the youth ministry consultancy for the Diocese and the Prefecture. A former student testifies: “Sister Antonia was a real woman, able to give an example to the Church of the wonderful vocation of women: she knew how to be a mother, constantly generating her children to the faith, to the encounter with Jesus. … as a mother who knows potentiality of her children, she did not stop at our complaints. … She was a strong woman, able to show her humanity. In the year 2000, welcoming the pilgrims who came to Rome for the World Youth Day, Sister Antonia said to me: “you will clean the bathrooms in the gym”. I would have preferred to engage in other activities. Before starting, Sister Antonia, told me that to truly serve people you had to get your hands dirty. And then I realized the most beautiful thing that made me recognize that she was a true educator: she started cleaning the bathrooms with me. … I was faced with a strong woman, happy to be a nun and educator, a complete, fulfilled woman ”. She hoped that everyone could experience that to love is to give life, moment by moment. Another trait of her, typical of her congregation’s charisma was love for the poor and she was sensitive to those who struggled, the simplest people. She also had a great love for her older sisters. In 1996 she was responsible for Italy and she inspired the communities with the same enthusiasm as ever. At the end of her mandate, for two years, she dedicated herself to the service of the International Centre for Sisters of the Focolare Movement and thereafter continued to hold other positions. Celebrating 25 years of consecration she wrote: “In these 25 years I have experienced His fidelity stronger than my infidelities. God’s immense love heals, encourages, supports, it is Paradise”. And even more: “In starting over all the times I have struggled or failed, I have always felt enveloped by an immense love, Mary and the charism of Unity were essential to make me a true daughter of my founder, with a heart open wide to all the aspects of the Church and humanity ”. In recent years she encountered weakness and illness; she was spared nothing, she was asked to give up everything! What her founder Nicola Barré said was realized in her,: “This night is a splendid day”. As Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, wrote, “Sister Antonia leaves an example of a true disciple of Jesus, faithful to living the Word and constantly following Him. She worked tirelessly at many levels for the realization of “May they all be one ”.

Sister Tiziana Longhitano