Sant'Egidio
Community
Established in Rome in '60s
VATICAN CITY,
JUNE 28, 2006 (ZENIT.org).- Here is the description of the
Community of Sant'Egidio which appears in the Directory of
International Associations of the Faithful, published by the
Pontifical Council for the Laity.
* * *
Official name: Sant'Egidio Community
Also known as: Sant'Egidio
Established: 1968
History: The Community of Sant'Egidio was established in Rome by
Andrea Riccardi. In the climate of renewal created by the Second
Vatican Council, he began to gather together a group of high
school students, of which he was one, to listen to the Gospel
and put it into practice.
Within a few years, the experience spread to other groups of
students, and they began to work on behalf of the marginalized.
In the working-class districts on the outskirts of Rome they
began their work of evangelization which led to the
establishment of communities of adults.
In 1973 the first church of the community was opened in the
Trastevere district of Rome. In the Church of Sant'Egidio, it
became the custom to hold evening community prayer, and this has
accompanied the life of all the communities throughout the world
ever since.
In the latter half of the 1970s, the community also began to be
established in other Italian towns, and in the 1980s it spread
in Europe, and to Africa, America and Asia.
From the outset, specific features of the community have been
service to the very poor and defense of human dignity and human
rights, together with prayer and the communication of the
Gospel. It has established ways of helping and extending
friendship where there is poverty, both in its old and new forms
(elderly people living alone and unable to cope, immigrants,
homeless people, terminally ill and AIDS sufferers, children at
risk of delinquency and social "out-casting," itinerants and
physically and mentally disabled people, drug addicts, war
victims, inmates and people under sentence of death).
The poor are the daily companions of life and of the work of the
members of the community, as their friends and [as] part of
their family. It is precisely this friendship that has given
Sant'Egidio a clearer understanding of the way that war is the
mother of all forms of poverty, and hence their explicit
commitment to working for peace.
On May 18, 1986, the Pontifical Council for the Laity decreed
the Comunità di Sant'Egidio to be an international association
of the faithful of pontifical right.
Identity: The Community of Sant'Egidio is a community family
rooted in different local churches.
The term "community" reflects, among other things, a need for
fellowship which is particularly deeply felt because the members
of the community live fully within the world, in the anonymous
life of large modern cities. Friendship is therefore the
distinctive feature of Sant'Egidio, both among themselves, and
as an attitude of friendship and interest in the world and other
ecclesial experiences.
The spiritual benchmarks of the community have always been the
first Christian community in the Acts of the Apostles, the
Church's preferential love for the poor, and the primacy of
prayer.
A pronounced sense of God's mercy for the sick and for sinners;
Jesus' compassion for the crowds; his invitation to proclaim the
Gospel of the Kingdom and to heal all manner of disease and
sickness -- this all nurtures the life and personal spirituality
of the members as they listen daily to the Word of God and
persevere in personal and community prayer.
Its lay character and the fact that the communities are in the
large towns and cities has led to the development of a
specifically "urban" spirituality, which brings together the
people who are scattered by their daily lives and
responsibilities (family, professional, civil) around the
primacy of evangelization and service.
One essential part of this "recomposition" is the community
evening prayer which is open to anyone wishing to attend.
Organization: The community is governed by the president,
assisted by a council, and an ecclesiastical assistant. The
president and the council are elected every five years by the
General Assembly of the representatives of all the community
groups. (In countries where there are several communities, if
deemed useful, a national president can be appointed.)
Membership: The Community of Sant'Egidio comprises a network of
small fraternal life communities, with about 50,000 members in
72 countries, in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South
America.
Works: The Community of Sant'Egidio has established various
forms of assistance to the poor. In addition to canteens, it
runs language courses for immigrants; centers that distribute
aid; afternoon schools for children; centers for the disabled;
centers for the elderly; outpatient units; and centers for the
mentally disturbed.
The community runs an art school for the disabled; homes for
children and teen-agers; hostels for the chronically sick and
the homeless; homes for non self-reliant elderly people; and
sheltered houses for partially self-reliant elderly people.
Sant'Egidio has also set up a hospital in Guinea-Bissau for
tuberculosis patients, and a national center to prevent and
treat AIDS in Mozambique. In the 1990s the community also
established Paese dell'Arcobaleno (Rainbow Land -- a movement
for children and youngsters); Scuole del Vangelo, for adults and
families; Viva gli Anziani, for the [elderly]; Gli Amici, for
the disabled and sick; and Genti di Pace, for immigrants.
A number of nongovernmental organizations are also linked to
Sant'Egidio, working in the field of development cooperation and
solidarity, for example in Kosovo, Albania, EI Salvador and
Guatemala.
Web site:
http://www.santegidio.org
Headquarters:
Comunità di Sant'Egidio
Piazza Sant'Egidio, 3/a
00153 Roma -- Italy
Tel. (39) 06.585.661 -- Fax 06.580.0197
E-mail: info@santegidio.org
© Copyright 2006 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana [adapted]
