"There are lots of reasons to thank the Lord for the gift which the Church received from this woman with intrepid faith, a mild messenger of hope and peace, the founder of a large spiritual family embracing the vast and multiple fields of evangelization". Those words were written by Benedict XVI in a message sent to the Secretary of State, Card. Tarcisio Bertone, to express his spiritual solidarity with all the people taking part in the funeral of Chiara Lubich today. "Above all, I would like to thank God said the Pope, – for the service which Chiara offered to the Church, a silent but incisive service, in harmony with the ministry of the Church: ‘The Popes she said have always understood us’. As a matter of fact, Chiara and the Opera of Mary have always tried to answer every wish and appeal from them with mild faithfulness". Benedict XVI recalled the "uninterrupted link" with his predecessors, from John XXIII to Paul VI, John Paulo I and John Paul II. "The thought of the Pope, for her, was the safe guide to be followed. Or rather, looking at the initiatives she launched, we might even say that she almost had the prophetic skill to guess that thought and to implement it in advance" (to be continued).” “
