A New Christian Life Community has been formed in Bologna
Anna Laura and Filippo have three children, aged one, four, and seven. Luca and Maria have two children, aged two and six. Stefano and Gloria have a newborn and a two-year-old. These are just some of the families who have formed a Christian Life community at the Poggeschi Centre in Bologna. For several years, the Jesuits have been proclaiming the Gospel there, mainly to young people. They involve them in many activities and offer them a new way to encounter the Lord through listening to, commenting on, and meditating on the Word, especially through the Spiritual Exercises in Ordinary Life (EVO) program.
The community came into existence as a result of a shared journey focused on vocational aspirations, also known as “walking with”.
“Poggeschi, as a place, connects an important part of our stories—individually, as couples, and as a community. The seeds of that message and those experiences have borne fruit in all our lives, such as the desire to share moments of listening to and reflecting on the Word together, to engage in service in various ways, and, among the most precious, a mutual regard that makes us feel like brothers and sisters in the Lord and nourishes the desire to share our journeys and to be a community.”
Ten families in two communities
Currently, the CLC Poggeschi community consists of two groups of families: the Dreams group of five families and the Beth group of five families. Each community meets once a month for a day of sharing, prayer, and reflection. Occasionally, the two groups come together for joint events.
A way for lay people to live Ignatian spirituality
“CLC” is the Italian acronym for ” Christian Life Communities” and represents a community way of life for lay people who wish to live out Ignatian spirituality. Unlike the Franciscans and Dominicans, the Society of Jesus does not have Third Orders. However, since the Society’s formation, there have been Marian Congregations, which today are known as CLCs, into which lay people who identify with Ignatian spirituality can enter.
Spiritual Exercises, Simplicity, Service
“CLC allows for a great deal of freedom in how individual communities are organized, but it is built on three key pillars:
- annual participation in the Spiritual Exercises
- a simple lifestyle
- a shared service, or one undertaken individually and then brought back to the community
One distinctive feature of CLC is the experience of a deep community atmosphere, even without living in the same physical space. Members share their faith and lives and commit themselves to service.”
Walking with the Word
“Being part of CLC has strengthened and confirmed our desire to walk together, guided by the Word.
It is a precious space where we can pray using Ignatian spirituality, to which we all feel deeply connected. It is also a place to share everyday moments with other families, in a spirit of support and fraternity.”
The Stages
The journey of a CLC is the journey of a community that meets regularly to pray, share life, seek paths of service to others, and discover a unique way to love and serve the Lord. Within the specific CLC journey, there are two key milestones: the temporary commitment (which we will be taking soon) and the permanent commitment. These are moments of deep awareness of the journey taken and of making a formal commitment before the Church within the CLC world.
Forming a CLC
involves sending a letter to the national executive committee, describing who the community is and the motivations behind the request. Once approved, the community is formally ratified by the general assembly — as was the case for our CLC Poggeschi, which was officially recognized during this year’s gathering in Sassone, Rome.
From a “spiritual” perspective, the first step is the formation of the group. In our case, it was born from a desire to continue journeying together as couples who had experienced the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life (EVO) at the Poggeschi University Centre, run by the Jesuit Fathers. The group gradually developed its own identity, welcomed new members, learned to walk independently, and eventually “transformed” into a community. Finally, the journey included a time of communal discernment regarding whether to join a broader ecclesial reality which, for us, meant entering into CLC. The presence of a guide or spiritual director is certainly a valuable support at the various stages of this journey.
CLC communities are present in almost every region of Italy. In Malta, there are 23 communities with about 250 members, of whom 100 are young people between 18 and 35 years of age.
