by Marilyn Stahl and Dirk Giseburt
In early May, several Mennonites from the United States paused in the 16th century Church of Sant’Egidio in Rome. In the 1970s, after many years as an adjunct to a Carmelite convent, the church became the gathering place of the new Community of Sant’Egidio, a loosely organized group of young people who had come together in prayer and in dedication to service to the poor. With simple, white walls, the church is in the form of a cross. The altar on the left side is piled with Bibles in all the languages of countries where the Community has active membership. The altar on the right is decorated with a multitude of crosses made by craftspersons in many countries. The altar in front bears a very old Russian icon of Christ that had been found at the church.
“We pray here, between Holy Scripture and the poor, facing Jesus,” explained Claudio Betti, a Sant’Egidio member. When Sant’Egidio was founded in 1968, this twin devotion to the Bible and the poor had set the Community apart in Rome. But today, with 40,000 members worldwide, the Community has the support of Church leaders and has become a widely respected advocate both for the poor and for peace.
The tour continued: In the former convent dining room, Sant’Egidio members once acted as mediators between the factions in a civil war in Mozambique that had taken several hundred thousand lives. The negotiations lasted over two years but finally resulted in a peace agreement, signed in the dining room in 1992. The Community has several times been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize as a result.
Sant’Egidio had invited American Mennonites to visit their community in Rome after making contact through the Mennonite-Catholic Bridgefolk conversations in the U.S. Continue reading “Common threads: Mennonites in dialogue with the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome”