Committing oneself to universal brotherhood. The city of Oviedo will host Mariapolis from 25 to 28 July, an initiative organised by the Focolare Movement.
That the coexistence of these days is oriented to carry out a fruitful experience of dialogue between its participants, is said by the motto itself. Mariapolis [1] : On the way to the meeting.
Javier Rubio is a member of the organizing team, and was director of the magazine for more than 20 years. New City which, since 2024, has converged with Ciutat Nova generating the magazine LAR. He tells us:
«The Mariapolis They were born in Italy "during the 1950s and have spread throughout the world. The first one took place in Spain in 1964, in Solsona. They usually have an annual sequence, sometimes national, even international, and other times local."
«Traditionally, it has been a matter of finding the most suitable place, sometimes based on logistical possibilities, since some Mariapolis They have managed to bring together more than a thousand people, and other times depending on the type of meeting: more like a get-together, vacation, etc.In recent years, there has also been an attempt to promote travel to different cities in order to get in touch with the local culture: Cazorla, Lugo, Azpeitia, Granada, Cuenca, Astorga and El Ferrol are very different cities.
Why was Oviedo chosen?
Never before has a Mariapolis in Asturias; but In Oviedo the doors have been opened to facilitate the organization of the aspects that this event entails. Its title, on the other hand, On the way to the meeting, is linked to that particular aspect that links the city of Oviedo with the first cultural itinerary in Europe, the Camino de Santiago. The annals of history, in fact, tell us that its origin is precisely in this city at the hands of King Alfonso II the Chaste, the first pilgrim who in the year 834 went to the Galician town, notified by Bishop Teodomiro of the discovery of the tomb of the apostle.
Therefore the Mariapolis 2024 and the 'kilometre 0' of the Jacobean Route will go hand in hand. An interregional team has worked hard and passionately to make this Mariapolis has become possible.
Participants
Some 330 people from all over Spain have registered., with some exceptions from other countries; with ages ranging from 0 to 88 years. As a curiosity, minors are just over 10%, while the majority sector, from 50 to 70 years, reaches 47%. The participants come from 16 autonomous communities and the largest group is from Andalusia.
Finding yourself means discovering your neighbor
"We are not the only ones who promote this type of meeting," says Javier Rubio, "although the formats are different. I believe that there is a real need for stop and find yourself. There is a need to navigate through that interiority to which we pay little attention. The Focolare offer their typical spirituality, which puts the emphasis on 'reaching God through one's brother'».
If there is any hope for this Mariapolis 2024, the thing is suppose the beginning of a new journey that leads participants to open up and get closer to others, overcoming personal positions; that generates an encounter in its deepest sense and feeds in everyone the urgency to commit themselves in the first person building universal brotherhood, the foundation of peace, promoting and living it.
