The celebration of the 40th anniversary of the San Lorenzo Center brought together about 100 people last Monday, March 13. Old and new volunteers, young people and the Shalom Community in Rome gathered for a celebratory evening that included moments of testimony, aperitif and Eucharistic celebration.
In his homily, Cardinal Tolentino reflected, starting from Psalm 62, on thirst, indicating it as a condition for the permanent search for God. The story of Naaman and the refusal of Jesus’ countrymen to accept his announcement were paradigmatic examples of the reflection on humility: “Sometimes God is so close to us that he becomes a foreigner. We don’t see Him anywhere, but He is there beside us.”
Such key words, thirst and humility, were also attributed to the CSL. Affirmed the Portuguese Cardinal, “Centro San Lorenzo is a humble address”. But, its humility does so much good, has done so much good in these decades. And, as St. John Paul II said, it is ‘a workshop of faith,’ a workshop of hope. A place of encounter. A place where one can “rejuvenate” before the nakedness of the luminous truth of the Lord’s Cross.
A place where one can “rejuvenate”
The welcoming function and family atmosphere were also highlighted in the testimonies of two former volunteers and one volunteer.
Martine Gilsoul, a Belgian who was responsible for the CSL from 2002-2004, stressed the double dimension of the CSL’s mission: to be a home for young pilgrims passing through Rome, especially students, and to be a privileged place of preparation for WYD. “CSL is the home of World Youth Day.” “I have learned here that the Lord can do great things out of my poverty.”
Father Konrad Bestle, rector of the Teutonic College and volunteer in 2008, told how in his youth, 17 years ago, he came across the St. Lawrence Center by chance, and how that became his home during his years of study. He also recalled how, during CSL’s silver jubilee, he had the opportunity to concelebrate Holy Mass with Pope Benedict XVI.
Mateja Dugandzic, on the other hand, told how the experience of being welcomed at the Saint Laurence Center impelled her to “give freely what she had received freely,” and so she became a volunteer, returning the hospitality she had received.
