Maria Voce, former president of the Focolare Movement and the first successor of Chiara Lubich, passed away last Friday, June 20. The news was confirmed by the current president of the Movement, Margaret Karram, in a statement published on the official website.
Speaking to comshalom, Moysés Azevedo and Emmir Nogueira, founder and co-founder of the Catholic Community Shalom, expressed their gratitude for having shared life with Maria Voce.
“I have great affection, friendship, and admiration for Emmaus, because we had many opportunities to work together—whether when she was also a member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, or when we worked together on that shared journey of movements, or when she came here to Brazil and stayed with us at CEU – the Uirapuru Spiritual Condominium. There was a beautiful friendship, communion, and shared mission. So, we praise God for the great gift of Emmaus’ life and mission, which enriched not only the Focolare Movement but also the Church and ourselves,” said Moysés Azevedo.
“Maria Voce impressed with her sweetness; she was always very gentle, very sweet, very calm, always smiling—a woman of God, welcoming and attentive. It’s rare for people to remember my name, but she remembered it right away. She always called me by my name and always had that sweet smile and witness. Always present with Shalom, always a dear friend! I praise God for her life and ask the Lord to welcome her,” said Emmir Nogueira.
Maria Voce, better known as Emmaus
Maria Voce was elected president of the Focolare Movement in 2008 and reelected in 2014, becoming the first to officially succeed Chiara Lubich.
In a testimony, she recalled the origin of her name within the Movement:
“It was Chiara herself who gave me this name, in 1964. She had gone to speak to a group of young focolarinas about the presence of Jesus among us, which fulfills the verse from Matthew 18:20, ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them,’ if we commit ourselves to living the new commandment. In my youthful enthusiasm, I wrote to Chiara saying that I wanted to give my life to fulfill that verse. She then gave me the name Emmaus, because the two disciples had lived and experienced the presence of Jesus among them.”
The current president of the Movement, Margaret Karram, also commented on the significance of that name for Maria Voce:
“The name ‘Emmaus,’ given to her by Chiara, which recalls the experience of the Risen One walking with us, marked her entire life. In fact, she used to say: ‘How do you build a Work of God? With Jesus among us!’”
With information from the Focolare Movement in Brazil.