Peace building Rondine Community greet Pope in Arezzo

Pope Benedict XVI traveled to the Italian region of Tuscany Sunday May 13th, for a one day visit to Arezzo, La Verna and Sansepolcro, three towns with a long history of monasticism and contemplative life.

Travelling by helicopter first to Arezzo, the Pope celebrated Mass there before lunch with the bishops of the Tuscany region.

Among those who were to be on hand to greet the Pope in Arezzo are staff and students of the lay community “Rondine, Cittadella della Pace” which supports young people from war-torn countries through conflict resolution and peace building programs while they live together in community and further their education in Italy.

The community, located in the village of Rondine, Arezzo, was first established in the late 1970s by a number of Italians who belonged to a small church group in Arezzo intent on helping families in need.

In the late 80’s, the Rondine Community travelled to Russia where they presented a Musical based on the life of St. Francis of Assisi, making a series of contacts and friendships that were to endure through ensuing years of conflict in the region and beyond.

Rondine Educational Coordinator, Ursula Armstrong recalls what she describes as the turning point for the Community at the height of the war in Chechnya in the 1990s. The Community was asked to host Chechen students whose university had been destroyed. The community accepted on the condition that Russian students would also be allowed to participate.

Speaking to Tracey McClure, Ursula says “That was the spark that set off the whole development of the association,” and she explains, acknowledging that the first steps towards making friends out of enemies were “a bit rocky.”

She says “Talking about living together with your so-called enemy is easy using words. Yes, we’re all for peace,’ you know, it's fairly easy. But when it comes to having to share the same spaces, share the same fridge, share the same washing machine, it wasn’t always so easy in the beginning.”

Though it still isn’t easy some twenty years on, the Community chooses from a range of candidates from varying backgrounds to ensure that each group compliments the others. With funding from Italian and EU authorities, the Church and private donors, the association takes 12-15 students each year for a minimum stay of one and a half years. They come from war-torn countries in the Balkans, the Caucasus, Lebanon, Palestine and Israel, India and Pakistan and many others. The aim, Armstrong says, is to overturn stereotypes and misconceptions and build lasting friendships between young people who in different circumstances might remain enemies. A lesson in peace to take back home…
listen to the interview…