Armida Barelli and Franciscan spirituality: light in every action

Gabriella Ceraso – Vatican City

In the heart of Milan, in the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, the preparation for the beatification of the “venerable servant of God” Armida Barelli continued, as during this week, with a prayer vigil tonight, from 20.00 to 21.30, addressed to all , and in particular to young people, and presided over by the General Minister of the Order of Friars Minor, fra Massimo Fusarelli. The vigil closed the day marked by the Conference “Singular female“at 6 pm in the Aula Pio XI of the Catholic University of Milan.

In her words and through Armida’s texts, the most significant experiences in the life of this “woman were retraced, a well-rounded Milanese – as Fra Massimo defined her – deeply inserted in her time and able to anticipate the future like few others. “. A “formidable builder” of initiatives and “interiority”

The Big Sister for many girls, girls and women of the ‘900

“We would not understand her parable of life – said the general minister – without going on tiptoe into this heart of her interior building, very sensitive and profound, so much so as to be elusive”, the heart of a Christian and a Franciscan woman. A life of hers is hers, full of energy and activity, in constant prayer, in “falling in love with the Lord” such as to “offer herself” with so much fullness and “giving life to generations and generations”. This – underlined Brother Maximus – has its roots not only in holiness but also in other aspects which are: “humanity, friendship and perennial youth of the heart”.

Humanity and vigilance, Franciscan traits

“The prayer of this lay woman has allowed her humanity to shine through and mature at the same time. This is the most sober and lasting Franciscan trait that we find in her. And it is for this same character that – said Brother Massimo Fusarelli – we see well how the prayer of Armida was deeply secular “. Prayer, intimate and constant dialogue with God who becomes “transforming action of the world”. Add to this the “vigilance”. Fra Massimo Fusarelli explains: Armida was a “vigilant woman because she was not fixed on a predetermined form, neither operational nor spiritual, but was able to remain open to reality, flexible to her provocations and ‘calls’,: nothing more secular than this, if we think about it! “. Again Fra Massimo insists on “secular” spirituality, “which she does not separate from the world, but which she knows how to read, in the events of history, the ‘signs of the times’, listening to the voice of the Lord”.

Women’s youth: a boost for the Church

Finally, the reference to the dignity of the women of her time: Armida – underlined Brother Massimo Fusarelli – contributed to the growth of the female awareness of being “inhabited by the Mystery”, a free and responsible conscience, capable of self-determination, in the light of faith and reason. “A more solid interior dwelling allows the growth of freedom from the home, for those women who were relegated there until then: this will be the challenge of the ‘Italian Catholic Youth of Catholic Action’, to make them protagonists of their time and of mission that lay women would have had by virtue of their faith “. “We know – she added – that the spreading of female youth throughout the national territory allowed a wide mobilization of women in the Church starting from the grassroots. The association became a very effective tool for spreading the message of an active, dedicated female laity. to the formation of people and to the care of the spiritual dimension. The origin and the end of the action always resided in Christ and especially in the Sacred Heart, towards which Barelli nourished deep devotion throughout her life “.