116 PART TWO: AN EMPIRICAL ACCOUNT and ecumenical ministry in this world.’”274 The recognition of the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches reflects the appreciation of the faithful. The community receives thousands of visitors annually, including large numbers of youths, who often camp on the grounds of the monastery. In addition, the community has hosted ecumenical conferences and meetings of dialogue commissions, such as the WCC Faith and Order Commission and the Coordination Group for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church.275 During the pontificates of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, the community helped prepare papal liturgical celebrations. Amongst others, Pecklers mentions the liturgies for the Great Jubilee Year in 2000 and the Liturgy of Penitence, used to ask for forgiveness for the church’s sins in the past.276 These examples indicate the status and influence of the ecumenical community both within and outside the Roman Catholic Church. Enzo Bianchi and his community: Some characteristics Enzo Bianchi studied economics in Turin. He and other students envisioned a life of common prayer and Bible reading, and gathered regularly in Enzo’s apartment in Turin to engage in such activities. The group even imagined founding a community but, in the end, Enzo was the only one to pursue this dream. He rented a house, which the group in a final common act used to restore the nearby abandoned church of San Secondo. Enzo moved into the house on 8 December 1965, the closing day of the Second Vatican Council. He lived in solitude, receiving visitors but without permanent companions. It would take three years until he saw his ideal of communitarian life materialize: in 1968 three others joined him permanently, among whom were a Protestant pastor and a woman. 277 This concise history of the origins of Bose shows some fundamental characteristics. First, the special significance of Brother Enzo for the community can hardly be underestimated. His desire, vision, and perseverance laid the foundations for the community. He used his time in solitude to 274 Mainardi, “Monasticism and Ecumenism,” 261. 275 Mainardi, 264. 276 Keith F. Pecklers, “Worship at the Ecumenical Monastery of Bose,” Studia Liturgica 38 (2008): 215, https://journals-sagepub-com.proxy.library.uu.nl/doi/pdf/10.1177/003932070803800207. 277 Pecklers, 206–8.
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