CHEONAN, Korea (UCAN) -- Focolare members from around South Korea have come together as "citizens" of the City of Mary to renew their commitment to share Jesus' love through lived Gospel values.

"We cherish each of our neighbors as part of humankind that Jesus loves. We consider people of other religions the same. We plant the seed of love in them and pray for them to love others too," said Giuseppe Marengo. The Italian Focolarino, as male Focolare members are called, came to Korea in 1986.

"We do not work at the frontline of the Church ... but we influence people by our lives," he told UCA News on July 22.

Marengo was one of about 2,500 people who have joined the Mariapolis (city of Mary) gatherings, annual summer retreats, at the National Youth Center of Korea. The lay-founded movement organized three consecutive gatherings July 16-27, each lasting four days and three nights, at the center in Cheonan, about 85 kilometers south of Seoul.

"From little kids to aged bishops, in the Mariapolis we are all brothers and sisters, equal 'citizens' of the city," John Bosco Song Doo-jin said.

"Here we renew ourselves with the Focolare spirituality and introduce the movement's various works. However, the main activity is sharing our lives and creating fellowship among members," the Focolarino explained.

Each Mariapolis gathering included daily Mass, sharing about Focolare activities, group discussion according to age, workshops on making rosaries, painting faces and dancing, and forums on the environment and media. On the third day, participants held a festival with performances.

Bishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik of Daejeon joined one of the gatherings.

"Here, I am just a citizen. I feel free from the burden of work and stay with other members, joining in the various activities. Some recognize me and others don't. It doesn't matter," he told UCA News on July 22.

The bishop said he was first exposed to Focolare spirituality in 1969 as a seminarian. "Since then, I have lived by that spirit. Without the movement, I could not be a bishop," he added.

A mother of two boys said she had been joining the annual Mariapolis since 2003 with her children. "The people here are hospitable and have good character and deep faith. I hope my kids imitate them and grow up as good Catholics loving others," she told UCA News.

Focolare is an Italian word for "hearth," or "family fireside." Chiara Lubich, who died this past March 14 at 88, founded the movement in Trent, Italy, during the Second World War (1939-1945). Its spirituality focuses on unity among all peoples and religions, drawing inspiration from Jesus' prayer in Saint John's Gospel "that they all may be one." Blessed Pope John XXIII approved the movement in 1962.

"The aim of the Focolare movement is to live like the early Christian communities," according to Bernadette Choi Eun-kyu, an organizer of the recent Mariapolis gatherings. "We re-evangelize ourselves and practice the word," she said, adding that the movement helps Catholics shed the Gospel's light on society. Loving others, she maintained, is the solution to the many current social ills.

Bishop You pointed out that "the Focolare movement's charism is not new or unique, but is in the Bible, and we all know it." As he sees it, "God awakened us to the importance of unity and fellowship based on love through Chiara Lubich."

Launched in South Korea in 1969, Focolare now has about 25,000 members in the country. About 70 of them have professed vows and live a community life.

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