Community of Sant'Egidio

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The Community of Sant'Egidio is a Christian community that is officially recognized by the Catholic Church as a "Church public lay association". It claims 50,000 members in more than 70 countries. Its main activities are:

Prayer, centered around a reading of the Bible
Spreading the Gospel to help people who are looking for a sense to their life.
Service to the poor, which is free and unpaid
Commitment to ecumenism (the Community of Sant'Egidio is also ecumenical, though being rooted in the Catholic Church)
Dialogue with members of other religions and non-believers.

The Community of Sant'Egidio was founded in Rome in 1968 by a group of Roman high school students led by Andrea Riccardi. It is named after the Roman Church of Sant'Egidio (Italian for Saint Giles) in Trastevere, its first permament meeting place. Since 1968, the community has gathered each night to pray and read from the Bible, reflecting on the Gospel, eventually spreading throughout the world with a mission of helping those in need. Their activities include setting up refuges for the old, hospices for AIDS patients, and printing a handbook titled "Where to Eat, Sleep, and Wash in Rome" as gifts to the homeless.

The charitable efforts of Sant'Egidio also led it to be a well-regarded mediator of peace negotiations. In the late 1980s, the Community came to the realization that their humanitarian efforts in Mozambique, then torn by the Mozambican Civil War, could not succeed without peace. In 1990, the Community was accepted by the ruling Front for Liberation of Mozambique and rebel Mozambican National Resistance as a mediator, playing a key role in the Rome General Peace Accords signed in 1992. They continue peace initiatives in Algeria, the Balkans, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and other areas, in the belief that war is the "mother of every poverty”.

The community of Sant'Egidio shows its commitment against the Death penalty by maintaining penpalships with many Death convicts, collecting signatures for a moratorium of executions and inviting cities around the world to take part in the Cities for Life Day.

Awards

The Community of Sant'Egidio has received [numerous honors and recognitions]. These include:

1997: World Methodist Peace Award from the World Methodist Council
1999: Niwano Peace Prize from the Niwano Peace Foundation
1999: Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize from UNESCO
2000: Formal recognition from the New York City Council for commitment to human rights, in particular efforts to stop the death penalty
2002: Nominated by the Parliament of Italy for the Nobel Peace Prize
2003: Lifetime Achievement in Peacebuilding from Common Ground
2004: Balzan Prize for humanity, peace and brotherhood among peoples.

References

[The Community of Sant'Egidio Homepage]
Sandro Magister, [Twenty-Five Years in the Community of Sant´Egidio: A Memoir], 15 May 2003 - a critical account by an ex-member
* [The Story of Sant´Egidio. The Great Bluff], 9 April 1998
[DREAM (Drug Resource Enhancement against AIDS and malnutrition) programm - The Community of Sant'Egidio]
[NO to the Death Penalty - The Community of Sant'Egidio]
[Balzan award 2004 - International Balzan Foundation]

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