Maria Voce (born 16 July 1937) is an Italian lawyer and former president of the

Focolare Movement The Focolare Movement is an international organization that promotes the ideals of unity and universal brotherhood. Founded in Trent, northern Italy, in 1943 by Chiara Lubich as a Catholic movement, it remains largely Roman Catholic but has st ...

. She was born in

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Italy. She was elected as the president by the General Assembly of the Movement after the death of its founder

Chiara Lubich Chiara Lubich (born Silvia Lubich; January 22, 1920, Trento – March 14, 2008, Rocca di Papa), was an Italian teacher and author who founded the Focolare Movement, which aims to bring unity among people and promote universal family. She was a c ...

, in March 2008.

Career

Maria Voce joined the Movement in 1959 and for 44 years she lived in the Focolare community. After graduating from law, she also completed studies of theology and canon law; in recent years she has been involved in the recent update of the General Acts of the Movement. It is among the leaders of "Communion and Law", a network of professionals and scholars engaged in justice, recently born in the Focolare. She is also a member of Abba School, Interdisciplinary Studies Center. She has also gained a direct experience in ecumenical and interreligious fields; having lived in Turkey for ten years. From 1978 to 1988, she had close ties with the

Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

(also with the present Patriarch

Bartholomew I Bartholomew I ( el, Βαρθολομαῖος Αʹ, , tr, I. Bartholomeos; born 29 February 1940) is the 270th archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch, since 2 November 1991. In accordance with his title, he is regarded as the '' ...

), with leaders of other Christian Churches, and with the Muslim world. she was elected as president by the General Assembly of the Movement after the death of the founder Chiara Lubich, on 14 March 2008. She was re-elected on 12 September 2014 for a six-year term. On 7 December 2009,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

appointed Voce as

Consultor A consultor is one who gives counsel, i.e., a counselor. In the Catholic Church, it is a specific title for various advisory positions: *in the Roman Curia, a consultor is a specially appointed expert who may be called upon for advice desired by ...

to the

Pontifical Council for the Laity The Pontifical Council for the Laity was a pontifical council of the Roman Catholic Curia from 1967 to 2016. It had the responsibility of assisting the Pope in his dealings with the laity in lay ecclesial movements or individually, and their co ...

. In 2014, Voce received an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

in laws from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

for her ecumenical work as well as work with the laity.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voce, Maria 1937 births Living people People from the Province of Cosenza 20th-century Italian lawyers Italian women lawyers 20th-century women lawyers