The Community of Sant’Egidio was founded in 1968 by Andrea Riccardi, a high schooler living in Rome. He gathered with a group of friends to take the Gospel seriously and to live it out in their daily life.
Sant’Egidio has always maintained that nobody is too young, too old, too sick, too poor, or in any other way incapable of living the Gospel. Moved by the Good Samaritan, Sant’Egidio understands the call to discipleship to be one of love and service to our neighbors on the margins of society, those who Jesus intentionally sought out.
Sant’Egidio is now a global movement of communities in over 70 countries around the world, each responding to the needs of the poor in their area and united by a common spirit and prayer. The Community pays attention to the periphery and peripheral people, gathering men and women of all ages and conditions, united in fraternity through the listening of the Gospel and the voluntary and free commitment for the poor and peace.
The life and spirituality of Sant’Egidio can be understood according to three fundamental points of reference.
Three Pillars
Prayer, based on listening to the Word of God, is the first act of the Community. It is at the heart of Sant’Egidio, accompanying and guiding its life. In Rome and across the world, it is also a meeting and welcome point for whoever would like to listen to the Word of God and address his or her invocation to the Lord.
The Poor are brothers and sisters, friends of Sant’Egidio. Friendship with whoever is in a moment of need – elderly, homeless, migrants, disabled people, prisoners, marginalized children – is the distinctive trait of the lives of those who are members of Sant’Egidio. Everything begins with an encounter, which is open to the possibility of an ongoing relationship between people.
Peace is a constant hope for the Community, to protect it wherever threatened and to help re-build it wherever needed. The work to foster peace is part of a bigger service of reconciliation and mediation. It is lived through fraternal ecumenical commitment and inter-religious dialogue in the “Spirit of Assisi.”