Thouret: it is not only the name of the foundress, but it is an experience that has long welcomed, listened and changed. This is what I concretely experienced during the formation; I felt welcomed from the very beginning, starting with an accidental encounter at the Regina Caeli complex in Naples, but actually not causal, with Sister Maria Luisa, and then hearing about extraordinary people who give their lives for others especially the weakest, moving me deeply and leading me to put my whole self on the line; I felt that I was not just a part of the family, but also a part of the community; I was also listened to, in my insecurities and curiosities, and finally I felt guided, because it had been a while since I had felt this sense of guidance around me, both for my personal and family life as well as at work. It was very helpful to talk with the other volunteers who, although we did not know each other, yet we were able to share our experience in a very natural, spontaneous and deep way.  This fueled my inner drive more and more.

I was often captivated, and at the same time I also felt “small,” in listening to the episodes of their experienced, the material and humanitarian goals they achieved in realities so different from ours and their lives full of teachings given and received; they made me understand, in fact, that when we choose to help others, it is not we who teach them, but they are our teachers, they are capable of transmitting indelible signs in our consciousness that we never imagined we would receive! and this heartens me because only in this way we can try to improve ourselves, always questioning ourselves, without personal agendas and absolute presumptions. In conclusion, I can say that I have understood that it is true that we find strength within ourselves, but it is also true that we find it above all through the other and through the Invisible.. this is the only way I can explain it on that day when Rome was all blocked for the Tour of Italy, among various inconveniences faced for transportation of approximately 3 hours, I buy a cake, without knowing that it was Sister Maria Luisa’s birthday! Long live the Thouret Foundation and the Sisters of Charity, always! Roberto’s testimony