Among the phrases of the Gospel which was read, meditated upon and lived, there was one that struck Chiara in a particular way. It was: “He who hears you hears me” (Lk 10:16).

She and her first companions understood that what Jesus said to the apostles was guiding them to go to their bishop. “We wanted to put it into practice immediately so we presented ourselves to our Archbishop, Msgr Carlo De Ferrari. He was a successor of the Apostles.

He listened to us and smiled, saying: “Here is the hand of God”, and his approval and blessing accompanied us until his death.

This first approval of our Movement by the ecclesiastical authority which was in charge of us had a twofold effect on us: it assured us that the light we had followed and continued to follow was authentically Christian and it accelerated our journey.”