Margaret Karram has been re-elected President of the Focolare Movement for a second five-year term (2026–2031). Fr Roberto Almada is the new Co-President.
Vatican News
Margaret Karram was re-elected President of the International Focolare Movement during the Movement’s General Assembly on 12 March, where she received more than two-thirds of the votes from the 261 participants entitled to vote, representing Focolare communities from all five continents.
“By the grace of God and with your help, I accept,” Karram said shortly after the election. Referring to Psalm 94 from the day’s liturgy, she added: “Listen today to the voice of the Lord, do not harden your hearts. To this new call I renew my ‘yes’, my full adherence to God together with all of you, at the service of the Church, the Movement and humanity.”
The Assembly also elected Argentine priest Roberto Almada as the new Co-President of the Movement, also with a two-thirds majority. He succeeds Jesús Morán, who completed his second and final mandate in accordance with the decree of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life issued on 11 June 2021.
“By the grace of God and under the protection of Our Lady, I accept this election,” Almada said, adding that he would dedicate “strength, intelligence and heart” to his new responsibility.
The elections were confirmed by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, the competent authority of the Holy See, according to the Statutes of the Focolare Movement.
A life dedicated to dialogue
Margaret Karram is the third president of the Focolare Movement after its founder Chiara Lubich. She first assumed the role in 2021, succeeding Maria Voce, who died on 20 June 2025.
A Christian Arab born in Haifa, Israel, Karram grew up in a multireligious environment and developed a strong commitment to dialogue among cultures and religions. She studied Judaism at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles and later held responsibilities within the Movement in the Holy Land, while working for 14 years at the Italian Consulate General in Jerusalem.
Internationally recognised for her contribution to interreligious dialogue, she has received the Mount Zion Prize (2013) and the Santa Rita Prize (2016). In 2014, she took part in the Prayer for Peace in the Vatican Gardens with Pope Francis and the presidents of Israel and Palestine.
Since becoming president in 2021, she has promoted the Movement’s commitment to ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. In 2023, she was appointed a member of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life and has travelled widely across Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific to meet Focolare communities and organisations engaged in dialogue.
The new Co-President
Roberto Almada is an Argentine Focolare priest, psychiatrist and psychotherapist, and holds a doctorate in philosophy. He helped promote the School of Logotherapy in Uruguay and Paraguay and has worked in spiritual and psychological accompaniment programs connected with the Sophia University Institute for Latin America and the Caribbean and the Logos Institute in Caserta, Italy.
His pastoral work has focused especially on family ministry through the New Families Movement, supporting couples and communities. He has also accompanied priests, religious communities and Catholic educators across several Latin American countries.
The General Assembly continues
The Focolare General Assembly, which runs from 1 to 21 March, will continue in the coming days with the election of the Movement’s General Councillors and discussions on possible amendments to its statutes.
On 21 March, participants and observers of the Assembly will be received in a private audience by Pope Leo XIV.
