“Here begins a new life,” or: Incipit Vita Nova. That was the title of the 2025 edition of the New York Encounter, the annual gathering organized by the CL community in the United States in the heart of the Big Apple, which took place last weekend. Three days of meetings, exhibitions, and performances drew visitors from all corners of the States, with an increasing number of New Yorkers coming to appreciate the event. This year’s attendance was record-breaking, making the Metropolitan Pavilion on West 18th Street, in the Chelsea area, feel almost too cramped for the event.

The relentless, and at times irresistible, temptation to frame everything in political terms could lead one to interpret the reference to Dante Alighieri's work in light of current events, particularly Donald Trump’s inauguration less than a month ago. The start of his second term as President of the United States is undoubtedly seen by some as the radiant and triumphant entry into a new golden age in full 'Maga' (Make America Great Again) style, while others view it as the beginning of the end of America as we have known it. The Encounter, however, once again proved itself to be a place of cultural resistance that joyfully, yet stubbornly, seeks to propose a different point of view, to consider a different mindset. This mindset does not come from a vision of the world as we would like it to be, but rather from what has happened and can happen in everyone's life. And which, surprisingly, offers a new perspective.

The Encounter opened with an invitation: to keep the door of our hearts open to hope. That very hope which, as Pope Francis reminded all participants in his message, citing the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee Spes non confundit, “dwells in the heart of each person.”

Among the guests at the Encounter were leading figures from the American and international cultural scene, many of whom teach at the world's top universities – Harvard, Yale, some at MIT or CalTech. Yet, to understand what the Encounter is all about, we must start with the remark of a young woman born and raised in Northern Kentucky. Emily had set one condition for her husband before marrying her: they had to settle in her hometown and stay there. Because – she told us – for those born in Northern Kentucky, it is unthinkable to live anywhere else, let alone in Cincinnati, Ohio, just across the river of the same name. A “dogma” with a strong local flavor, as some things in Kentucky are simply non-negotiable. And yet... “I never would have imagined it, but after five years of being part of the CL community in Cincinnati, we decided to move there with our four children to be closer to friends who have changed our lives.” There is something revolutionary in this decision, which at first glance might seem to have nothing to do with the fate of the world. But it is a sign of something that has begun to erode the individualism woven into the DNA of American culture.

Emily's story carries the same epic flavor as the tale that opened this year's event: that of Philippe Villeneuve, the chief architect overseeing the restoration of Notre Dame in Paris. With flamboyant enthusiasm, Villeneuve recounted his relationship with the cathedral as a love story, an encounter with destiny that felt like a calling. A call, ultimately, much like that of Pope Francis, who invites us to the Jubilee as “pilgrims of hope.” This was echoed by Cardinal Sean O'Malley, Archbishop Emeritus of Boston. The nature of Christianity is an experience of mercy that allows us to begin again and proclaim: Incipit Vita Nova.

That the Encounter is a place of real counterculture does not mean that it does not address current issues. And in America today, the defining issue is polarization. Half the country believes the other half is not really American. Invited to discuss this crucial issue were James Davison Hunter, from the University of Virginia, and Paul Kahn, from Yale. Both agreed that the phenomenon of division is nothing more than the consequence of a deeper, cultural problem: the inability to see in the other a real possibility for dialogue and enrichment.

Another major theme was the impact of technology on the way we live. Robert Putnam, a professor at Harvard, and Sherry Turkle, a professor at MIT, engaged in a fascinating dialogue that will be worth listening to again on the Encounter’s YouTube channel.

One of the most unexpected panels featured three Tolkien scholars: Michael Drout, Corey Olsen, and Giuseppe Pezzini. Their discussion centered on the concept of hope in the works of the great English writer. What could have been simply an erudite conversation between specialists ended up becoming a personal testimony when Drout was asked how Tolkien helps him live today. Dropping his scholarly “mask,” he shared how he had to face the death of his son who died of a drug overdose. “The light that comes from the empty tomb, which Tolkien refers to on several occasions, was what allowed me to continue. It gave me new hope.”



Another place where hope seems unimaginable is the Holy Land. Speaking at the panel, whose title took up Calvino's well-known quote “In the midst of hell, not hell,” were Fr. Ramzi Sidawi of the Custody of the Holy Land, Wafa Farid Musleh from the Holy Land Living Stones Association, and Haifa-based oncologist Hosam Abu Sini. They shared their stories, each, in its own way, similar to that of Emily from Northern Kentucky, only set in the most volatile place in the world today.

For the occasion, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, also sent a message, read by Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. “The signs of destruction that surround us are met by the concrete signs of hope that spring within our spirit. The flames of tribulation are not yet extinguished. Our wounds and scars have not disappeared,” the Patriarch wrote. “Yet, these signs and scars direct us to a concrete way of living which is the same shown to us by Christ suffering on the Cross. Just as the depth of the wounds is the measure of His love for us, so too the signs of the wounds remain in the body of the Risen Christ as a witness that the flame of His love has outburned the fires of hell.”

It would be wonderful to put into words the concert by pianist Kuok-Wai Lio, dedicated to the relationship between Fr. Giussani and music. Or to capture, in a few paragraphs, the trajectory of the path dedicated to the writer Cormac McCarthy, which took place on Saturday night, accompanied by original compositions by Jonathan Fields. More pages would be needed to explain the present-day relevance of the exhibitions dedicated to the Vietnamese Boat People, the Mondragon Cooperative, the TV series Succession, and the life and intellectual story of Hannah Arendt. But perhaps it is better to leave room for curiosity rather than to be disappointed by a few token words. A new life is never born from empty words.