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Newsletter Editorial 19-2026
Four stories of hope, sometimes preceded by pain
The four stories in our January 2026 newsletter are united by the word hope. Two of them, however, are preceded by the word pain. The first begins with the greatest injustice of all: that of war; the second with mistakes committed against the law. Both, in any case, are stories transformed into beauty. The first through art, the second through work.
The first story of pain and hope in our January newsletter unfolds through a great journey from Syria to Germany. Even earlier, it tells of the contrast between two ultimate opposites: art and war. It is the story of pianist Aeham Ahmad, who courageously played among the ruins of bombed Syria, carrying his piano through the bombs. The images of his gesture traveled around the world but also forced him to flee to Europe on a journey that was indeed harsh and dangerous. Aeham Ahmad’s story is powerful and moving, and we narrated it starting from his beautiful autobiographical book: The Pianist of Yarmouk.
The second story is that of Pastificio Futuro, which, next to the Casal del Marmo juvenile detention center in Rome, offers work to the youth whose pasts have been marked by crime and illegality. This place, besides producing very good pasta, creates opportunities for lives still in their early stages but already weakened in confidence and prospects. Pastificio Futuro becomes a path to a new life, to a form of earthly salvation that passes through work. We spoke about it through a reel and an article.
Stories of bright prospects for the present and the future and therefore of hope abound in the story of the Economy of Communion, which – founded in 1991 – will celebrate its first 35 years in 2026. We narrated the story of its origins, its essence, its values and the strength of this alternative way of living the global economy, and we also spoke about an extraordinary event that will take place at the end of May in Argentina to celebrate this important anniversary of the Economy of Communion.
The fourth article in our January newsletter also focuses on economics — in particular on the concept of a “human economy.” It does so by gathering the testimonies of two young Hungarians, Péter and Gábor, who participated last November in a conference of the Economy of Francesco. Their reflections are joined with the story of a human-centered economic initiative from Colombia: an agricultural-based economy born 30 years ago that has always respected people, social justice, and humanity itself.