The Piazza: Franciscan Encounter in a Disconnected Age
Julianne Wallace
July 31, 2026
In a time when loneliness and disconnection are at historic highs, how can resurrecting community help us awaken to what Thomas Merton called our “true selves”? In an age of division, how might principles from the Franciscan way help us to uncover our “original unity”? What does real, authentic, diverse community look like today? And what does Pope Leo’s new encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas” say about using digital tools to build a universal human family? What might a digital “piazza” offer in this technological age?
