Born: 16 July 1937, Italy
Died: 20 June 2025
Country most active: Vatican City, International
Also known as: NA
Italian lawyer Maria Voce was elected president of the Focolare Movement, an international religious organization, in 2008 after the death of Movement founder Chiara Lubich. She had joined the movement in 1963, served as Lubich’s personal secretary in the 1970s and held various leadership roles in the organization. She was re-elected to a second six-year term in 2014.
Previously, Voce had studied law in Rome, and went on to study theology and canon law. She was the first woman lawyer to practice in Cosenza, in southern Italy. In 2009, the pope appointed her as Consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Laity.