“The paths of spirituality”, memorandum signed in Rome and

Stefanie Stahlhofen – Vatican City

“A tool to further increase the value of the pilgrimage.” Thus describes Monsignor Rino Fisichella, Propyfect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, the Memorandum of Collaboration between the Lace Region and the Autonomous Community of Galicia Signed today, February 6, entitled “The paths of spirituality – French via and Camino de Santiago de Compostela.” An initiative launched within the framework of the Jubilee. The ceremony took place, this morning, in the Borromeo Palace, headquarters of the Italian Embassy before the Holy See in Rome with the presence of the Secretary General of Macei and Ambassador Riccardo Guariglia. The interventions were in charge of Alfonso Rueda, president of the Council of the Autonomous Community of Galicia, and Monsignor Fisichella, who, apart from the act, offered the Vatican media some brushstrokes of this memorandum that, he said, “is much more than much more than a simple act of collaboration. “

Monsignor Fisichella, what does this memorandum mean between the Camino de Santiago and the Francigena road signed in the 2025 jubilee?

It is, without a doubt, a sign of important collaboration between two regions, Galicia and Lacio, which possess what are the “treasures” of pilgrim’s destinations. The lace has the tomb of Pedro and Pablo in Rome and Galicia the tomb of Santiago. I believe, however, that this goes far beyond a simple act of collaboration, because it becomes a tool to further increase the value of the pilgrimage. Pilgrimage on the paths means giving voice to that dimension of spirituality that is a search that today’s man and woman feel deeply. Here, the journey that is inevitably a symbol of life helps us rediscover not only who we are, but also that we need God.

Why is it important to make the pilgrimage on foot, not arrive by plane or bus and walk, for example, five meters to pass through the holy door?

Because walking is demanding, walking is tiring. Walk allows you to meet people who walk with you. Walking helps establish interpersonal relationships, but, above all, it helps to contemplate the beauty of nature and, therefore, inevitably, when you start a walk, you know that it goes to an adventure that is rediscover, in a word, beauty: of the relationships, of the world, of nature, of creation and, above all, the beauty of living a unique experience.

What is the last path he has made and what is the pilgrimage he would like to do?

Just two Sundays, together with 600 people and the government commissioner, we toured a section of the Francigena to Mons Gaudii and from Mons Gaudii (Mount Della Gioia, in the Montemario area of ​​Rome). Then I drove these people who arrived at the Holy Gate and Peter’s tomb. A small trip, then, that, however, in a period like this, in which there are many commitments, allows us to maintain the great desire. Naturally, undertaking the Francigena Via or the Camino de Santiago requires a lot of time and, at the moment, I confess it, I have very little.