At the end of the first millennium, large numbers of pilgrims traveled through Europe with a prayerful attitude towards the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle in Rome and often continued on to the Holy Land. The pilgrimage took on such importance that real roads of faith developed around which villages and abbeys were built to welcome pilgrims.
The Via Francigena was and still is one of the most famous routes. The original route, from Canterbury to Rome, covered more than 1600 km.
Some of us, seminarians and formators wanted to cover the last 20 km of the route, either on foot or by bicycle. In the walking route, the starting point was La Storta, famous for being the place where St. Ignatius of Loyola, on his way to Rome, had a vision of the Trinity that would mark the entire history of the Society of Jesus.
During the tour, we passed through different environments: the road with noises of cars and public works, the nature reserves Dell'insugherata and Monte Mario, where we could glimpse the goal and approach it praying the Rosary, as well as through the heart of the Italian capital and its cultural diversity.
The life of a seminarian, or rather of any Christian, is like the Via Francigena: to travel through the world in different circumstances and shoulder to shoulder with our brothers, praying and imitating God with whom we speak, in the hope that at sunset, St. Peter will receive us smiling at the gates of Heaven for seeing that Christ walked with us.