‘In Cammino’ is the title of the weekly appointment on Rai 3 with Father Enzo Fortunato and Giulia Nannini who, every Monday, starting from 15 August, travels the main spiritual itineraries in Italy and Europe. “They are all religious destinations – says the Franciscan – Laudato si ‘has increased attention to the beauty of creation”
Eugenio Bonanata – Vatican City
What is interesting is what lies behind the spiritual paths that more and more people follow, on foot or by bicycle, to reach well-known religious destinations in Europe and in Italy. There is talk of record numbers, despite the good season is still underway. But what drives so many believers and non-believers to participate in these pilgrimages of ancient origins? We talk about it with Father Enzo Fortunatojournalist and writer, who has created a television program for Rai 3 entitled On the Way where, together with Giulia Nannini, she travels the most beautiful itineraries in the world: Mont-Saint Michel, Santiago de Compostela, the Via Francigena with stops in Assisi and Rome.
Looking for the essential in life
“They are four episodes lasting less than an hour each”, explains the Franciscan in an interview with Telepace. They will air every Monday at 3.00 pm starting next August 15th. “I think there is a strong desire to go in search of the essential in life,” he says about the motivations of walkers. This is confirmed not only by their backpacks, which are always light and with very few things inside, but also by their attention to consumption. “Everyone keeps what I call the eleventh commandment: do not waste.”
A perspective strictly connected to spiritual research which, according to Father Fortunato, represents the background of these experiences. “The goals are all religious,” he specifies. And it is precisely this dimension that frames the pilgrims’ demand for meaning. “There is the anthropologically and existentially rediscovering oneself as incomplete people and therefore on the way to perfection is an ideal that ennobles life”. Another constant element – regardless of whether one leaves for faith or for tourism – is the fact of having goals in life and therefore of ‘weighing oneself’, “that is, measuring one’s strength, one’s caliber and honing one’s character to achieve half”.
Rediscover the beauty of creation
Upstream of everything, however, there is the awareness of the environment stimulated by Laudato si ‘ which invites us to rediscover and respect the beauty of creation. “A sensitization – underlines the religious – which led to live this relationship through concrete gestures, to create amazement in front of us and within us in the light of creation and to discover that creation is linked to the imprint of the beauty of God”.
Pope Francis’ encyclical suggests applying the ecological approach also in relationships. And this is another aspect present in the many encounters that support the paths and that allow people to share the same ideality. And also the episodes of On the way they present many special meetings such as the one with Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica; Monsignor Paolo Giulietti, archbishop of Lucca; the artist Michelangelo Pistoletto; singer Patti Smith; the historian Franco Cardini; the Rai conductor Massimiliano Ossini; the president of Symbola Ermete Realacci.
The rediscovery of pilgrimages on foot in a new TV program – Vatican News