This morning (Thursday 25 August) the Camaldolese di San Benedetto officially started, which connects the Abbey of Montecorona to the Hermitage of Fonte Avellana in the Marche region. The pilgrimage that inaugurates the Way began in the upper part of the Abbey of Montecorona with the Bishop of Gubbio and Città di Castello and delegate for the Routes of the Episcopal Conference of Umbria, His Excellency Monsignor Luciano Paolucci Bedini who blessed and greeted the first twenty participants in the pilgrimage.
Subsequently, the mayor of Umbertide gave the pilgrims the pilgrimage credentials before setting out with them to live this important experience.
The parish priest of Montecorona Don Renzo Piccioni Pignani and the parish priest of Santa Maria della Pietà, Father Marco Freddi also took part in the ceremony.
“Today a new Way is born – said Monsignor Luciano Paolucci Bedini – The living and important testimonies of this territory of the Benedictine-Camaldolese history are connected. Pilgrims bring with them a millenary tradition in which pilgrims were protagonists of these roads and of the typical welcome of the Benedictine order and also lead to the modern desire to be able to revive these paths and to open these territories to new visits and new knowledge. Pilgrims will walk to reopen and offer to many others this path that has historical, cultural and profoundly spiritual value ”.
“This journey is a rediscovery from a cultural and spiritual point of view through the figure of San Romualdo connecting the Abbey of Montecorona with the Hermitage of Fonte Avellana – said the mayor – We are lucky enough to live in extraordinary places, full of spirituality and history. Deeper roots and meanings are rediscovered. Valuing San Romualdo and his work, the whole history of Benedictine monasticism, the goal is to unite all the Abbeys present in the area and to unite in the future the Monastery of Camaldoli and the Hermitage of Fonte Avallana in a new way. ‘Abbey of Montecorona. A heartfelt thanks goes to all those who have conceived and committed themselves to the realization of this Way ”.
The Camaldolese di San Benedetto Way was conceived and traveled several times by a group of volunteers who wanted to enhance the presence of the Camaldolese monks and Benedictines in general in the Umbrian-Marche area (Celso Bini, Franca Cecchini, Sergio Clementi, Valentino Palpacelli, Angelo Venturucci); their experience was then shared also by the Ethical Association chaired by Vincenzo Silvestrelli and by the Municipality of Umbertide.
The stages of the journey are as follows: from the Abbey of Montecorona to San Benedetto Vecchio; from San Benedetto Vecchio to Serra di Burano; from Serra di Burano to Chiaserna and finally from Chiaserna to Fonte Avellana.
Participation in the journey is free and totally autonomous. It is a free and spontaneous journey, ready to welcome all pilgrims who can organize themselves independently with transfers, packed lunches and reservations for overnight stays. The idea is to give life to a cultural, ecological, spiritual, hiking experience, without limiting anyone who wants to find themselves on the way, but – at the same time – without any kind of preventive organization; participation is on an individual basis: everyone takes part in the pilgrimage under their own full responsibility.
Along the way, pilgrims will be accompanied by the blue sky symbol and the Camaldolese coat of arms. The latter is a chalice in a blue field, from which two white doves drink, and above it there is a tailed star. The doves represent the life of the hermit monks and that of the cenobite monks (who live in community) who drink from the same chalice (the chalice represents the Eucharist and recalls Easter). The star symbolizes the Star of David, signifying the continuity between the Old and New Testaments.
For information on the stretch of the route, you can ask the following numbers: Celso Bini (328 677 53 20), Franca Cecchini (340 666 70 44), Sergio Clementi (331 297 92 38), Valentino Palpacelli (371 31 26 352), Vincenzo Silvestrelli (335 28 12 39), Stefano Tonelli (328 20 37 961), Angelo Venturucci (328 38 25 793).
a copy of the leaflet in electronic format is available on the Facebook page “Cammino Camaldolese di San Benedetto” and on the website www.comune.umbertide.pg.