Challenges and changed perspectives possible on the Via Francigena

Doctor Dan Thompson helps a pilgrim
with her knee abrasion.

Today we wrapped up our eye-opening and challenging two-week commitment to the pellegrini—pilgrims—on the Via Francigena, which is a pilgrimage that extends from Canterbury to Rome. Most pellegrini only walk a portion of the trail. Some come back year after year to walk different sections. The overall project of our group, which involved two weeks in May and four weeks in September, is also ending, although the Christian group that sponsored it, Cru (Agape Italia is the Italian counterpart), will continue the outreach in various other ways. Lucy and I became involved when we reestablished contact last year with an old friend from our university days, Don Mansfield. We became interested in this outreach when we learned that Cru is hoping to purchase a beautiful convent near our Montecarlo home to be a stopping point for pellegrini. I wrote a blog about this in 2024: The Villa di Vorno.

Not everyone we met was walking the Via
Francigena. Lucy and I had a great talk with
Andrew, an immigrant from Nigeria.
We prayed together that he would
find a steady job. 

Since fund-raising for the convent is still in progress, Cru decided to do a separate but related outreach to pilgrims during the 2025 Catholic Jubilee. Themed “Pilgrims of Hope,” the Jubilee is described as “an extraordinary year of spiritual renewal and grace, running from December 24, 2024, to January 6, 2026, (featuring) the opening of the Holy Doors at Rome’s papal basilicas, encouraging pilgrimage, acts of mercy, and hope in a world facing challenges like war and climate change.” The church and Italian tourist agencies predicted a huge influx of people making the trek to Rome. Those hiking at least 100 kilometers in the last section before Rome are eligible to receive a Testimonium, a certificate from the church verifying their successful completion of the pilgrimage and making them eligible for what the church calls a “plenary indulgence.”

Some of our conversations were
assisted by translation apps.
Our leader Don is on the right.

The concept of the 2025 Cru outreach was to meet pilgrims, hear their stories and provide assistance in whatever ways possible. There were 10 of us working together these last two weeks, and we found that most hikers were eager to meet fellow pilgrims from other countries. As we shared our basic stories and adventures along the trail, a common question was “Why are you hiking the Via Francigena?” Many said the best part was meeting people and sharing experiences. For those pilgrims who said they were hiking for “spiritual reasons,” we asked them to tell us what they had found, which naturally led to us doing the same, allowing us to share our faith in a natural way. Sometimes we prayed with those who were hurting, either spiritually or physically. We had a family doctor on our team who proved to be very useful for several hikers.

We met pilgrims in a variety of ways. We had a punto ristoro in a park in the woods, where we provided water, wine and snacks, and we would invite hikers to refresh themselves at our picnic table and chat. About half would stop. Other times, we would hike sections of the trail and converse with pilgrims as we walked. We also met many pilgrims in coffee shops in the cities.

Don serves up vino and snacks at our punto ristoro near Vetralla.

Lucy and I are both introverts, and while we enjoy reaching out and meeting strangers, for us it requires discipline and effort to do this day after day. Fortunately, the Cru leaders encouraged us to take time to recharge; we often were only on the trail or in parks and coffee shops for four or five hours per day.

By the end of the project, Don told me that adding together the two weeks in May and the four weeks in September that Cru teams had been working in Lazio, they had conversations with some 500 people from 31 nations, speaking in six different languages.

“God is working in European hearts,” Don said. “People who are open to God tend to gather in places like the Via Francigina and the Camino in Spain, and I think we’ve seen that. We set up a stress-free environment for conversations, and we set a tone where we let God do what He’s going to do.”

I walk with a pilgrim entering the centro
storico of ancient Capranica.

One thing that surprised Don was the relative dearth of pilgrims, as the Catholic Church and various tourism sources predicted that the trail would be awash in hikers this year, leading him to believe that we might experience up to 1,000 hikers passing by daily. The numbers, instead, ranged from around 10 to 100. We also had to be sensitive to their schedules, as many had accommodation check-in or finding meals on their minds, so our conversations at times had to be cut short.

An additional benefit of the project was the wealth of tips received that will aid in the management of the convent in Vorno. Having a good website where online reservations can be made was at the top of the list, but perhaps equally important was having a place to wash and dry clothes. Numerous pilgrims said that their first thought upon checking in was how to wash clothes quickly so they could possibly be dry by the morning. I’ll be typing up a more complete list of suggestions to pass along to the leaders of the convent.

A group of pellegrini. Quite likely, many of these
pilgrims simply met up while hiking and
decided to walk together for a day or two.

As I hiked portions of the trail, I came to understand the appeal of going on a pilgrimage. We saw new portions of the spectacular world God has created. We pushed our bodies up steep slopes, looking within to find strength to continue. We found time both alone and with friends to pray and meditate. We shared stories and new points of view with fellow pilgrims, and we met dozens of Italian residents who made us feel welcome in their little communities. Rick Steves has written much about the benefits of travel, and I’ll include a lengthy quote from him to end this blog entry, but I’ll add that by combining a pilgrimage with travel probably at least doubles the results that Rick speaks of:

“Globe-trotting destroys ethnocentricity. It helps you understand and appreciate different cultures. Thoughtful travel engages you with the world—more important than ever these days. Travel changes people. It broadens perspectives and teaches new ways to measure quality of life. Rather than fear the diversity on this planet, travelers celebrate it. Many travelers toss aside their hometown blinders. Their prized souvenirs are the strands of different cultures they decide to knit into their own character.”

The team for the final two weeks (minus Lucy), enjoying one of our days off and dining on the shores of Lago di Bolsena. It was an amazing group of loving and committed forever friends.

 

The Dolce Vita--sweet life--is far more than an itinerary

Today we have a rare and special blog entry from my sweet wife Lucy.

Paul and I have always said about our travels, “It’s the people we interact with that make the deepest impression.” The art and architecture, the mountains, the rivers, the festivals are all very important and impressive, but it’s our conversations—with both locals and fellow travelers—that reach our hearts and stick with us for a lifetime.

Paul and I are working with a Christian group called Cru, staying two weeks in Vetralla, about 60 miles north of Rome. It’s situated on the Via Francigena, the pilgrim trail that runs from Canterbury to Rome. People walk this trail for many reasons—spiritual, a love of hiking and nature, exercise, and to meet people. Our aim is to serve these pellegrini (pilgrims), whether that means providing them with snacks, water and wine, fixing their wounds (we have a doctor in the group), providing sympathetic listening ears, and when appropriate, sharing our own experiences with God.

Today I went with my friend Terrie to a local shop called Il Pastaio (the pasta maker) to help interpret while she learned from the pastaio and helped his crew make gnocchi from scratch. We had purchased some ravioli from Cesare Birelli last week, and when Terrie expressed an interest in learning the pasta making process, Cesare responded with “Certo!” and invited her to come back in a few days.

At the end, we received fresh
gnocchi and sauce for our 
group's dinner

We arrived a bit shy and uncertain, but Cesare greeted us warmly, along with co-workers Alexandra Bordeianu and Laura Bartoli. Alexandra originally hails from Transylvania and has been working with Cesare for a year, while Laura started just two weeks ago. They had clean jars waiting to be filled with spicy pumpkin and chestnut soup. They placed them in an industrial-sized steamer to seal, and then they filled more jars with soup made with fresh porcini mushrooms and potatoes. They said that later they would also be processing a mixture that included strawberry grapes—but first, we must make gnocchi!

Alberto is a healthy 97-year-old 
regular customer of Il Pastaio.

Cesare had cooked the potatoes and showed Terrie how to rice them, a fairly strenuous process, she said. Then they weighed out a kilo of potatoes, an etto (100 grams) of flour, two handfuls of salt and 150 grams of potato flakes. All this was placed in a mixer to create the pasta (literally paste). Then they took hunks of dough and hand-rolled them into cylinders which were then cut it into half inch lengths, dusted by Terrie with rice flour who set the pieces on trays. Alexandra would stop as needed to serve customers.

That’s an overview of what happened, but the real story is the friendly banter we shared. We sang songs from “Alexa,” joked (macho, macho, man…), laughed and shared details of our life stories and spiritual journeys. We felt completely comfortable and included as these gentle friends initiated us strangers into the bella vita of Italy. We found that each of these pasta makers has a personalized and somewhat humorous nickname. We heard about their families, and noted that Cesare had a framed photo of “Nonna” on the wall. In the end, we prayed together that God would continue to bless their lives, their families and their shop, and we promised each other that we would share more stories in heaven. Thank you, friends. We love you, too!