“La Via di Francesco”: September 16 to October 24, 2019
By Brother Christopher Poggio San Lorenzo, Lazio, Italy I’m not sure exactly when the idea of making a pilgrimage began to arise within me, but I do know that its origin was primarily interior. In the year before my 65th birthday I felt an inner impulse to mark this approaching milestone in some sort of special way. Since I have been in monastic life for 43 years, what began to attract me was a walking pilgrimage in which I’d have the time to reflect on the course of my life and my hopes for the future. By no means was this idea precipitated by a crisis of faith. In fact, I would say it was just the opposite: It arose from a deep sense that the Spirit was inspiring this, leading me to take a mini-sabbatical of sorts that would give me the opportunity to listen and reflect in a very focused way. While I was aware of the famous pilgrim route of St James de Compostela, I have to be honest in saying that I was wary of its popularity. Large numbers of pilgrims make th