Becoming a pilgrim: a searching of God through His sacred manifestation.
All the roads lead to Rome and from there to the main sacred places of the Christian tradition all over the world....
This is a mission that has been taken over from the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, the Vatican's institutional unit of the Vicariate of Rome. ORP was founded In1934, about 70 years after the first apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes and since them has been helping many Italians to experience a Journey of the Spirit.
Now, 75 years later, ORP looks at the future by serving the American pilgrims who represent more than 50% of the Catholics of the world.
A new Mission in America, Canada and Mexico
The main goal of the project "America" is helping people to afford, from the economical point of view, at least once in a lifetime possibility of experiencing a Journey of the Spirit by supplying them with adequate spiritual assistance and logistical organization. ORP also promotes several spiritual and cultural initiatives, such as Jospfestival (January 2010, www.jospfest.com) working in collaboration with dioceses, parishes, public entities and association in Italy and abroad.
Why a pilgrimage?
A pilgrimage is an experience that begins at the moment a decision to embark on a journey is made. It starts inside of us, possibly arising from a cause that is not given much importance. It emerges through thoughts and questions, always more frequent, and some of which we are unable to respond to in any way. Or it begins unconsciously, maybe from a family member or friend. A pilgrimage, from whichever point it emerges from, represents a provocation of our life, our habits, our embedded ways of being and doing. A pilgrimage opens up a question that maybe is destined not to be immediately answered, but surely it marks the beginning of a journey. The roads can be diverse; a journey on foot, the grotto of Lourdes or the footsteps of Jesus in the Holy Land, but the destination is always the same for us: Christ and his presence in the Church and in churches.
Main destination:
Christian Rome.
An embrace. This is how Rome welcomes all those who for centuries have travelled long roads to reach the cradle of Christianity. Rome, Peter's city, has this strong connotation, thanks to a vocation that developed over the centuries, and was also transmitted by its inhabitants. In the 2nd century, it was St. Ignatius of Antioch, who described the Church of Rome as the entity that presided over charity. The Basilica of St. Peter, the Sistine Chapel, the catacombs, and even the Coliseum, are the signs of Christianity in the eternal city that each Catholic is called upon to visit at least once in their life.
Marian itineraries.
The Mother of Christ continues today to encourage thousands of pilgrims, who each year goes to Marian sanctuaries in Europe and throughout world. Lourdes, Fatima, Częstochowa, Guadalupe are places where everyone finds "shelter" and where they can open their eyes wide and see Mary, our brothers and ourselves.
Biblical Itineraries.
These pilgrimages retrace the destinations of the Bible and Fathers of the Church. A vast geographic area made up of the Mediterranean and the Middle East, and includes countries with diverse traditions, religions and styles of life: Holy Land, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Greece, Malta, Tunisia, Libya and Cyprus. Over the last year youth-targeted pilgrimages to these destinations have been created in collaboration with the most important young, Catholic movements.
The IRC and the Walks.
A pilgrimage, a spiritual journey, finds infinite roads and diverse faces that bring together both old and new. Using the methodology of slow tourism, ORP has activated along the Cammino di Santiago, the Roads to Rome and the Road to Jerusalem, journeys on foot, by horse and by bike that follow the model of Santiago de Compostela. This type of slow tourism is in harmony with nature and with the people who reside in the locations explored. For this reason, programs and projects in collaboration with Cultural Routes Europe, a European entity, were created to promote and valorize the antique roads of pilgrimages. The division organizes itineraries in Italy and throughout the world with a focus on the religious and spiritual aspects of these destinations.
Encountering missionaries and learning about their charitable deeds all in an effort to spread a message of peace and solidarity among people.
More than just destinations to discover, but also opportunities to meet new people and to help eliminate the distances that separate the men and women of the world. The chance to share the beauty of Creation.
January 14-17 2010, Rome, Jospfestival: the First Festival open to all the Spiritual path in the World
Josp Fest, the International Festival of the Itineraries of the Spirit, is an event that places pilgrims at centre stage and calls upon all those who desire to begin a journey. First held in 2009, the Festival, which brings together the general public and industry operators, is different and like no other event because it's focused not only on pilgrimages to sacred locations, but also on the interior experience that comes along with these journeys.
Josp Fest, with its diverse exhibition areas, allows visitors to create a dialogue with the diverse realities of the world, to participate in an exchange of ideas, information and offers that promotes the "journeys of the Spirit" taking advantage of the dynamic aspects that an experience of this kind offers. The Festival also relies on the universal language of art and music, offering a variety of programs, performances and seminars.
Our newsletter
Please come and join us every two weeks with Travelujah in our Newsletter to find out about people, experiences, pilgrimages, itineraries and many other interesting information about what it could be your next Journey of the Spirit...
Contact in America
For general information regarding destination, quotation booking, etc. please contact
North America and Canada: Patrizia De Libero Brown p.delibero@orpnet.org; +1 978 249 6580
