CORIGLIANO-ROSSANO – Religious, historical and naturalistic paths have been enjoying considerable success for some time. What fascinates hikers and believers is the size of slow life and spiritual that these itineraries propose and which many approach to live a new experience, to rediscover themselves and to take a break from the frenzy of everyday life in search of contact with nature.
Precisely with a view to this renewed pilgrim interest, and to conclude the stages of the route followed by the Saint during his life, the Paola volunteers of the Sanctuary of San Francesco di Paola have decided to inaugurate and trace a new itinerary, 71 km long, which it crosses the Paolan Apennines and the Pollino to then reach the Ionian and Tyrrhenian coasts. According to tradition, in fact, the Saint, after living in these places, abandoned the Calabrian land for France.
After hermit’s waythe street of the young man and the via dei monasteri then comes the “way of France” which will be inaugurated in Corigliano-Rossano from 16 to 19 May thanks to the synergistic work of the “Il Cammino di San Francesco di Paola” Association and the Regional Sanctuary of San Francesco di Paola. The itinerary is divided into three stages, and was structured thanks to funding from the Calabria Region.
Plan. The pilgrims’ blessing mass, which will begin the inaugural journey on Thursday, will be celebrated on May 16th at 6.30 pm in Corigliano-Rossano (in the Sanctuary) and officiated by the Provincial Father of the Order of Minims, Francesco Trebisonda. The next day, in the morning, there will be departure. On Saturday 18th at 5.30pm, the relic will be welcomed into the Cathedral of Cassano Jonio by the Bishop Monsignor Francesco Savino. According to what is reported in the program, a fragment of the sandal relic will be carried on foot by the group who will follow the route up to Monte Sant’Angelo (Castrovillari), passing through Newfoundland from Sibari, Spezzano Albanese And Cassano Jonio. The pilgrimage will end in Castrovillari on May 19th in the Church of San Francesco di Paola. At the end of the journey, an institutional moment is planned in which the mayors and the vice-president of the Regional Council will participate Pierluigi Caputo. During the scheduled stops, the Camino will be institutionalized through the “handover” by the members of the managing body to the citizens, who will become the ones truly responsible for welcoming the pilgrims.
