Festival of Hospitality 2025
Hope is a Root: The 5th edition of the Festival of Welcoming returns to Chieri.
The Festival of Hospitality
From September 16 to October 31, 2025, the Diocese of Turin will host the fifth edition of the Festival of Hospitality, sponsored by the Migrant Pastoral Care of the Archdiocese of Turin and the Migrant Generations Association.
The Festival has always been an open space for reflection, a place for dialogue and experiences, offering the public and the area an opportunity to understand in depth what welcoming means today, not as a gesture of charitable hospitality, but as a choice for community building, justice and fraternity.
It is precisely around these values that Pope Leo XIV’s Message for the 111th World Migrant and Refugee Day (which will be celebrated – also during the Festival on October 4 and 5, 2025) is articulated, on the theme “Migrants, Missionaries of Hope.”. The Festival of Welcoming, inspired by the papal message, places the regenerating power of hope at the center of the 2025 edition.
As Pope Leo XIV wrote, “millions of people are forced to leave their lands to seek dignity, peace, happiness” in a world marked by wars, injustice and climate change. Migrants are “privileged witnesses of hope lived in everyday life, through their reliance on God and endurance of adversity…they stand as messengers of hope…their courage is heroic witness to a faith that sees beyond.”
Through spiritual encounters and moments of prayer, geopolitical analyses and cultural reflections, social experiences and direct testimonies, The 2025 Edition explores the dimensions of human mobility. It does not hide the challenges or conceal the wounds it entails, but seeks above all to communicate the opportunities for renewal that arise from the encounter of cultures and the sharing of diversity.
The thread of reflection runs through some symbolic dates, celebrated on the days of the Festival: the Day of Remembrance and Welcoming (Oct. 3), the aforementioned World Migrant and Refugee Day (Oct. 4 and 5) and World Mission Day (Oct. 19). These will be opportunities to reaffirm that a more open, equitable and inclusive world is possible if built together in hope and co-responsibility.
Festival Appointments in Chieri
– Thursday, Sept. 18 – 8 p.m. – Women for Peace: silent torchlight procession to extinguish hatred and ignite hope.
Edited by Between Me and Muses
Meeting at 8 p.m. in Piazzetta Taurinense, departure of silent torchlight procession 8:40 p.m. Arrival at Spendor Cinema and screening of a docufilm on women against war and testimonies
Free participation
– Sunday, Sept. 21 – 7:30 p.m. – Cooking workshops from around the world and Welcome Dinner in Chieri
Edited by ASCS and Project We Welcome Without Borders – Parish of Santa Maria della Scala
A dinner full of colors, people and flavors from around the world. A free evening of sharing and exchange open to all that will begin at 7:30 pm: an initial time of sharing dishes from around the world and the after dinner dedicated to music.
There will also be an opportunity to participate in food preparation, to get involved with new ingredients and recipes. From morning, food preparation will take place in four kitchens in Chieri. One kitchen for a different part of the world: by signing up you can participate in food preparation to learn how to cook new dishes!
Those attending only the dinner are asked to contribute by bringing something typical of their origins for 4-5 people
Umberto I Square – Chieri. In case of bad weather, the dinner will be at the Carlo Center, via sant’Agostino 1 – Chieri
Free and mandatory registration here
– Friday, Oct. 3 – 6-7 p.m. – Day of Remembrance and Welcoming: a light against indifference
Edited by the regional coordination of Migrant and Missionary Pastoral Care Piedmont and Aosta Valley
On October 3, 2013, 368 people lost their lives off the coast of Lampedusa. Since 2016, it has been the Day of Remembrance and Welcoming. On this day, we propose a commemoration of the victims of migration in the squares of Piedmont. In different places, at the same time, we will gather around a light to remember the people who lost their lives chasing the hope of a better future.
Simultaneous with many other squares throughout Piedmont, the appointment in Chieri is at 6 p.m.: cathedral forecourt – Piazza Duomo, 1
– Saturday, Oct. 25 – 9 p.m. – Men or corporals: theatrical monologue by Francesco Stella
Edited by ASCS
An intense and engaging monologue that recounts the reality of caporalato and exploitation through the story of Jasnoor, a young laborer from Punjab, from his journey from India to his exploitation in Italian fields. Francesco Stella, performer as well as author, guided by Nicola Pistoia‘s raw and essential direction, gives voice to more than ten characters, alternating registers and perspectives in a tale that weaves hope and despair, denunciation and humanity, balancing on the thin line that separates those who command from those who obey. A powerful and topical show that shakes consciences and illuminates a reality that is too often invisible.
“Livatino” Auditorium – Via Montessori, 2 – Chieri (TO)
