Pilgrims: European journey to discover Scalabrini and his charism

Euro-Atlantic-Mediterranean Way to discover Scalabrini and his charisma

From August to December 2024 we will set out on a journey to discover St. John Baptist Scalabrini and his charism. Our journey will begin in Amora, a town on the Atlantic coast, an emblematic example of multicultural coexistence in Portugal.

With this trip, we want to keep alive the spark of WYD in Lisbon, “home of fraternity and city of dreams,” build and consolidate a European network of young people sensitive to Scalabrini’s charism, and commit ourselves to making every migrant person feel part of building the Common Good. Pilgrims will be an existential and experiential journey: at each stop we will meet courageous and resilient people and immerse ourselves in vibrant, multicultural communities. There will be times of exchange, Scripture listening, formation, sharing, trekking and sunrise and sunset meditations.

We want to encounter and find God through the experience of human mobility in Europe, to walk as ‘contemplatives in action,’ committing ourselves to call for social justice, peace and dialogue between peoples and nations. At the end of the experience, we will go home a little inspired, a little changed. And with a desire to get involved in the first person.

P. Jonas, Tania, Nadia, Helder, Fr. Franco, Fr. Michael and team

A common thread unites Portugal, Italy and Switzerland: in these countries we will find communities engaged as guardian angels in caring for and accompanying migrant people. These are key contexts for contemporary human mobility: the presence of a welcoming community, a border that repels those attempting to cross but, at the same time, once crossed, reveals the presence of a welcoming community, a safe harbor after a long and arduous crossing.

In facing this reality, we will pay attention to the territorial and cultural, historical, political, spiritual and social dimensions. In these places it will be possible to touch the presence of Scalabrini’s charism and understand its essence in everyday life.

As young Europeans, we dream of a world and a Church “de todos, todos, todos.” And, as Pope Francis reminded us when he met with us at the Vatican a few months ago, we are called to “spread a mentality of closeness and to be angels from below, close to those who migrate.”

It is the Pope himself who asks us to put fraternity before rejection, solidarity before indifference, and invites us to live and spread the “culture of encounter that reveals the beauty of diversity.”

In all three proposals you can express yourself in the language of your choice: Italian, Portuguese, English, and Spanish. Pilgrims is an initiative of the Vocational Youth Animation of the Scalabrinian Missionaries in Europe with the support of the Carmine Church of Milan and in collaboration with: ASCS, St. John the Baptist Scalabrini Parish of Amora, Lay Scalabrinians Amora, Italian- and Spanish-speaking Scalabrinian Missions of Basel, Scalabrinian Secular Missionaries of Basel and Solothurn, St. Gerlando Parish of Lampedusa, Lampedusa Historical Archives, Mediterranean Hope, Lampedusa Solidale Forum, Ibby Lampedusa Library and Three October Committee.

To participate, we ask you to contribute a donation that will help cover the costs of food, lodging, insurance and internal travel on the days of the initiative. Difficulty in covering costs should not be an obstacle to your participation. In that case, write to us. Each participant will need to make his or her own departure and return arrangements. One online meeting will be proposed before the initiative and one at the end.

The stages of the journey

Oi! Lisbon has remained in the hearts of millions of young people as a house of fraternity and a city of dreams. After the World Youth Day experience, the pilgrims returned home resplendent with the Light of the Gospel and with a desire to live it and witness to it. In Amora, a few kilometers from Lisbon, there is a vibrant multicultural Scalabrinian Mission.

Here we experienced the warmth of WYD, welcoming hundreds of young pilgrims, and we still carry in our hearts all the love of those days. One year later, we want to continue to keep this flame alive by rediscovering the figure of a great Saint, Scalabrini, and the relevance of his charism, which animates the life of our community, helping to generate a welcoming Church, a Church of “todos, todos, todos.”

What is it all about? A true experience of fraternity, participation in the International Migrant Pilgrimage to Fatima, creative workshops with music and moments of meditation at sunset over the Atlantic Ocean, trekking, spaces for reflection, prayer, conviviality and celebration.

To whom is it addressed? This pilgrimage is designed for young people from 16 to 29 years old who wish to know or deepen the charism of Scalabrini and keep the flame of WYD Lisbon 2023 alive.

When? August 12 to 15, 2024.

Where. Shrine of Fatima and Amora, Portugal (Scalabrini Seminary).

Cost? €50 until June 2. €60 after June 2

Deadline for registration: July 12

Partners: St. John the Baptist Scalabrini Parish of Amora, Lay Scalabrinians Amora, ASCS.

O’Shah! Lampedusa, rock and lighthouse, is a waypoint, a stop on a modern odyssey, an island in the heart of the Mediterranean, geologically African and 70 miles away from Tunisia. The islanders, about five thousand in number, are distinguished by their friendliness and solidarity. Landing there each year, however, are more than 100,000 people. Leaving Libyan, Tunisian and Egyptian shores behind, they embark in hopes of finding peace and happiness on the other side of the Mediterranean. Actually, their journey begins even earlier: to Syria, Afghanistan, Palestine, Guinea Bissau, Iran, and Eritrea.

More than a decade ago, from this strip of land, Pope Francis shouted loudly against the globalization of indifference, denouncing the “culture of affluence, which leads us to think of ourselves, makes us insensitive to the cries of others, makes us live in soap bubbles, an illusion of the futile, the temporary, which leads to indifference to others.”

In Lampedusa we want to meet and listen to the stories of those who have decided to engage against the globalization of indifference, alongside exiles and islanders: they are fishermen, volunteers and activists, Coast Guard, priests and NGOs at sea.

What is it all about? Meetings will be organized with experts on Mediterranean human mobility and local activists, we will explore, in an itinerant way, various aspects of life on the Island, participate in workshops on community ethnography through objects, and stop at memory-keeping places. There will be moments of meditation at sunset, trekking at dawn, spaces for prayer and personal reflection, animation and participation in meetings with the Three October Committee on the occasion of the Day of Remembrance and Welcoming on October 3.

To whom is it addressed? The recipients of the initiative are young people aged 21 to 31 who wish to learn more about Scalabrini and the reality of Lampedusa through an existential and experiential journey.

When? September 27 to October 4, 2024.

Where. Lampedusa Island, Italy.

Cost? The registration fee is €100.00.

Deadline for registration: September 02.

Partners: ASCS, Lampedusa Historical Archives, Lampedusa Solidade Forum, Ibby Lampedusa Library, St. Gerlando Parish of Lampedusa, Mediterranean Hope, Three October Committee.

Hallo! Basel, which spans both banks of the Rhine, is a metropolis in miniature. Its geographical location, the crossroads of three nations (Switzerland, France and Germany), makes it a cosmopolitan, multicultural, multilingual and culturally unique city in the Swiss Confederation. Basel has a long history of migration, which has greatly contributed to the pluralism that characterizes the city. Basel, since the Middle Ages, has been and still is, a ‘city of passage,’ thus of migrant people.

Starting in the 19th century, the city welcomed many Italian migrants. As early as 1903, the Italian Catholic Mission was operating with its own facilities. The reception of war refugees during the conflicts of World War II, in the Balkans and recently in Ukraine should not be forgotten. Even now, the city continues to be a magnet for migrant people from all over the world.

The arrival of the Scalabrinian Missionaries in this city dates back to 1946. Their pastoral service, almost exclusively to Italian-speaking migrants, has been extended to Spanish-speaking migrants in the past five years. Basel is also home to the Regional Directorate of the Scalabrinian Missionaries present in Europe and Africa.

The Scalabrinian Secular Missionaries have also been present in the city since 1993. They collaborate in refugee ministry, in the Italian-speaking parish, in the Swiss parish of Santa Clara and in service to the English-speaking community.

Over the past seven decades, the Scalabrinians, animated by the charism of the Holy Founder, have worked in several Swiss cities accompanying the hopes of many migrants. Traces of the charism of St. John Baptist Scalabrini, humbly contribute to making efficient Switzerland a confederation open, despite strict ordinances, to migrants.

What is it all about? Workshops on Scalabrini and the Charism, meeting with witnesses and activists, trekking, participating in celebrations at Spanish- and Italian-speaking communities, interacting with Federal Asylum Center (BAZ) guests through social café with ‘Ecumenical Pastoral Care Service for Asylum Seekers’ (OeSa).

To whom is it addressed? The targets of the initiative are young people aged 18 to 29 who wish to learn more about Scalabrini, the service of the Scalabrini Secular Missionaries and Missionaries, and the intercultural reality of Basel.

When? November 28 to December 1, 2024

Where. Basel, Switzerland.

Cost? € 50,00

Enrollment deadline: November 02

Partners: Italian- and Spanish-speaking Scalabrinian Fathers Missions in Basel; Scalabrinian Secular Missionaries Basel and Solothurn; Scalabrinian Fathers Missions in Bern, Geneva, Frankfurt, Luxemburg, Stuttgart, Munich, Paris, Milan, ASCS.

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