COMBONI MISSIONARY JOINS THE 1000 KILOMETRES PILGRIMAGE FOR PEACE IN SOUTH SUDAN
04 April 2017 – Fr. Daniel Moschetti, a Comboni Missionary and former Provincial of the Comboni Missionaries of South Sudan Province, has set on a journey this Monday 3rd April 2017 to soon join a pilgrimage on foot to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
“I will walk for over 1000 kilometres from St. Jean Pied de Port, near Lourdes in France, where I will spend a couple of days before going from the Pyrenees to reach Santiago in Spain on foot,” said Fr. Moschetti in a communication, “then I will continue to Cape Finisterre on the Atlantic Ocean, on foot”, he added.
The ‘Camino de Santiago’ (the Way of St. James) is a large network of ancient pilgrim routes stretching across Europe and coming together at what is believed to be the tomb of St. James (Santiago in Spanish) in Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain.
This pilgrimage goes back at the beginning of the 9th Century (year 814) moment of the discovery of the tomb of the evangelical apostle James and is now a peregrination point mostly for the entire European continent.
Every year hundreds of thousands of people of various backgrounds walk the Camino de Santiago either on their own or in organized groups. Fr. Moschetti will take the routes of Santiago de Compostela in France.
“I wanted to live this time of pilgrimage for a delicate and important cause: Peace in South Sudan, where there is a hard and brutal civil war going on that is devastating the whole country, especially the population that is exhausted by this war. Hunger and the stupidity of political and military leaders of the various ethnic groups have already killed hundreds of innocent people. They seem more concerned about their own interests rather than to give a decent, human and civilized life to the country’s population,” added the pilgrim Father.
Fr. Moschetti is convinced that it will be a very beautiful and profound experience. He does not feel alone. He will be joined by many other pilgrims from around the world who come to make this journey of life and faith. He is also sure that the Lord will always accompany them.
During the long journey “I will have time to pray, be silent, observe and enjoy nature, landscapes, history, art and beautiful people I will meet and share pieces of our lives together”, said Fr. Moschetti.
“What I ask of you is to accompany me on this pilgrimage with your prayers and friendship. I assure you that I will pray for you and for all those people who need prayers, as the sick, persons at risk, difficult family situations, young struggling for their lives or disappointed and depressed, for whatever we feel in our hearts and we never give it a name and a way to transform it into creativity to build a better and more human world with an intense spirituality and embodied in the reality of today and the history of this world”, further added the missionary priest.
Fr. Moschetti ended his communication by quoting Late Don Tonino Bello, Bishop of Molfetta, who died of cancer in 1993 and is regarded by many as a true prophet of love and peace: “The longest pilgrimage is not the one to Santiago de Compostela, but from the door of our house to the one of our neighbour“.
Photo: D. Moschetti