From June 2 to 9, a training and refresher course for spiritual guides of pilgrims takes place in the Holy Land. The initiative is promoted by the conference of Italian-speaking commissioners, in collaboration with the Commissariats Liaison Office (Clio) and the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum (SBF). The course includes 22 friars and collaborators from various Italian commissariats, as well as representatives from Krakow and Slovenia. Activities are primarily held at the convent of San Salvatore in Jerusalem, with excursions to the regions of the Judean desert, along the Dead Sea, and into the Negev desert.
The conference took place primarily in the Curia premises, within the Convent of Saint Saviour in Jerusalem. The opening session was attended by the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Patton, who welcomed the Commissaries and officially opened the conference with his greeting and presence.
The theme chosen for this edition offers participants the opportunity to explore the role of the desert in the Old and New Testaments as a space of trial, revelation, and the birth of faith. The itinerary includes academic sessions, liturgical moments, and guided visits to places significant for biblical narratives and the history of ancient Middle Eastern civilizations.
The theme is rooted in a typically biblical paradox: being at home, yet as pilgrims. The Negev, in this sense, reveals itself as a true theological and anthropological laboratory. As some speakers, including fra Alessandro Coniglio, a professor at the SBF, emphasize, the desert is not property to be occupied but a space to inhabit with respect, where precariousness teaches solidarity and hospitality becomes an unwritten law of survival.
"The course aims precisely at this: to bring participants back to a concrete experience of Scripture, physically traversing the places of the Pentateuch, the prophets, and the Gospel. It is not just about classroom lessons but a true spiritual journey between Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, and ancient Nabatean cities like Avdat, Mamshit, and Shivta." These are some of the words of fra Matteo Brera, commissioner of the Holy Land for Tuscany.
The pilgrimage unfolds on two main levels: biblical study and archaeological exploration.
The Negev, the stage of the Exodus and the cradle of the experiences of Abraham, Isaac, and the patriarchs, is also a crossroads of civilizations such as the Edomites and Nabateans. These aspects, often overlooked in catechetical narratives, are fundamental for understanding the universal scope of the biblical message.
The experience includes excursions through the spectacular landscapes of Makhtesh Ramon, visits to the sites of Qumran and Tel Arad, and moments of prayer in the symbolic places narrated during the course.
In a context marked by tensions and conflicts, the Negev reveals itself not only as a geographical space but also an existential one: a threshold. As stated during the course, coming here is the deliberate will to be a sign of hope. The goal is to train guides capable of transforming every pilgrimage into an opportunity for encounter, listening, and fraternity.
The central message emerging from the course is radical: the land, like the Gospel, is not to be possessed but received and shared. This teaching is witnessed both by the speakers and by the places themselves, with their silent grandeur and living memory.
"The training experience of June 2025 represents a concrete step toward a new way of accompanying: not as guides who lead, but as brothers who walk together. In the desert, as in life, no one saves themselves alone." (fr. Matteo Brera)
The presence of pilgrims in the holy places is not only an act of personal faith but also a vital support for local Christians and for all the people living in this region. Religious tourism, in fact, is one of the main sources of livelihood for many families in Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jericho, Jerusalem, and surrounding areas. Its interruption has led to an economic and social crisis that risks pushing many families to emigrate, further reducing the Christian presence in the Holy Land.
For this very reason, the revival of pilgrimages is seen as a new beginning: an opportunity to reactivate a virtuous cycle of solidarity, encounter, and dialogue. Returning to the holy places means renewing the bond between the universal Church and the Mother Church of Jerusalem, making those who live in the Holy Land feel that they are not alone but part of a larger family.
As the patriarch of Jerusalem, card. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, emphasized: "It is time to support the Church of Jerusalem, to return to the Holy Land and bring back to life the other lung of this Church, which is pilgrimage and the presence of pilgrims. [...] In the Jubilee of Hope, returning to the sources of hope—the encounter with the risen Christ—means bringing hope back to many Christian families."
The hope is that this training journey, the presence of the commissioners, and the pilgrim guides can truly be a sign of rebirth: not only for the pilgrims who return to walk in the footsteps of faith but also for those living in the Holy Land, who await, through encounter and dialogue, new opportunities for life, work, and hope.
Francesco Guaraldi
