Il Cammino dei Cappuccini

The pilgrimage or journey to the roots of the Order of the Capuchin Friars stems from an awareness of the great heritage that our friars have given us, which is made available for those who wish to experience it, step by step.

The Cammino dei Cappuccini is a route of almost 400 km that is taken by foot (and beginning next year, also by bicycle) that runs through the locations that marked the beginnings of the Order of the Capuchin Friars Minor: including the hermitage of Acquarella in Albacina, the friary of Renacavata in Camerino and other historic Capuchin friaries and places where the presence of the first friars, particularly the saints of the Order, left deep and lasting impressions. The journey therefore offers the opportunity to retrace the history of the Capuchins and to appreciate their spirituality in a tangible way, also through an encounter with the religious of today. The historical novel Lo spirito dei cappuccini, written specifically for the pilgrim, can be a helpful aid for him to know and enjoy the adventurous birth of the Capuchin Order; in addition, to further enriching the experience of the journey; spiritual podcasts will soon be available as well to accompany the pilgrim step by step. The Cammino dei Cappuccini is a comprehensive experience and a pastoral opportunity to meet other pilgrims, who are often welcomed, hosted and assisted in our friaries.

The route winds through seventeen sites. It starts at the Colle dei Santi di Fossombrone, with a midway point at the friary of Renacavata in Camerino and ends at the tomb of San Serafino da Montegranaro in Ascoli Piceno. The path is made of continuous ups and downs with an average distance between stops of 21.5 km (the shortest is 17 km, the longest is 27 km) and the difference in the topography is sometimes quite considerable, so it is not advisable to undertake the journey without sufficient previous conditioning. The journey can be completed all at once or divided into two or more parts according to time available. At every stopover, it is possible to pause at various types of accommodations that are indicated along the path: friaries or other religious houses, bed & breakfasts, farmhouses or hotels, with which agreements have been made for offering favorable prices to pilgrims; likewise, many restaurants offer “pilgrim menus” at € 15 to accommodate the need for sustenance along the way.

As in any creditable undertaking of this sort, the participant is given a Pilgrim Passport in which he receives a stamp at each stage, and at the end of the journey will be given a Testimonium that certifies that the journey has been completed, thus documenting a beautiful memory of the experience. An actual printed guide for the pilgrimage will be made available starting next year; in the meantime, however, the path can be confidently completed with the help of the signs placed along the roadside and by downloading for free the GPX tracks and PDF descriptions of each stage from the website.

Finally, more information can be found on the site https://www.camminodeicappuccini.it/en/,  which has been translated into seven languages for the benefit of all the Capuchins around the world and to any other would be pilgrims who may want to accompany them.  The Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ilcamminodeicappuccini and the Instagram page https://www.instagram.com/ilcamminodeicappuccini/ are also active, where one can receive updates. The only thing left to do is to find a few days off, work a bit on physical conditioning, prepare a backpack and depart, remembering all the while what St. Francis had written in his rule: that the friars are not to lay hold of anything, but are to go as pilgrims and strangers into this world. We wish you a blessed journey, pilgrims!