A wave of faith, hope and fraternity crossed the streets of Gimigliano last Sunday, when hundreds of faithful of the Farania di Catanzaro West participated in the jubilee day at the Basilica of the Madonna di Porto. An event that united spirituality, tradition and path, following the suggestive itinerary of the Marian journey of Corace.
The pilgrimage started from the mother church of Gimigliano, custodian of the precious picture of the Madonna, bringing the pilgrims along a path full of meaning towards the jubilee destination. A trace of shared faith, marked by prayer and reflection, in which the physical journey was intertwined with the inner one.
Once at the Basilica of Porto, the spiritual heart of the pilgrimage, the faithful participated in the Solemn Eucharistic celebration presided over by Archbishop Claudio Maniago. In the homily, the prelate offered a profound meditation on the authentic meaning of the Jubilee: not a ritual to fulfill, nor a spiritual tax to pay, but an opportunity for grace, a gift that God makes to his people to rediscover the beauty of faith.
“The Jubilee – said Maniago – is favorable time to revive our relationship with Jesus and awaken the response to his love. Jubilee indulgence is the love of love of God who meets our fragility and offers us mercy”.
Recalling the words of Pope Francis, the archbishop recalled that we are “pilgrims in hope”: a hope that is not naive optimism, but trust in the power of the resurrection of Christ, capable of illuminating our existence.
Maniago then underlined the symbolic and concrete value of the journey: “The Christian faith is movement, it is a pilgrimage. We cannot stay still. Walking together means to leave behind what holds us prisoners, free ourselves from the evil that hurts us and divides us”.
In the heart of his reflection, the bishop placed the Gospel of the adulterous woman, highlighting the merciful gaze of Jesus who does not condemn but invites to change: “Go, and not to sin anymore”. A demanding, but always confident love, who spurs us to get up and leave again.
The witimonium: sign of the path made
At the end of the solemn Eucharistic concelebration, Archbishop Maniago delivered the witness to the representatives of the parishes of the Farania Catanzaro Ovest and to the “Porto di Porto” group.
The witimonium is an official certificate that certifies the pilgrimage made along the Marian journey of the Corace, from the mother church of Gimigliano to the basilica-tattoire “Madonna di Porto”. Conceived by the metropolitan archdiocese of Catanzaro-Squillace for the Jubilee of hope 2025, it represents a tangible sign of the lived faith and an invitation to continue to be witnesses of the love of God and Mary His Mother in her communities.
The day ended with a strong invitation to conversion, hope, the renewal of the heart. An experience that has left in the participants the sign of a God who walks next to us, who never tires of believing in man, and who, just like in the evangelical parable, always tends to be his hand to start again.
The direction of the Basilica expressed alive complacency for the service carried out by the Calabria railways for the success of the pilgrimage.