Today we had to cover our longest stretch yet—24 kilometers.
We began Wednesday with a Mass celebrated at the tomb of St. Veronica Giuliani. It was a new and deeply uplifting experience for us. Many of the faithful were fascinated by our vocation suitcase. Just opening it up sparked a lot of excitement. It provided a great opportunity to explain the context of our “cube” pilgrimage.
As we left Città di Castello, we visited a beautiful Italian cemetery, whose walls enveloped us in silence and the presence of the departed.
When choosing our route, we decided to make the most of the experience while covering as few kilometers as possible. And indeed—we managed to shorten the journey by a few kilometers and, along the way, had more than one wild adventure. We climbed rocks and made our way through a dense forest teeming with plants and insects.
But when we pushed aside the last branch, a completely different world came into view: a white table, chairs, a charming house, and the van belonging to our hosts, who had prepared a morning feast for us. The lady who lived there suggested that we rest and have a meal in her backyard. After a while, Piotr and the sisters joined us, and we savored the taste of coffee and Italian bread. A gentle breeze caressed our faces, and we asked one another: Is this heaven already, or just a mirage?
After singing the Little Hours and receiving a blessing, we bid farewell to this beautiful place. From that moment on, we walked on hard, hot asphalt. After a few minutes of walking, however, the asphalt seemed to grow softer and softer, as if we could lie down on it. Pietralunga was still far away, but we had plenty of time ahead of us for interesting conversations, praying the Rosary, and contemplating the green mountains. Walking with our hats dampened by the dew and nibbling on sweet grapes, we began to look at the road in a completely different light.
The final obstacle turned out to be the stairs leading all the way up to the church. There, we thanked God for having safely reached our destination. After lunch, the parish priest invited us to gather over limoncello—an aromatic Italian liqueur made from lemon zest.
We concluded this wonderful day with adoration of the Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and the Jasna Góra Appeal.
