The Vatican has introduced a Pilgrim Kit for visitors to holy sites in Rome.
The Pilgrim Kit has been launched by the pilgrimage arm of the Vicariate of Rome, Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, in conjunction with publishing house Mondadori.
The initiative forms part of the Annus Fidei (Year of Faith) that began on 11 October 2012, the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Ecumenical Council Vatican II. The Year of Faith ends on 24 November 2013, a year that marks the 1700th anniversary of the promulgation of Constantine’s Edict of Milan in which freedom of worship was guaranteed after centuries of persecution.
To celebrate the Year of Faith, the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi is encouraging Catholics to go on pilgrimages. Pilgrims to Rome who make a request will be given a special, multi-lingual Pilgrim Kit that supports the catechetical itinerary in Rome.
The kit includes a map of the city of Rome with directions explaining the stages of seven itineraries, and to Pilgrim Hospitality Points and Pilgrim Welcome Centres located throughout the city. Pilgrims also receive cards that act as their Pilgrim Credentials, which they can authenticate with a stamp and/or an adhesive when they complete each one of the four stages. Other goodies include a coloured bracelet to identify the wearer as a Year of Faith pilgrim and which enables access Saint Peter’s Basilica through special entryways, a badgeholder, a little candle to leave in one of the churches visited, and a colored rucksack bearing the Year of Faith logo.
All the churches in the itineraries contain Reflection Guides available in Italian, English, Spanish and Portuguese to help pilgrims to meditate. Pilgrim Kit owners can buy Roma Cristiana Annus Fidei Open Bus Cards that allow access to Roma Cristiana Open Buses for a reduced price of €5.
Pilgrim Kits can be picked up at the following Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi collection points in Rome: Centro Accoglienza, 7 Via della Conciliazione; Palazzo dei Propilei, Piazza Pio XII, 9 Piazza San Pietro; Palazzo del Vicariato, 13A Via della Pigna; and Palazzo Lateranense, 6 Piazza di Porta San Giovanni.
The Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi is also offering a series of tour packages to mark the Year of Faith in the shape of pilgrimage and catechetical itineraries in Rome, Italy, the Holy Land and Marian shrines around the world.
