{"id":16053,"date":"2018-09-27T09:05:32","date_gmt":"2018-09-27T14:05:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.regnumchristi.org\/en\/?p=16053"},"modified":"2023-06-21T16:10:03","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T20:10:03","slug":"bicycle-pilgrimage-to-lourdes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/bicycle-pilgrimage-to-lourdes\/","title":{"rendered":"Bicycle Pilgrimage to Lourdes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fr. Clemens Gutberlet, LC, recently cycled from Rome to Lourdes with a group, as both a spiritual pilgrimage and fundraiser.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fr. Clemens works in the office of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in the Vatican and is the general procurator of the Legion (liaison between the Legion and the Vatican). He is also an avid cyclist. On July 22\u201329 he and a small group of other cyclists traveled almost 1,000 miles (1,600 km) by bicycle, from St. Peter\u2019s Square to the Grotto in Lourdes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He spoke with us after the trip.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fr. Clemens, can you please tell us <\/b>how this bicycle pilgrimage came about?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Fr. Clemens: Well, it came about because one of my friends, Giuseppe Fatato<\/a>, who was a professional cyclist, mentioned that he had a debt with Our Lady of Lourdes because he was cured in an unusual way. So, he promised to do Rome to Lourdes on a bike to thank Mary for the grace of being cured in a special way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The other reason was that the Athenaeum, Regina Apostolorum, was celebrating its 25th anniversary. We spoke about that, and they thought it would be a nice way, during this Jubilee, to do a little fundraising by going from Rome to Lourdes on a bicycle. So, those are the two reasons why we did this.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Third, I just like cycling.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How many days were you on the road<\/b>,<\/b> and <\/b>what was the ride like<\/b>?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We planned it for eight days to do over 1,550 km. First, we divided it into 8 equal parts, but they became a little different, as we had to find accommodation. The first day ended up being 230 km and the second day was only 180 km. In the end, it was 1,600 km.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Who else went with you besides Giuseppe Fatato?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The whole thing is also about formation. Cycling and formation don\u2019t necessarily seem so related. We went as a group of eight cyclists: six were young men between 15 and 18 years old. They are semi-professional cyclists who used it as a training ride. I noticed that it is so important for them to get not only training, but also formation: human and spiritual formation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For next year, I\u2019m planning to do something similar but with the explicit goal of offering integral formation to a group like this during the week. It shouldn\u2019t just be a cycling tour but also integral formation to them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How much did you raise and what is the money going towards?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Well, the money is for scholarships for the students in our Athenaeum, Regina Apostolorum. I\u2019m not sure of the final amount that came in: we proposed \u20ac30,000 as a goal but I don\u2019t think we got there \u2013 I think we reached about \u20ac10,000. People can continue to support this on CrowdRise<\/a> or on the Athenaeum\u2019s website<\/a> [Note: CrowdRise allows US and Canadian Dollars but the Athenaeum\u2019s site only takes Euros.]<\/p>\n