On the occasion of the Franciscan festival, the new book-interview by Roberto Cetera of Osservatore Romano, and Brother Francesco Patton, custos of the Holy Land, was presented in Bologna. In this long dialogue, the custos traces back the joys and trials of eight long years, spent in the service of what St. Francis of Assisi called “the pearl of the missions of the order.” Br FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Custos of the Holy Land Eight years that have been a surprise for me. Because eight years ago I didn't think I would go to Jerusalem. Eight years that I lived with the spirit of pilgrimage in the sense that I left trusting and then I was also able to make a real pilgrimage. Which was related to the holy places, because being us friars custos of the holy places, we have this privilege of being able to celebrate in the places that are the places of the Gospel. The places that tell the mystery of the Incarnation, the life of Jesus, his passion, death and resurrection for us. But also a pilgrimage in a broader sense, because it was for me an opportunity to meet new cultures, new religions and also to meet so many experiences of suffering and drama that the whole Middle East, not only the Holy Land, brings. The book will be released in January by Terra Santa Editions, with a preface by Pope Francis and Brother Massimo Fusarelli, minister general of the Friars Minor. Read More