” “An opportunity to "strengthen those bonds of friendship and fraternity that men have so much trouble keeping". This is how the organisers present the 2007 "Pilgrimage of the three peoples" (Friuli, Carinthia and Slovenia), planned for tomorrow. Every year, one of the participating dioceses (Udine, Ljubljana, and Gurk-Klagenfurt; but often some neighbouring dioceses participate as well, especially the archdiocese of Gorizia and the diocese of Capodistria) hosts the pilgrims: this year, it will be the turn of the Austrian diocese of Klagenfurt. The subject of the pilgrimage: "Meeting Jesus". "Twenty-five years ago explain the organisers of the pilgrimage in the latest issue of the Catholic weekly of Friuli "La Vita Cattolica" (Udine) , it was the fruit of a successful intuition of the then archbishop of Udine (now emeritus), mgr. Alfredo Battisti, as a token of reconciliation between the peoples divided by the Iron Curtain. But the collapse of real socialism and the final fall of the border between Slovenia and the European Union, on December 1st have by no means reduced the spiritual inspiration and the meaning of the initiative for the life of the people of Friuli, Carinthia and Slovenia". (continued)” “
