Pilgrims of Hope
For several months, Diana Bagnoli documented the Jubilee 2025 through the pilgrims, those physical and spiritual travellers whose journey transcends the simple physical movement from one place to another. In fact, they are the Pilgrims of Hope, which is precisely the term used for this Jubilee, to underscore the importance of the journey in its broadest sense. In taking these photographs, she has always tried to convey their experience, not only of travel, but above all of faith, because what unites them all is a profound sense of mysticism that is the very driving force behind their journey. She initially looked for them out in the Vatican and the Papal Basilicas, but then she moved on to churches on the outskirts of town to seek greater contact and closeness with the faithful. Then she has been in hostels, where she discovered the true meaning of Christian hospitality, such as the Confraternity of Santiago de Compostela in the Hospital of Providence, where they welcomed all pilgrims every day as Jesus welcomed his disciples, that is, by washing and kissing their feet, to honor their journey and tell them they had arrived home. But she also ventured outside the city, along the Via Francigena and into northern Italy, tracking down those who were about to set out on their journey or who had just returned. The events, Pope Francis’s illness and his death, have upended everyone’s plans, especially those of the pilgrims. The thousands of young people who had gathered in Rome for the Youth Jubilee found themselves attending the most attended funeral of our time, that of the Pope.
This work was commissioned by the Contrasto and is on display until the end of September at VIVE, Museo Vittoriano and Palazzo Venezia in Rome.
