Pellegrinaggio a piedi Macerata-Loreto

A night of walking towards Loreto

The Pellegrinaggio a piedi Macerata-Loreto is one of the most imposing faith events in Italy. Just one night a year, at the beginning of summer, tens of thousands of people set off on foot from Macerata to reach the Basilica della Santa Casa di Loreto, in the Municipality of Loreto in the Province of Ancona. The walk, about 28 kilometres long, takes place entirely at night and concludes at dawn in the Loreto square, after hours of prayer, songs, readings, and testimonies.

Origins: Don Giancarlo Vecerrica and 1978

The pilgrimage was born in 1978 on the initiative of Don Giancarlo Vecerrica, then a young religion teacher from Macerata and later bishop emeritus of Fabriano-Matelica, as a gesture of thanks to the Madonna at the end of the school year. From that first group of students, the initiative grew to become an event of national significance, capable of attracting pilgrims from all over the Marche region and many other Italian regions every year. Over the years, the walk has seen the participation of prominent figures from the Church: John Paul II took part in 1993, and popes have continued to send messages to the pilgrims.

A river of torches through the Marche hills

What makes this pilgrimage unique is the atmosphere of the night. After departing from Macerata, the column of walkers winds through various urban centres in the Macerata hinterland. At a certain point along the route, coloured torches are distributed: thousands of lit lights form a striking luminous "snake" that crosses the countryside in the dead of night. Along the way, moments of prayer, Eucharistic adoration, reciting the Rosary, and the act of consecration to Mary on the final ascent to Loreto alternate.

The destination: the Holy House of Loreto

The arrival in the town of Loreto, one of the most important Marian shrines in Europe, is the culminating moment. The Basilica square welcomes the exhausted but radiant pilgrims at dawn for the final celebration. In recent years, the shrine has welcomed up to about 70,000 people on the night of the pilgrimage, numbers that make this walk one of the most popular religious events in the Marche region and the entire peninsula.

Who organises

The event is promoted by the association Comitato Pellegrinaggio a Loreto, based in Macerata, which organises the route, safety, pilgrim assistance, and spiritual animation of the walk each year. Participation is open to everyone, believers and non-believers alike, and it particularly involves young people every year.