For the third consecutive year, a group of bicycle pilgrims from the province of Catamarca (Argentina) will pay tribute to Blessed Fray Mamerto Esquiú with a tour called “On the paths of the blessed.”
The pilgrimage will depart this Saturday, August 31 at 3:00 p.m. from the town of La Puerta, in the department of Ambato, and will head towards the San José parish, in Piedra Blanca, the place where the blessed Franciscan was born.
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This initiative is part of the activities for the three years of the beatification of Fray Mamerto Esquiú, celebrated on September 4, 2021 by Cardinal Luis Héctor Villalba.
The meeting point is the Museum of Religious Art, where from 9:00 a.m. (local time) there will be various commemorative activities. Half an hour before the departure of the pilgrims, the Eucharist will be celebrated, and then they will begin the 35 kilometers that separate both towns.
In dialogue with ACI Prensa, Favio Giménez, from the organizing group of the Bikers Maníakos activity, explained that the proposal came to them as a result of another bicycle pilgrimage that they carry out every year in honor of the Virgin of the Valley, titled “Under your mantle we pilgrimage.” , and which already has 16 editions.
“For that reason they called us to join the idea of doing in a bicycle version what was already being done with a walk called ‘In the footsteps of the blessed’,” he explained.
“On the paths of the blessed” attempts to “revalue the activity that blessed Mamerto Esquiú did when he traveled to La Puerta, where he had relatives, and carried the word of the Lord to preach in the small towns in the area,” said Giménez. .
The cyclist highlighted the “high meaning” that taking this tour has for Catamarcans “since the blessed, being from the province of Catamarca, deeply reaches our hearts, the emotions of those of us who are believers.”
For this reason, he was grateful for “having the opportunity to pay this tribute today,” stating that “it is a great satisfaction, a source of pride,” and an activity that “has both a meaning of faith and a sense of sport.”
Personally, Favio recognizes that the cyclist pilgrimage touches him “deeper” because he is a native of Rodeo, a resident of the town of La Puerta. “Knowing that the blessed preached in our land reaches me more emotionally, so being able to give something back to him in his honor, in his memory, is deeply pleasant and very emotional,” he said.
Likewise, he stressed the importance of seeing so many faithful “who are going to offer their gratitude, go with that faith to pray, to ask and express their feelings through faith.”
Finally, he invited the community to join this activity “of faith and sporting passion.”
Those who wish to participate are advised to wear a helmet, glasses, glasses or goggles, gloves, a bicycle in good condition (brakes, tires, transmission), water and food for the ride, and wear comfortable cycling or sports clothing.
In addition, they must be in physical condition to complete the indicated distance. Otherwise, they may join another section of the caravan, identified as secondary meeting points: Villa Las Pirquitas and El Desmonte on provincial route N°1.
The pilgrimage will have medical accompaniment and backup vehicles in case there are those who cannot continue the journey for any reason.
Juliet Villar
I am a journalist, with a degree in communication from the National University of La Matanza in Argentina. I have work experience in non-governmental organizations. Since 2016 I have been dedicated to Catholic journalism, first at the Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA) and, since 2022, as ACI Prensa correspondent for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia.