Journeys of the Spirt Festival Announced by Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi

For Immediate Release
Contact: Rosamaria Mancini/ Press Office
+39 06/69896301/3351609526
r.mancini@jospfest.com

ORP Announces Josp Fest, Journeys of the Spirit Festival

25 June, 2008, Rome - Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi announces today the launch of Josp Fest, Journeys of the Spirit Festival, the first international festival dedicated to “journeys” of the spirit.
The four-day festival, to be held from 15 to 18 January at the New Rome Fair Grounds, is an event that “celebrates” pilgrims and calls on all people of the world who desire to “begin a journey” that stimulates and contributes to spiritual growth.
Josp Fest, which will bring together the public and industry operators, is different and like no other event because it’s focused not only on pilgrimages to sacred locations, but also on the interior experience that come along with these journeys.
“The theme of the interior journey is important because it distinguishes these itineraries of faith from existing offerings that do not give the possibility of an interior experience that allows us to find the truth in ourselves concerning God and our world,” said Father Cesare Atuire, director general of Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi.
Using new technology, Josp Fest will allow visitors to create a dialogue with diverse churches, faith-based communities and religions, as well as different nations and civilizations.
The festival will also offer extensive programs, performances and meetings in modern spaces that will entertain both young and old, as well as inform, stimulate, reflect and evangelize with joy.
“Sing and walk,” a phrase by St. Augustine, is the theme of the first edition of Josp Fest as it clearly describes the pilgrimage experience.
Josp Fest is the result of the continuing popularity of religion and spirituality as motivation for travel. This type of travel, or pilgrimage, that dates as far back to Egyptian Empire when out-of-towners streamed into the city to attend religious festivals, has over the years become associated with stereotypes such as niche market and trips for adults of a certain age.
Josp Fest, however, is the great opportunity to help eliminate those stereotypes and to retrain the tourism industry to focus on the dynamic aspects of the pilgrimage experience.
Rome, the city of Pope Benedict XVI, is the host city for Josp Fest because it’s the capital of Christian faith and the only city in the world that has had 2,000 continuous years of Christianity.
Rome, rich in religious sites and monuments, is the place to begin a spiritual journey, and its central geographical location also makes it the ideal departure point for pilgrims to take off from and visit the rest of the religious world.
Rome, a city that is highly regarded for its capacity to receive people, and the Church of Rome that St. Ignatius of Antioch said, “presides in charity,” are prepared to host this unique international event in 2009.
For more information visit our newly launched web site at www.jospfest.com
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