By Victoria Cardiel
Vatican City, Jan 30, 2025 / 07:00 am
Embarking on a pilgrimage to sacred places during the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope is a remarkable experience filled with modern conveniences. Pilgrims today have access to GPS, smartphone guides, and friendly volunteers at every turn, ensuring a safe and enriching journey. However, the pilgrimage experience was vastly different in the past, marked by peril and uncertainty.
“In the Middle Ages, pilgrims faced countless dangers such as looting, robbery, and violence. Many lost their lives in pursuit of their faith. Arriving at Jerusalem or Rome after dark meant encountering closed city gates and potential threats,” shared Daniele Borderi, the secretary of Templari Oggi APS, a lay association dedicated to serving pilgrims.
This organization, operating in 15 countries globally, including South America and the United States, has partnered with the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization to offer volunteer services at three major basilicas in Rome – St. Peter’s, St. Paul Outside the Walls, and St. John Lateran, where pilgrims can receive plenary indulgences.
“Throughout the jubilee year, our organization will send 30 to 40 members to Rome every weekend to serve the Catholic Church,” Borderi added, highlighting the commitment of Templar volunteers to support pilgrims during this special time of spiritual reflection.
The Modern-Day Knights: The Templars of Today
Each volunteer pays for their own trip to Rome, and in return, the Dicastery for Evangelization provides them with a place to sleep, as well as lunch and dinner,” explained Borderi.
Dressed in a white tunic adorned with the unmistakable cross pattée, these volunteers are reminiscent of the ancient Order of the Poor Knights of Christ, commonly known as the Templars, whose history dates back to the 12th century. “They were friars, knights, and soldiers, and for 200 years they served as the pope’s sword,” Borderi shared. They had certain privileges, such as being exempt from paying tithes, and were even the first bankers, having invented the bank check. To prevent fraud, they cleverly included deliberate errors in the documents they used for lending money, as revealed by the Templar secretary.
However, in 1307, Philip IV of France attempted to eradicate the Templars. “He seized their assets as a consequence of his inability to repay the debts he owed to them,” Borderi explained.
Today, the Poor Knights of Christ, now known as Templars, are men and women from various countries who have embraced the original mission of accompanying and protecting pilgrims visiting the holy sites.
From Fruit Seller to Templar
Achille Ticini, a 68-year-old Templar from Emilia Romagna, Italy, used to run a fruit stand at a local market before retiring. He volunteers at the beginning of Via della Conciliazione, a bustling street leading to St. Peter’s Basilica and the Holy Door. When asked by ACI, he expressed his hope that the rain would hold off, as a storm had just passed, and it had been raining all morning.
He had recently assisted a group of pilgrims from the Philippines who were looking for an affordable place to eat. “Besides Italian, I am proficient in English and Spanish,” he mentioned.
