Almost a week before its departure from Barcelona (Spain), the project led by the peace school ship Le Bel Espoir was presented to accredited journalists near the Holy See, in the presence of Cardinals Aveline (Marseille) and Omella (Barcelona), on Thursday, February 20, 2025, in Rome. The ship will embark 200 young people from the five Mediterranean shores for eight months, engaging in an ecumenical and interreligious journey. It serves as a concrete and living sign of Pope Francis’ teachings on the Mediterranean.
« We must listen to the five shores of the Mediterranean: North Africa, the Near East, the Black Sea and Aegean Seas, the Balkan Peninsula, and Southern Europe. » Presenting Le Bel Espoir’s remarkable adventure in Rome, Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline emphasized the importance of listening to both the wounds and resources that abound in the Mare Nostrum. The perspective must be holistic, no longer « Euro-Mediterranean, » as it has been for too long. This sea, « too wide to confuse and too narrow to separate, » both a geographical and prophetic space, has been traversed by Pope Francis from Lampedusa in 2013 to Ajaccio in 2024. The Bel Espoir odyssey aims to allow 200 young people to retrace the Mediterranean pilgrimage of the Pope, a vision first anticipated by the venerable Giorgio La Pira in the late 1950s.
Igniting the Counterfires of Friendship, Fraternity, and Justice
« The Jubilee gave us the idea of this dynamic of pilgrims of hope across the Mediterranean, rather than in one specific location, » said Cardinal Aveline, who is confident that Pope Francis is kept informed of every stage of the ship’s journey. The ship will embark on an eight-month voyage for eight groups of 25 young people, with eight thematic forums held in eight Mediterranean cities. The Pope is expected to receive postcards from each stop.
The Archbishop of Marseille, who welcomed the Holy Father during the 2023 Mediterranean Encounters, identified four main challenges in this maritime odyssey: listening to and collecting the experiences of the five shores, both painful and joyous, which will result in a white or blue paper, as navigation requires; generating and coordinating partnerships with universities, dioceses, and associations; practically living synodality in a mixed ecclesial space, neither a country nor a continent, similar to experiences in the Amazon or Congo Basin; and building a culture of dialogue and peace. « Many today fan the flames of war. We must actively work to ignite the counterfires of friendship, fraternity, and justice, » affirmed the Cardinal from Marseille, confident that the ship’s journey will make this possible.
Preparing Youth to Sign Peace Treaties
This maritime pilgrimage already offers the chance to reinvest two spiritually significant objects: the sea and the boat, as explained by Father Alexis Leproux, episcopal vicar for Mediterranean relations in the Archdiocese of Marseille. « They will be simple tools for us, helping us to decenter ourselves. » According to him, the approach is threefold: embracing the duty of identity through the construction of a shared narrative, having the courage for otherness through the art of dialogue, and asserting the sincerity of intentions to build the future—especially in the war-torn areas that scar the Mediterranean, including Armenia, Ukraine, Cyprus, and the Holy Land. « These young people must come on board with a will to listen, not getting involved in the dimension of states but with mutual understanding, » observed Father Leproux, hoping to prepare an entire generation « to sign peace treaties » in the years ahead.
The Horizon of a White or Blue Mediterranean Book
This long-term effort, spanning ten to fifteen years, may begin with these fifteen days spent together in the intimacy of navigation. At the end, the young participants will receive a certificate and be tasked with writing a chapter for the Blue Mediterranean Book, which will be presented to the Pope and mayors of key cities around the Mediterranean in October. The city of Barcelona is expected to be included as it is the starting port for the expedition on March 1st. A Mass will take place at the Sagrada Familia with Cardinals Aveline and Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona. Like Marseille, Barcelona’s port is cosmopolitan, shaped and influenced by numerous cultures. « Recognized, accepted, and valued diversity helps to grow national identity, » said Cardinal Omella, eager to welcome the project, as was Archbishop Giuseppe Satriano of Bari-Bitonto, who was also present on Thursday. In the city of Apulia, a gateway to the Near East, everything began with a somewhat forgotten ecumenical encounter among all Christian leaders of the Middle East on July 7, 2018. The youth of Le Bel Espoir will not miss this stop on their seventh and penultimate crossing.
Source: vaticannews
