Saint Francis guides us toward a different, more conscious way of life - protecting all sentient life forms, sharing with the underprivileged, caring for the most vulnerable, savoring beauty wherever we find it, and building communities in peace. Perhaps too much of a dream? Recent days have proved we desperately need it.

On the first day of Esperienza’s In the Steps of St. Francis springtime trek through Emilia Romagna, I began to question my training. My feet pounded. My breathing grew deeper. Then we stopped at an ancient monastery. As we admired its crumbling courtyard, the caretaker emerged from a low stone doorway bearing a tray of cookies and bottles of wine. I was revived.

On the final full day of the In the Steps of St. Francis tour, our group gathered in a private room around a large table at the Michelin-star restaurant Da Gorini. We were there to celebrate our shared achievement—hiking 75 miles over 5 days—with an eight-course meal. We met the charming chef. The food was astoundingly clever and delicious. But what stays with me most is the laughter, easy conversation, and the realization that we had become our own warmhearted community.

“I couldn’t have made this hike without you,” one of us said.

“In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow.” 

—Pico Iyer

Wise words from the famous essayist Pico Iyer.

I recently took the “In the Steps of St. Francis” tour with Esperienza, and I feel, to borrow Iyer’s word, extremely invigorated.

Our small group hiked from one spectacular hilltop town to the next, tracing ancient trails through the Apennines. It was a journey through Emilia-Romagna on foot—the way countless humans traveled before us. With each step, I felt more connected to the land, its people, and curiously, to myself. Moving slowly—with trekking poles in hand instead of phones—I noticed more, reflected more, felt more.