I have written the novel, The Spirit of the Capuchins for you, dear pilgrim, and I wrote it in dialogue with you. I dedicate it to you, who have courageously chosen to set out on the road. I wanted to tell you about the events of the first Capuchins, which took place in the Marches mostly in the decade between 1525 and 1535, from which the great tree of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin grew.

It is an adventurous story to be discovered, which you can get into step by step, getting to know the main characters, their thoughts and desires, the spirit that fired them and the world they brought with them, the troubled vicissitudes they had to face, the resistance and opposition they encountered, the strategies and human cleverness they used to bring about the reform, and the hidden web of Providence that works behind every earthly event, however much we may see it.

History is not to be known beforehand, for that would spoil the pleasure. Instead, it is to be savoured along the way, stage by stage, to enter into it with all your feet. In each place where you arrive, by reading you will discover something of the story that happened there while waiting to understand what will happen on the next stage. In this way, I would like to be a companion in your steps and give you a taste of the adventure you are about to experience, and for this reason, I wish you: Happy Pilgrim’s Journey.

You can buy the novel in any online bookshop.

Friar Sergio Lorenzini