The Path of St Francis of Paola: the Way of the Young Man

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Discover the ‘’Way of the Young Man‘’, one of three routes dedicated to St Francis of Paol

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Cerzeto - Regione Calabria

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The Path of St. Francis of Paola is a slow-mobility route that can be divided into three different routes (‘’Way of the Young Man‘’, ‘’Way of the Hermit‘’ and ‘’Way of the Monasteries‘’) over several stages, following the steps of the Calabrian patron saint, originally from the city of Paola in the province of Cosenza.

The central position of the Shrine of St. Francis in Paola along the Path makes it possible to walk the itinerary even halfway, starting from one of the two extremes (San Marco Argentano or Paterno Calabro).

Francis of Paola was born through the intercession of St Francis of Assisi and therefore bears his name. At birth, the child had a serious eye malformation and so the parents turned to the Seraphic and vowed that if their son was cured, they would make him wear the Franciscan habit for a year. Francis willingly agreed to spend a year as an oblate in San Marco Argentano, in the Crati Valley, at the Convent of the Reform. At the end of the votive year, the friars would have liked to admit the young man to the novitiate, but Francis decided to return home, to Paola.

It is precisely along this path that the itinerary of the ‘’Way of the Young Man‘’ develops, a route 49 km long and divided into 3 main stages (with intermediate stops in Cervicati and Mongrassano).

Church of the Riforma

Regione Calabria

The ‘’Way of the Young‘’ begins at the Church of the Riforma in San Marco Argentano.

The Conventual Complex of the Friars Minor is one of the oldest Franciscan architectures in Calabria. Founded by Pietro Cathin, disciple and companion of St Francis of Assisi, around 1284, in 1429 it housed the 12-year-old Francis of Paola, who took the habit of the Friars Minor Conventual here.

The grotto in which he prayed is preserved in his memory, on which the votive chapel ‘’La Benedetta‘’ was built in 1762.

From the Riforma, the itinerary continues for the first 3 km on tarmac roads, and then crosses a short distance on Provincial Road 94.

Cerzeto

Cerzeto - Regione Calabria

The second stop on the "Way of the Young Man" is the village of Cerzeto.

Climbing up, one arrives at the western slopes of Serra dei Muli, characterised by tall fir trees, and soon arrives at the municipal refuge of Cerzeto called ‘’Passo della Guardia‘’, where there is an equipped picnic area. Continuing on, we reach the enchanting Faggio di San Francesco, next to which there is a small chapel housing the statue of the saint: here the faithful gather in prayer, as did St Francis of Paola, when he stopped there on his way to San Marco Argentano.

From here, the route continues along the path to Laghicello, passing between the eastern slopes of Serra Pantanolata and the vast Cinquemiglia wood, a beech forest of rare beauty, one of the largest in Calabria, with monumental, soaring trees.

Here you can stop for the night in a special refuge.

Shrine of San Francesco of Paola

Santuario di San Francesco di Paola, Paola - Regione Calabria

Finally, the final stop on the ‘’Way of the Young Man‘’ is the beautiful Shrine of San Francesco in Paola.

The Shrine of San Francesco di Paola overlooks a large panoramic square: the main entrance is on the right and leads to the modern basilica, inaugurated on the occasion of the Jubilee of 2000, and to the ‘’Cucchiarella Spring‘’, a miraculous spring from which pilgrims draw. Continuing on, you reach the Devil's Bridge and the small hermitage where the saint spent his youthful years. The ancient basilica, in Romanesque style, dates back to the 16th century and consists of a single nave with the chapel that houses the relics of St Francis of Paola (clothing and bone fragments).

Here, at the end of the Pilgrim's Way, one receives the Testimonium, i.e., the document certifying the pilgrimage to the Shrine of St Francis of Paola, just as one does at Compostela, at the end of the Pilgrim's Way to Santiago.