In the footsteps of Scripture: a pilgrimage to Jordan becomes a podcast

The Wadi Rum desert is the starting point: with its expanses of sand interspersed with rock formations that take on marvellous shades of red at sunset, it evokes an indescribable sense of wonder. It is not only the natural spectacle that fills the heart, but above all the fact of visiting these places in an area that the people of Israel crossed before reaching Mount Nebo and crossing the Jordan. And even more so, reading the Word of God linked to these territories, meditating on it in relation to one’s own life.The idea stems from the pilgrims’ own profound experience, for the journey – like the podcast itself – was punctuated by biblical, archaeological, historical and catechetical insights provided by a special guide: Father Francesco Giosuè Voltaggio, professor of Sacred Scripture at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum and the Studium Theologicum Galilaeae, and director in Jerusalem of the Domus Bethaniae, a study centre for the diploma in Christian Origins. The podcast also features testimonies from those living in Jordan, such as the Apostolic Nuncio to Jordan and Cyprus, Archbishop Giovanni Pietro dal Toso. In each episode, moreover, to bring the experience into life, there are voices from the participants on the journey, who testify how important it was for them to immerse themselves in the living reality of the Scriptures.