Virtual commemorations were held across Italy to mark the 700th anniversary of the death of the great Italian poet, Dante Alighieri, on Thursday 25th March.
Born in Florence in 1265, Dante died on 14 September 1321 in Ravenna.
His masterwork, The Divine Comedy, is divided into three parts — Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Heaven).
According to the Italian poet Alessandro Rivali, The Divine Comedy seeks to “lead man to God” by “returning man to God’s original design, that is, away from sin and toward happiness.”
Turas Columbanus inked up with Greenbutterflies in Liguria to host a virtual gathering of people connected to the Columban Way in Ireland and Italy.
During one of the sessions, Columban Fr Sean Dwan reflected on his recent reading of Dante’s Divine Comedy and what it can teach missionaries.