The sovereign, in fact, has as her throne the hard rock of a cave used as a dump and, despite having a majestic castle, visible from all ends of the valley, as well as from the mountain tops, she prefers to spend her nights in the open air, among her most miserable subjects.
Even stranger, the queen does not have an army of elite soldiers, but unarmed but well-dressed pimps. Their leader, a Quasimodo of our times, is short and deformed, extremely grumpy but kind-souled and, together with his companions, attends to a people of hunchbacks, lame and sick people who speak and sing in an infinite variety of languages and dialects. However, despite the apparent confusion, they seem to understand each other and have little difficulty helping each other.
There is neither a single prince nor a single princess, since the sovereign is the mother of all her subjects and, consequently, each of them is heir to the throne and of royal lineage.
All, in fact, travel in carriages and carriages that, although they are not pumpkins that magically transform into the most beautiful carriage of all time, look very nice. In front of the queen and her son, princes and princesses are carried triumphantly in procession, escorted by pages, standard-bearers, squires and footmen, before a crowd that bows as they pass.
They are not beautiful, princes and princesses: at least not in the eyes of travelers from other kingdoms. I myself, poor traveler who came to see the queen after an exhausting journey through valleys, rivers, mountains and meadows, indignant because I had not been given the opportunity to use the flying carpet that takes each of us, on wings of fantasy, to fantastic and distant worlds, was amazed by what passed in front of me: a crowd of old, ugly, crippled, deformed people, the remnants of humanity and of our highly selective and meritocratic world, was being served and venerated, celebrated with full honors, almost as much as the queen, almost as much as the king! How was all this possible, what a scandal!
My oppressed, tired and disillusioned heart found solace only when, in front of the queen's dirty and damp throne, reflecting myself in the waters of the river flowing nearby, I saw myself identical to that crowd: old and tired, dirty and deformed, ugly and sick. It was then that, magically, a crown appeared on my head; that was when I felt I too was a prince, the son of a king.
If you want to reach this strange and enchanted kingdom, know that you will have to endure a thousand labors; know that you will have to cry, face your thousand fears, your perfectionism and your delusions of grandeur, as well as your sense of inadequacy; you will have to accept being loved for what you are and not for what you can do, nor for the beauty of your body, nor for the strength of your limbs, nor for the vitality of your intellect.
You will find yourself naked, poor and needy. You will want to escape, to scream, to rebel, but you will not be able to go anywhere, because that country is far away from everything and the only place where you will be able to escape will be the last place you want to see: yourself. Then you will understand.
You will know that, to get out of it, you will have to throw away your useless crown of gold and precious pearls, your silk dresses and accessories signed by someone whose name will sooner or later be forgotten. Do not be afraid! Have faith and be humble! Put on the rags they will give you, accept to be like them and, have faith, you will reign! Yes, you will reign forever!
In case you haven't noticed yet, this kingdom is not called Disneyland, Neverland, Fantasia... It is not an invention or the reconstruction of something that does not exist and will never exist. No, this kingdom is a real place, with people who have flesh and bones, hearts, limitations and sins.
Ask, they can show you the way: is called Lourdes and is the place where the last are already the first.
Gerardo Ferrara
BA in History and Political Science, specializing in the Middle East.
Responsible for the student body
University of the Holy Cross in Rome
