What's a Pilgrimage?
“A tourist needs a map, a pilgrim finds direction” (P. Russo)
World Youth Day is more than just a holiday or a festival, it’s a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is a journey with time for reflection and spiritual renewal, normally to a holy place. Over the centuries, places associated with Christ's life and with the Saints have become special to Christians. In particular, journeys to the Holy Land reminded pilgrims that God became man, and that we can still hope to be close to him. Christian pilgrimage focuses on renewing our relationship with the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and can involve asking the prayers of the saints including the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pilgrimage involves self-sacrifice, prayer and a concern for the other people also on pilgrimage. Pilgrimage to Saints' shrines reminds us to follow the example of these holy men and women, who are held up as examples of people whose lives have been transformed by God's love and truth.
The young people who set out from England and Wales to WYD08 will be part of a long tradition of Christian pilgrimage from these Isles. In the Middle Ages pilgrimages to places such as Canterbury, Walsingham and the Holy Land were popular, and today many groups visit Lourdes, Rome and other shrines around the world. St Bede wrote in the 8th Century about a King of Wessex who made a pilgrimage to Rome. He said “he then set out to visit the shrines of the blessed Apostles….wishing to spend some of the time of his earthly pilgrimage in the vicinity of the holy places, hoping thereby to merit a warmer welcome from the saints in heaven. At this period, many English people vied with one another in following this custom.” There are still many people who are keen to set out on pilgrimage from England and Wales today!
The final destination for the World Youth Day pilgrims will be a huge gathering in an open area for the Final Mass, rather than a building. But there will be just as many opportunites for spiritual renewal as on a pilgrimage to a traditional location. Through the Mass, the sacrament of Reconciliation (confession), Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, through fellowship with each other, and service to others, the young pilgrims will have a chance to take a 'life audit' and experience God's grace and love. 'I had a very powerful and prayerful time at World Youth Day in Cologne. Travelling on pilgrimage with the Diocese of Westminster, we developed a strong sense of community, and we all grew in our spiritual lives together through our shared experiences'. (Daniel, London)
Pilgrimage isn't just about self-reflection during this life. By going on pilgrimage, we’re reminded that our whole lives are meant to be a pilgrimage, a journey to eternal life in Heaven. Pope Benedict writes about this journey: “the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey” (encyclical letter Spe Salvi, 'Saved by Hope', para 1). He goes on to speak about the goal of our life pilgrimage: “The term “eternal life” is intended to give a name to this known “unknown”. ….It would be like plunging into the ocean of infinite love, a moment in which time—the before and after—no longer exists. We can only attempt to grasp the idea that such a moment is life in the full sense, a plunging ever anew into the vastness of being, in which we are simply overwhelmed with joy. This is how Jesus expresses it in Saint John's Gospel: “I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (16:22). We must think along these lines if we want to understand the object of Christian hope, to understand what it is that our faith, our being with Christ, leads us to expect” (Spe Salvi, para 12). The young pilgrims going to World Youth Day will have time out to think about life, God, and about what really matters - and many may return full of enthusiasm for that ongoing conversion of heart to Christ, which is part of our life-long pilgrimage.
“My dear young friends, I hope to see very many of you in Sydney in July 2008. It will be a providential opportunity to experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s power. Come in great numbers in order to be a sign of hope and to give appreciative support to the Church community in Australia that is preparing to welcome you. For the young people of the country that will host you, it will be an exceptional opportunity to proclaim the beauty and joy of the Gospel to a society that is secularized in so many ways”. Pope Benedict XVI's Message for WYD, 2008
National shrine of England, Our Lady of Walsingham
National shrine of Wales, Our Lady of Cardigan
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