What is a Pilgrimage?

So What Is A Pilgrimage?

So What Is A Pilgrimage?

by Mary Gildersleeve

The first time we ever went on pilgrimage, it was a side-trip to the Shrine of (at the time) Bl. Kateri Tekakawitha in Fonda, NY and the Shrine of North American Martyrs in Auriesville, NY. We had only two of our kids with us and I was pregnant with my third. We were on our way to CYO camps in New Hampshire – one for Joe and one for Catie – and we took a day, on either side of their camps, to pray at the shrines, join in attending Mass and generally wonder at the strength of the faith of these martyrs. The next time we went on pilgrimage (this time with four kids with the youngest being 6 months) it was a 6-week trip to France, Italy and a bit of Switzerland for the Jubilee Year of 2000. The blessings and graces received from this pilgrimage changed our spiritual and physical lives. But it just wasn’t about touring the Roman Colosseum … the Eiffel Tower … Montmartre and Sacre Coeur … Lourdes. It was about thinking, praying and learning about our rich Catholic faith and those who have gone before. The Jubilee Pilgrimage gave us opportunity after opportunity to deepen our faith. Having worked for an airline, I was tasked with working out our itinerary. With my husband and his deep love of the Catholic faith, together we made a list of all the places we wanted to see: ·Paris-with the ancient churches of Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, Rue du Bac

·Lisieux-to pray to St. Therese and Montfort to pray to St. Louis Marie Grignon

·Lourdes-and LaSalette, sites of Marian apparitions

·Varallo-with its life-size Stations of the Cross and LaVerna where St. Francis received the stigmata

·Rome and Vatican City-with all the places of our 2000 year old Church including the four main basilicas and a Wednesday audience led by St. John Paul II.

To further the experience, we found convents, monasteries and guest houses in which to stay. Never spending more than $100 per night, we experienced dining with the Franciscans at the LaVerna Monastery, praying with the L’Emmanuel Communite blocks away from the Lourdes Shrine, and receiving the sacraments from a Polish Priest at the French Shrine of Our Lady of LaSalette. One of our sons got to lead a decade of the Rosary and one daughter got to lead the English-language petitions at Lourdes thanks to a Chica-

go-based chaplain who befriended us. So what is a pilgrimage? Is it just a fancy way of saying “trip”? Are we pilgrims or tourists? If you asked my then-11-yearold son, he defined it as “walkin’ and prayin’… prayin’ and walkin.’”. While that may be part of it, the best definition I’ve heard comes from Pope Benedict XVI, speaking at Santiago de Compostela (one of the most famous pilgrimage sites in the world): To go on pilgrimage is not simply to visit a place to admire its treasures of nature, art, or history. To go on pilgrimage really means to step out of ourselves in order to encounter God where he has revealed himself, where his grace has shone with particular splendor and produced rich fruits of conversion and holiness among those who believe. Pope Benedict XVI – Nov 6, 2010 at Santiago Compostela (http://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2010/november/ documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20101106_ cattedrale-compostela.html)

And for Catholics, going on a pilgrimage is relatively easy since Catholicism has had an impact in every part of the world for the last 2000 years. Pilgrimages don’t need to last weeks at a time or be 100 percent of the trip. The key to “going on pilgrimage” is to have the frame of mind that Pope Emeritus Benedict mentions: stepping out of self and worrying less about the place and more about the spiritual effect of place. A pilgrimage can be an unplanned detour along I-70 to the Cathedral of the Plains seen in the distance or a scheduled visit to the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington and praying at each of the Marian side-chapels. It can be heading to the Basilica’s crypt area to think about all the thousands of folks who, in faith, gave their “widow’s mite” to build this Romanesque beauty in the heart of D.C. A pilgrimage can be stopping to pray and reflect on the martyrs who gave their last breath at the Roman Colosseum or at the stone that marks the slaughter of St. Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. A pilgrimage can be walking the Pilgrim’s Way from Chartres to Compostela. A pilgrimage can be watching a series, like Steve Ray’s “The Footprints of God,” or a documentary on YouTube about the Pilgrim’s Way or the Abbeys walks in England. The key is the intentionality of the trip – whether couch surfing or walking in the footsteps of Jesus in the Holy Land. Take the time to meditate and pray on the events of the past, the present and the future. When we were in Rome for the Jubilee Year, the theme was “Christ: yesterday, today, forever.” This is what a pilgrimage celebrates. For our 20th anniversary, Rick and I opted for a pilgrimage to one of our favorite countries – Great Brit-

*Photos courtesy of Mary Gildersleeve

ain. With an Anglo-family heritage, Rick had been studying about all the English martyrs and saints of England, Scotland and Wales. Again, together, we planned our trip:

·Canterbury--to see the once-Catholic Cathedral with the shrine to St. Thomas Becket and searching the backstreets to find the spot of St. Thomas More’s bones.

·Walsingham--site of one of the most popular Marian pilgrim sites during the Middle Ages, as well as the National Catholic Shrine to Our Lady of Walsingham (a mile outside of Walshingham).

·York--where we attended Mass in St. Margaret Clitherow’s house and saw her incorrupt hand, preserved in the chapel of Bar Convent.

·Durham--for its Cathedral, stripped of much of its former Catholic adornments, but still showing remnants of ancient Catholicism with its graves for St. Bede the Venerable and St. Cuthbert.

·Edinburgh--to walk the path of St. Margaret of Scotland, including a visit to the underground chapel where she would go for solitary prayer.

·London--to visit the Oratorian Shrine to Cardinal John Newman, attend Mass at Tyburn Convent, and see the plaques marking the martyrdom of Sts. Thomas More, John Fisher and others on Tower Hill Sometimes, you’ll be surprised by a bit of Catholicity you weren’t expecting.

When we visited the Catholic Church of St. Thomas of Canterbury, we found a very modern shrine. Relics (including the stole) of St. Oscar Romero of San Salvador, martyred in the 20th century. Or the numerous times in Austria that we stumble upon a glorious baroque pfarrkirche (parish church) in a small village or a wayside shrine where modern-day pilgrims still leave their intentions. A trip to Poland with Franciscan students and my 2-month-old placed me in a spot where I could see up-close the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa and the convent where St. Faustina prayed. Lest you think that we only do, as Joe put it, “walkin’ and prayin’”, we also do the touristy things to round out our lives: a trek to the Hard Rock Café in Rome to appease the 11-year-old; a few days on Shetland Island to appease my knitting fanaticism; a tour of the Louvre and a view from the top of the Eiffel Tower to check those off our bucket lists. These don’t lessen the impact of a pilgrimage but enrich the overall experience and the memories. Our Church is steeped in history, filled with beautiful art and architecture, but it’s the stories of the faithful that are most impactful when on pilgrimage. Studying the Catholic peo-

ple and events in areas you are going and viewing documentaries and fictionalized biographies of the players (FORMED, Netflix, Amazon are great resources) can add a spiritual depth to your break from the everyday. If this article has piqued your interest, check with your parish and see if there is a pilgrimage in the future. If you want to try planning your own, go for it! Just remember that planning a pilgrimage takes time, research and a healthy dose of faith and flexibility. Sometimes staying in convents or guest houses can be a bit different than the average American hotel. Your kids might also embrace some interesting habits: our kids learned to love “coffee-milk” in the French guest houses. Here are some resources that may prove helpful:

·15 Pilgrim Walks in Great Britain - https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2019/nov/02/15-pilgrimages-plilgrim-trails-walks-europe-uk

·The Ultimate List of Catholic Shrines in the US - https://www.coraevans. com/blog/article/ultimate-list-of-catholic-shrines-in-the-united-states

·Top 10 Monastery Guests Houses in Europe - https://religioustravelplanningguide.com/10-top-monastic-guesthouses-in-europe

·Steve Ray’s Footprints of God on FORMED - https://watch.formed.org/ footprints-of-god-with-stephen-ray If you truly believe in God, in Jesus Christ his only begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit – in the Triune God, then revel in this belief. Revel in the promise of an eternity spent with the men, women and children who have also believed and are now in the beatific vision. Walk their steps, marvel at their art, and pray for their intercessions at their shrines. But most of all, remember “Christ: yesterday, today and forever!”