What makes pilgrims special

Pilgrimage comes from the Latin word ‘peregrinus’, which means ‘to be a stranger in a foreign land’ or ‘to leave one's own field and enter a foreign one’.

Nowadays, more and more people are following their heart's deepest desire and setting out on a journey to find themselves. It is a journey of body, mind and soul.

You step out of everyday life ... in search of new inner and outer paths.

An occasion motivates us to set out, to leave, to depart, to leave the familiar behind, to break away from the routine. It is a conscious reflection on our life so far. Sometimes it is motivated by a change, such as retirement, a new job, after a long illness, a crisis or a transition to a new phase of life. It can also be motivated by the need in our fast-paced world to step out of the hamster wheel of demands and obligations, to ‘just live’, to feel nature as a source of strength, to take time out, to encounter God.

Pilgrimages are characterised by a certain structure. The occasion is followed by setting off, being on the road, arriving and returning home transformed. 

Pilgrims usually limit themselves to the bare essentials when on a pilgrimage, throwing off ballast, so to speak, and often reflecting on what they carry around with them in life. Sometimes they also experience deprivation and their own limitations. This opens up a view into the distance – into the vastness of the landscape and a view into the vastness of their own possibilities ...

Thoughts come and go, ideas mature, wanting to be lived anew.

You meet fellow travellers, experience hospitality, and give and take in turn. In this conscious ‘embrace of life’, you learn mindfulness towards yourself and all of creation. Suddenly, there is time to marvel at the small yet great wonders: dewdrops on a spider's web, your own reflection in a puddle, butterflies on flowers. 

Pilgrims become aware that they are part of the cycle of nature = spring, summer, autumn and winter; sunshine and fog, freezing cold and cosy warmth – just like in their own lives. 

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"The longest journey is the one to yourself – to where God dwells."

Christine Dittlbacher MAS