Howdy pilgrims!
Periodically, the Society of Servant Pilgrims organizes pilgrimage itineraries and some basic accommodation to allow pilgrims to enjoy the companionship of others while making a spiritual journey in the manner of a servant pilgrim. Servant pilgrims engage with the people and communities encountered along the way to build trust among strangers, which is the foundation of peace. Pilgrims have to opportunity to walk in solitude during the day’s journey yet have the comfort of not being alone. They can individually arrange their own accommodation or enjoy the pilgrim tradition with staying with others in public halls. If any are intriguing, please inquire for further information – societyofservantpilgrims@gmail.com
Rhineland Mystics Pilgrimage
8 to – 30 May, 2023
Basel, Switzerland to Cologne, Germany
From Hildegard of Bingen, OSB in the 12th century to Johannes Tauler, OP in the 14th century, numerous well-educated, innovative, spiritually minded theologians, academics, religious and lay men and women wrote extensively about the meaning of God and of life’s purpose and contemplative practices that seem as fresh and modern today as they were received then. This pilgrimage will be appreciated by pilgrims interested in this epoch of Christian history and literature, walking at an easy pace of about 21 km/d (=13 mi/d) along the Rhine River, visiting many monasteries (and vineyards).
World Youth Day Pilgrimage
1 June to 31 July, 2023
Toulouse, France to Lisbon, Portugal
World Youth Day is a great adventure for any faithful or seeking young Catholic, but to make an epic journey by foot across mountains and wilderness, staying humbly as pilgrim guests in monasteries and parishes embraced by Providence extends the superlative for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. University students, grad students, young teachers and professionals with little money and the summer free who plan to attend WYD are the ones who will gain the most from this extraordinary opportunity. The swift pace of 29 km/d (=18 mi/d) will surely captivate the senses and maximize life-changing experiences.
Chimayó to San Luis Pilgrimage
15 to 25 September, 2023
Chimayó, NM to San Luis, CO
The cultural diversity between two of the oldest Catholic shrines in the US to two of the newest inspires awe. This pilgrimage route has been repeated many times over the last decade with many repeat pilgrims who testify to the deep spiritual atmosphere of the rugged and enchanted region. The pilgrimage is scheduled to align with the High Road to Taos art tour. The pilgrim who will benefit most from this pilgrimage is one who is attracted to religious art, architecture, history and high-desert nature overlain on the deep spiritual expression of the inhabitants through the last two centuries. Because of the limitations of the villages to host pilgrims, the group will be kept to about 12.
St Rose Philippine Duchesne Pilgrimage
23 October to ~ 18 November, 2023
Mound City, KS to St Charles, MO
This Camino-esque pilgrimage begins on rural farm roads and then continues on the Katy Trail, a converted rail line along the Missouri River. The stages are set at the villages and towns that formerly serviced the steam trains. Without traffic, pilgrims can walk take a series of leisurely strolls in the sleepy countryside and by the river. St Rose Philippine is a French-born American teacher and foundress of many convents of much-needed teaching sisters and schools for all. Late in life, she fulfilled her goal to teach the Native Americans after the Potowatomi were marched to what is now Mound City, KS.
Les Petits Chemin de Saint Martin
~8 June to 4 July 2024
Tours – Poitiers – Tours, France
Saint Martin, 4th-century Bishop of Tours, pilgrim, hermit, abbot, and founder of Ligugé, the first monastery in Europe, is celebrated throughout Europe for his exceptional character. A sense of his life’s commitment to equality, justice, humility, charity and tolerance can be experienced in a circuit beginning and ending in Tours, visiting many churches dedicated to him, several towns named for him, staying in his first monastery in Ligugé, visiting Poitiers, entering the church he founded and later died, in Candes and walking along the Loire River to his shrine in the Châteauneuf quartier of Tours.
There are some other pilgrimages in the works organized for particular groups. Anyone with an idea of a pilgrimage is invited to contact us at societyofservantpilgrims@gmail.com for potential assistance in planning, organizing, or connecting with others who are drawn to a similar pilgrimage in the US or Europe.
