Pilgrims of Hope (8): Arrival

The series “Pilgrims of Hope” is a monthly spiritual contribution to the Holy Year – a collaboration between the international Generalate of the Hospital Sisters of St. Francis and the Muenster-based German church publication “Kirche und Leben” (“Church+Life”). Our topic in August: Hope for Arrival.

Pilgrimages have been very popular for some time now. One example is the Way of St. James or “Camino”, which was designated a European Cultural Route by the Council of Europe in 1987 and is highly recommended. The official website of the German Way of St. James headquarters states that in the “record year” of 2024, almost half a million people traveled the “Camino” for the first time. They came from almost 200 countries, with pilgrims from Germany statistically ranking fourth – after Spain, America, and Italy.

The media also plays a major role in the growing awareness and popularity of pilgrimage routes. After German comedian and author Hape Kerkeling published his travelogue “Ich bin dann mal weg” (I’m off then) in 2006, the number of Germans on the Camino rose so sharply that statisticians even speak of a “Kerkeling effect.” The thousands of photos of the beautiful landscape posted on social media are also fueling this trend.

Even if modern pilgrimages are not always religiously motivated, there is often a spiritual longing behind them: the search for the essential, for one’s own path, and ultimately for the meaning of life. Many associate the pilgrimage experience with the hope of finding themselves. This begins long before the actual journey, when pilgrims plan their hiking stages, leave everyday life behind and consider what is absolutely essential in a backpack that, in the best case, weighs only six kilos.

It’s easier to travel with light luggage: pilgrimage has always been a metaphor for the journey of life. Its first boom can be traced back to the Middle Ages. Even then, Santiago de Compostela was one of the three most important Christian pilgrimage destinations, alongside Jerusalem and Rome. Our namesake, Francis of Assisi, made a pilgrimage there at the beginning of the 13th century – and as the son of a wealthy merchant family, he was one of the few who could afford to do so. In this Jubilee Year 2025, more than 40 million pilgrims are expected in the Eternal City, responding to Pope Francis’ call and invitation to be “pilgrims of hope.”

Among them will be several Sisters of various nationalities from our international Congregation, including German, Indian, and Japanese. Other Sisters from our German province, for example, have made a pilgrimage to Gerleve on the Ludgerusweg, and Sisters from the Japanese province have followed in the footsteps of St. Francis and St. Philip to Assisi and Florence.

All pilgrimages have one thing in common: they are spiritual journeys that take place in our earthly world – in the here and now. That has always been challenging. In the Middle Ages, pilgrims were warned about highwaymen; today, they are warned about pickpockets. The queues of people waiting in front of the Holy Doors in Rome are long. The security guards at St. Peter’s Basilica ensure that no one dawdles when entering through the “Porta Santa,” while their colleagues at Santa Maria Maggiore try to prevent visitors from taking selfies at the tomb of Pope Francis.

There is little silence and contemplation, but all the more distraction. And pilgrims are also people who get hungry and thirsty, who get sunburned and suffer from sore feet. Therefore, a successful pilgrimage requires not only good preparation, but also a lot of patience with oneself and with others, as well as a great deal of determination.

Pilgrimage is and remains a life experience that can be very enriching, both spiritually and personally. Given all the possibilities available today, and the many people who are on the move, it is more worthwhile than ever to think carefully in advance about where you actually want to arrive: in Santiago, Assisi, or Rome. On Instagram, in your center, or a little closer to God.

By Sister M. Hiltrud Vacker and Claudia Berghorn
Photos: Kestin

This article was published in German, online and in print, in the Diocese of Muenster’s magazine, “Kirche+Leben” (Church+Life), in August 2025.