The Walking Pilgrimage from Hel to Jasna Góra is the longest Polish walking pilgrimage. This year, it began on Sunday, July 25, in the church of Corpus Christi in Hel, and will end on Thursday, August 12, with a solemn ascent to Jasna Góra Monastery and bow to the Picture of the Black Madonna. Every day pilgrims have a distance of about 35 km to cover. In total, the pilgrims will travel 638 km.
Despite the rainy weather, pilgrims on the 40th Walking Pilgrimage from Hel to Jasna Góra, this morning, on August 6, joyfully entered the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Licheń. Those who arrived on the stairs leading to the basilica were greeted by Fr. Dariusz Hirsch, MIC, a priest serving in the Licheń sanctuary, and privately a native of Kashubia.
The pilgrims held a short service in front of the Miraculous Picture of Our Lady of Licheń. As Fr. Robert Jahns, director of the Kashubian pilgrimage, this year's expedition is unique: - “This year, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of our pilgrimage, a delegation of 70 people will go a little further. After reaching the goal of Jasna Góra, we also intend to visit Santiago De Compostela. Some of our pilgrims will depart by bus from Częstochowa to Spain, and we will cover the last, 120-kilometer stretch from Saria to Santiago on foot. At 638 km, which we travel from Hel to Jasna Góra, such a distance is not a big challenge. We are planning to go there because 2021 is the Year of Saint James, which falls once in a few years when the feast of St. James is celebrated on Sunday, July 25 ”.
This year's group heading from Hel to Jasna Góra is about 110 people.
Text and photos: Sanctuary Press Office
