KRAKÓW – CZĘSTOCHOWA (140 KM) – 19 TO 31 JULY 2022
Last summer we were lucky enough to go on a pilgrimage to Poland. It was the second time I had made a pilgrimage outside Spain, because the first had been to the Holy Land, and I remembered it fondly. I was excited and really looking forward to starting this new adventure.
Most of us flew to our destination, but some went in vans to transport the luggage and get everything ready. Despite spending almost two days in the van to get to Kraków, those brave travellers never lost their smiles and prepared everything with great care. Once we were all together at the airport, we held a little competition to decide who had got there fastest (there was a clear winner) and got ready to begin the pilgrimage.
Pilgrimages are an encounter with Jesus, and beginning ours with the support of the Archdiocese of Kraków, which entrusted us with a historic cross to carry all along the way to the shrine of Częstochowa and introduced us to a team of guides who would accompany us, was a moving experience. Our friend Pawel, a Pole we met at WYD in Poland, put us in touch with the archdiocese and helped us organise the whole pilgrimage, as well as being our translator.
During the pilgrimage we followed the usual routine of walking early, before the sun came up. Getting up so early was hard, but as the days went by I realised that, by offering the Lord all those little things that cost me so much, everything became lighter. The first hour of walking was in silence, which really helped us to pray along the way. At first I found it hard to stay silent for an hour, especially because I consider myself someone who talks a lot. Even so, I managed to keep silent (some days better than others) and to meditate with the Lord during that time of pilgrimage. Along the way we also read a series of readings during the breaks, including a letter we read every day, supposedly written by St John Paul II, which felt very close to us and spoke about our daily life as pilgrims.
Once we reached each day’s destination, we slept in the places the local people provided for us. I was very struck by the hospitality of the Poles throughout the whole pilgrimage. You could tell it was a country where God was very present, partly thanks to the great saints it had had in recent times.
Arriving in Częstochowa was an unforgettable experience. I remember that we entered the shrine singing at the tops of our voices and went straight to the feet of Our Lady of Częstochowa to leave there all our intentions, which we had carried with us throughout the pilgrimage. After enjoying a well-deserved ice cream, we were able to follow the lovely tradition of saying goodnight to Our Lady at the shrine of Częstochowa, in Poland. The next day, some of us got up early to say good morning to Our Lady, and I was very struck to see so much devotion to her. Later we visited the shrine with a guide who explained its history and architecture to us. For the rest of the pilgrimage we had a unique experience staying with Polish families from Pawel’s parish in Kraków, who treated us with great love and care, as if we were their own children.
During the pilgrimage we visited the house of St John Paul II and went through his life from his birth to his death. I was struck by his ability to strengthen faith in difficult times, such as during the Second World War. It was a unique experience to see how Poland, a country hit so hard by the war, was able to show so much faith and bear witness to great saints such as St Maximilian Kolbe and St Faustina Kowalska. The visit to Auschwitz was a hard but important experience for understanding that, even in the midst of pain, God can be present and reveal himself in the saints and martyrs who suffered there.
Finally, when I got home, I felt the responsibility to pass on to the people around me in my everyday life what I had learnt and lived during the pilgrimage. I wanted to show the love of God I had experienced and make it present in my daily life with my family, friends and university classmates.
