WHY DOES ONE MAKE A PILGRIMAGE?
There are all kinds of reasons: people had promised to go on it if they obtained a favor and are keeping a promise; or a person goes to ask for the fulfillment of a wish (a cure, to have a child the, the conversion of a dear one...) or perhaps they want to visit the places where Jesus lived, or where the saints left their mark. Certain ones even allow themselves to be dragged along by friends without knowing just why. As for me, I think that it's indispensable to get away from your regular surroundings from time to time to give new breath to the Christian life.

TO GET AWAY FROM YOUR SURROUNDINGS? YOU MEAN THAT YOU SEEK TO BREAK WITH YOUR HABITS, FAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS, THE DAY-TO-DAY ROUTINE?
Exactly. That's the point of departure. Whenever God wanted to make a convenant with Abraham, he said to him: "Go, leave your country". And later, to the Hebrew people, He will say: "Leave Egypt". One can't begin anything new without a certain detachment from the past.

FOR PILGRIMS IN THE PAST, THE ADVENTURE WAS DANGEROUS, BUT TODAY, IT'S ENOUGH TO TAKE THE TRAINOR PLANE.
Yes, times have changed and the risks have become nonexistent. But the interior attitude stays the same: pilgrims set out on the journey and let themselves be led "elsewhere". And the pilgrim once again finds the group, the community of pilgrims. Even if they come alone, out of curiosity, they're going to participate in celebrations, in gatherings.. They recreate the experience of the Church. And it's marvelous.

MARVELOUS? ISN'T THE CHURCH AN OLD LADY OF 2000 YEARS, A LITTLE SICK AND HARDLY "WITH THE TIMES?"
The Church is, above all, the people of God on a journey to the Kingdom. On a pilgrimage, one discovers very diverse people: there are young and old, bosses and workers, sick and well, French, Indians, Africans, people from all over the Earth...

ONE RETURNS CHANGED?
It's enough to question pilgrims some time after their return in order to learn that many have made happy discoveries. Some have experienced the feeling of the Divine Presence. In the intimacy of a silent prayer or in the enthusiasm of a celebration... This "encounter" has remained with them for a long time. Others have been impressed by the crowd and by the diversity of believers from all nations. They thought they were only a stream watering a corner of the prairie. They learned that they are a great river capable of irrigating the whole earth. For them, Christians solidarity is no longer an empty word. Among those who are at a turning point in their lives, there are those who have been able to focus. This was their "desert" time. In the calm and in God's sight, directions have been readjusted, decisions taken..

HAVE SOME BEEN DISAPPOINTED?
That happens. For some, it seems that nothing has happened. Only ordinary photos remain. But sometimes, you have to wait before making a statement. The message sown in the course of pilgrimage can take a long time to germinate.

WHEN THE HOLIDAY IS OVER, YOU MUST GO BACK TO ORDINARY OCCUPATIONS....
Precisely. The pilgrimage is worth what the following days are worth. On returning, you have to get back to work, alone bearing once again the weight of the heavy times. Fortunately, the heart recalls having caught sight of a far-off horizon. That's what gives the strength to start over. What has been projected, imagined and prayed for isn't exactly what life brings. But the impetus is given for a new step.