Back from this year’s pilgrimage with colleagues in Burgundy and the northern part of Beaujolais after a week.
For several years now, we have been walking the Way of St James from Speyer to Le Puy. Six days of pilgrimage each year bring us a little closer to Le Puy. The town is an important junction for various routes on the Way of St James, which then continue on to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and from there to Santiago de Compostela.
This year, our journey began south of Buxy in the small village of Collonge and took us 125 km via Taizé, Cluny, Tramayes, Cenves, Propières and Le Cergne to St-Nizier-sous-Charlieu.
After the vineyards of Burgundy, the Way of St James led through magnificent fir and chestnut forests up to an altitude of 1,000 metres, through small villages and past pastures where Charolais cattle grazed.
Again and again, we found open churches where we could celebrate our communal Holy Communion service once a day. These included the small Romanesque Chapelle Saint-Laurent in Lournand.
In Taizé, we visit the grave of the founder of the community, Frère Roger, and attend the evening service. The liturgical chants and the special spirituality in Taizé have influenced many young people and have also been incorporated into special Taizé services in my church.
On their website you can read about the community:
„The Taizé Community comprises of around eighty brothers from different church backgrounds – Catholic, Anglican, Protestant – and from nearly thirty countries. By its very existence, it is a “parable of community”: a tangible sign of reconciliation between divided Christians and separated peoples.
Throughout the year, the community welcomes tens of thousands of young adults from Europe and other continents. They come for week-long meetings, during which they experience prayer and life together with time for biblical reflection and sharings, in an environment where they can ask questions about their lives and their future.
Most of the brothers live in the village of Taizé, in Burgundy, France. Other brothers, who have been sent on mission, share the living conditions of those around them in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the outskirts of Paris. These small fraternities of a few brothers are a simple presence among their neighbours and in the local churches. By their very nature they remain temporarry.“ https://www.taize.fr/en/the-community
Everyday in the evening we received a very warm welcome at our accommodation and enjoyed the special regional cuisine.
