Liturgical Camino

Evangelization through the liturgy on the Way of St. James from Olsztyn to Toruń

The Way of St. James is a worldwide phenomenon: since the early Middle Ages, millions of Christians – but not only! – have been discovering during their pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostle James the beauty of being on the road, the beauty of the human community (the one that is being built today and the one that connects centuries, speaking to us through the the monuments of history that we encounter), the beauty and joy of seeing with eyes wide open to the world illuminated by the Gospel.

In July 2023 we would like to invite a group of 20 people to a pilgrimage along the Polish part of the Way of St. James, known as the Camino Polaco, stretching from the Church of St. James in Olsztyn to the Church of St. James in Toruń. The criterion of admission to the group, apart from the obvious requirement of being able to walk about 30 km per day and the consent to reside in simple, pilgrim conditions, will be musical experience: the particular purpose of this passage through towns and villages between Olsztyn and Toruń is evangelization through the beauty of liturgical music. On the way and during the stopovers, we intend to learn the liturgical repertoire from the treasury of Catholic Tradition (Gregorian chant, early polyphony, renaissance polyphony, contemporary compositions), so that we can not only pray together, but also (re)evangelize people we meet along the way as well as the residents of the places where we will be staying.

We would like to offer the parish priests of the parishes where we will be staying an unusual pastoral service: on the evening of the overnight stay, we will invite parishioners to a service involving prayer with liturgical music and preaching about the music we perform and the spirit of the liturgy that this music expresses, as well as stories about sacred art, its symbolism and the timeless formative potential contained in the architecture and art of their own churches and chapels.

The guide of the group will be the president of the Dominican Liturgical Center Foundation, Father Łukasz Miśko, OP, who has organized several pilgrimages on the Camino de Santiago and other pilgrimages in Europe and North America. We invited the Laboratory of St. James’s Way from Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and the St. James Brotherhood of Toruń to collaborate.

Date: 12-23.07.2023
(12.07 is the day of arrival to Olsztyn, 13-22.07 is the pilgrimage, 23.07 is the celebration in Toruń).

An example of a pilgrimage day will be as follows:

  • – wake-up call, breakfast, packing, departure from lodgings;
  • – a sung Lauds in front of the church, at the market square or other public place visible to the inhabitants;
  • – going on a route in the “style” of Camino de Santiago: not in a column, but individually or two-three people at a time, on the way talking or marching in silence or personal prayer; no enforcements keeping order, no signs, no sound system;
  • – group gatherings at a designated place for stopovers, prayer during the day, lunch; after lunch, as a part of a break (as well as spontaneously during other, shorter breaks) singing rehearsals;
  • – further walking, reaching the designated place of accommodation;
  • – in the evening we join the evening Mass in the parish: if possible, before the Mass we sing Vespers, at the Mass we join the liturgical services, after the Mass we invite people to join us in music and our preaching – either in the church or in front of it, depending on the space available;
  • – dinner, discussions with locals, rest.

Accommodation: In the coming weeks, we will contact the parishes on Camino to arrange accommodation. A place on the floor in the parish house or school would be optimal, with the possibility of using showers at the vicarage or host families.

Budget: the cost of the pilgrimage is covered by the participants, it consists of travel to Olsztyn, return from Toruń, and meals. It is hoped that accommodation will be free thanks to the cooperation of local parishes and Camino lovers’ organizations. The organizational fee for the Foundation is PLN 100 per person.

How to sign up: for logistical reasons the group is limited to 20 people, and since our programme involves prayer with singing, we are looking for people with musical experience. You are welcome to send in your application by filling in the form – it will ask about your musical training, your previous involvement in liturgical vocal music, etc. We will select a group of 20 people from the submissions – approximately five people per voice – to form the four-voice choir needed for our summer evangelisation project.

 

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