A record. This Pentecost weekend, 16,000 pilgrims, including 1,400 people from abroad, will make the 27 km route from Saturday 29 to Monday 100 May, linking the Saint-Sulpice church to the cathedral of Chartres (Eure-et-Loir), via Rambouillet or the Chevreuse valley.
Our Lady of Christendom, the association founded 40 years ago, organizer of this pilgrimage of Pentecost, was thus forced to close prematurely the registrations, because of the restrictions imposed by the capacity of reception for the bivouacs: "We were forced for the first time in the history of the pilgrimage for 40 years to take the painful decision to close all registrations except the shepherds (young people from 13 to 17 years old) for which it There are still a few places left," the association announced on May 19, inviting people who have not taken the steps in time "to pilgrimage differently: As guardian angels (not walkers) or by joining us for the day of Monday. "
"A form of spirituality in motion"
This peak in attendance confirms the increase in enrolment observed in recent years. Maxime, 23, will be at the heart of this melee of pilgrims for the first time. Accustomed to the bivouac, this former scout from Seine-et-Marne felt the "need to share a form of spirituality in motion with others". Seeking "a path of hope and to live a renewed faith experience in a very worrying time", this science student will walk this summer on the roads of Compostela, "as if to play extra time", says, smiling, this rugby lover.
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Like him, many young people have registered for this pilgrimage, whose average age this year is 20 and a half. Maxime is not surprised by this influx. A dozen young people from his entourage "committed to the Church or not" will walk alongside him.