Walking with purpose

A young adult shares his journey on the Chartres Pilgrimage

“Life is a pilgrimage, but sometimes you need a pilgrimage to discover life.”

— Matthew Kelly

Thousands of recognized holy sites and pilgrimage trails exist throughout the world, and millions of pilgrims embark on sacred journeys each year. Perhaps they’re seeking spiritual transformation, divine intervention, healing, clarity, community, or connection with others who have shared beliefs. Though there’s always a common thread that leads people on these paths, the reasons may also be uniquely specific and deeply personal.

For John Lisi, a parishioner of Transfiguration Church in Syracuse, his decision to go on pilgrimage was primarily based on a recent life transition: He had just become a first-time father within the year.

“I have a lot to pray for, be thankful for,” said Lisi, 28. “I realized the weight on my shoulders of needing to be my family’s St. Joseph and the spiritual leader for my family. [It was] an opportunity to deepen my spiritual life and my prayer life.”

His wife, Sophie, was supportive and encouraging, he said.

“I jumped on it after hearing great things about it from last year, and having a lot of respect for the folks who had gone, [and] for the folks who were organizing it.”

Transfiguration pilgrims plus four others from Chicago who joined their group take a break and pose outside Chartres Cathedral in France. John Lisi is pictured seventh from left.

Lisi joined other young adults from his parish for the annual Chartres Pilgrimage, a three-day, 60-mile walking journey over Pentecost weekend that begins in central Paris and ends at the 13th-century Chartres Cathedral. There, pilgrims venerate Our Lady’s Veil, the Sancta Camisia, believed to be the veil that Our Blessed Mother wore throughout her lifetime but, in particular, at the Assumption, the Nativity, and the Crucifixion. The pilgrimage dates as far back as the Early Middle Ages and centers around the Traditional Latin Mass.

Local organizers from Transfiguration, Will Blackley, Patrick Fallon, and Phil Merwin, led the group of 17 travelers. Blackley, the principal coordinator, has participated in eight pilgrimages since he joined the parish two years ago – and two of those eight included Chartres.

“Both times that I attended the Chartres Pilgrimage, I was moved by the number of young Catholics marching alongside me, expressing their love for the same faith and Church,” Blackley said. “It is a powerful witness to see over 20,000 people all oriented on the same objective and willing to take on the challenge of walking 67 miles in three days.”

Lisi gave a general breakdown of how a day’s journey unfolds on the Chartres Pilgrimage, noting the many hours they walk, the short breaks they take, and the scant food they eat as their meals — bread, water and vegetable broth. “[It’s] very, very penitential,” he said. It is also filled with contemplation, singing, praying, and camaraderie. Mass is held each day.

“[The temperature] was in the 90s every day, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and we were walking through beautiful countryside,” said Lisi, recalling the immense and beautiful wheat fields they’d pass, but no shade to cool them on their continuous pace forward.

“On the last day, everyone’s exhausted, everyone’s kind of, you know, in quiet, contemplative prayer. There’s not as much singing, there’s not as much praying of the Rosary out loud anymore,” he continued. “And then, we’re kind of ascending this hill, and we know we’re kind of getting close. Then you see off in the distance the spires of the cathedral. It just emerges from the horizon, and everyone’s spirits pick up, and the banners are lifted higher, and the crosses lift higher, and people start praying again and start singing again. It was like we had made it. All the work had been worth it, and we started picking up the pace … it almost brings tears to your eyes because you appreciate all the work that’s gone into it and everyone’s made it together. …”

Lisi described the experience as life-changing, having deepened his personal prayer life and his personal devotion. “I’ve been changed because of it,” he said. “I think my approach to not only my prayer life but my everyday life has changed since coming home.”

Blackley, being both a pilgrim and leader, knows firsthand the fruits of spiritual excursions. He said that in almost everyone who attends, there is a renewal and strengthening of faith. “I think that pilgrimages are especially compelling in this present culture where many young adults feel purposeless and without direction,” he shared. “A pilgrimage offers you a real mission and is a way to embark on a physical and spiritual journey with the Lord.”

In September, the Pilgrimage of Restoration takes place in New York state. It begins at The Lake of the Blessed Sacrament at Lake George Village and culminates at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs in Auriesville, NY. All ages are welcome to join, and more information is available at https://pilgrimage-for-restoration.org/

If a young adult is interested in attending with the Transfiguration Parish young adult group, please call the parish office at 315-479-6129.