Young people and adults came together for the 30th “Franciscan Youth Pilgrimage”.
“FraJuWa” (Franciscan Youth) was a wonderful jubilee. In fact, it marked the 30th time that friars from the Conventual Franciscan Province of St. Elizabeth in Germany and from the Provincial Delegations of the three Polish Provinces present in the country have invited young people to attend this Franciscan pilgrimage. There were many young participants. The gathering took place on October 5-7, 2018, in Werdohl (Northern Rhine-Westphalia, in Western Germany). This year’s theme repeated the theme of the first pilgrimage in 1988: Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures.
The participants were asked to call their attention to the four elements of creation: fire, water, air and earth; the experience was very spiritual and creative. It engaged their intelligence as well as their senses, through different workshops. Thus, after listening to a biblical presentation, they went on to produce soap, decorate flower vases and make lanterns.
After a procession up and down the hills, the youth arrived at a chapel in the woods. Along the way, several reflection stops had been set up, each marked with a “tau”, the sign of Franciscan blessing, which had been created during the morning workshops.
Another important moment was the presentation of the jubilee cake. It had been lovingly prepared for this occasion by two friends of the fraternity. During the presentation, it was just as lovingly cut up and served by Friar Josef FISCHER, one of the originators of the “FraJuWa”.
The “FraJuWa” of 2018 ended with Sunday Mass at the church of St. Michael, followed by lunch and an acknowledgement of thanks to the entire organizing group which was coordinated by two friars from the local fraternity: Friars Kamil PAWLAK and Krzysztof ROBAK.
In 2019, the pilgrimage will take place on October 11-13, at another of our fraternities in Germany.
Friar Konrad SCHLATTMANN
