Carrying the Cross

A group of some 50 Lithuanian Catholics have completed a five-month pilgrimage on foot from the Hill of the Crosses in Lithuania to Jerusalem: a journey of 4300 km through Belarus, Ukraine, Hungary, Italy to the Holy Land, conducted in a spirit of penance and thanksgiving for the whole Lithuanian people. The pilgrimage was described by one of its promoters, Father Petras Volskis: each day, through a Catholic radio station, he gave Lithuanians a daily update of what was being experienced by the pilgrims on the road. They were accompanied by the 70-year-old Jesuit Father Kazimieras Ambrasas. The group, most of them women, returned home on 27 October, after their moving final visit to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. The pilgrims had left Lithuania on 5 May 2006. The interview was conducted by Father Jerzy Kraj, Franciscan of the Custodianship of the Holy Land; we excerpt some passages from it below. What inspired Lithuanian Catholics to participate in this pilgrimage? “The main intention was thanksgiving to God for the pontificate of John Paul II, while at the same time asking for the grace of his beatification. It was also a pilgrimage of penance, in expiation for personal sins committed and those of the Lithuanian people as a whole. During their whole journey, the participants carried on their shoulders a large wooden cross with the Crucifix. The pilgrims took turns to carry the Cross weighing 60 kilograms. This cross has now returned to Lithuania and will be offered as an ex-voto to the Marian sanctuary at SIluva. Here the 4th Centenary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary is now being celebrated. Siluva was the first Marian sanctuary to be recognized by the Church. Unfortunately, as a result of the unfavourable political situation of Lithuania in past centuries, it is not very well known”. What difficulties did the pilgrims encounter and what most surprised them? “Right from the start the pilgrimage encountered positive, and quite unexpected, developments. For example, difficulties had been anticipated in Belarus; on the contrary, this stage was among the finest of the whole pilgrimage: the local police went out of their way to help the pilgrims on their journey along the roads and the inhabitants of the country took the pilgrims into their homes for the night. The pilgrims were struck by the respect and devotion for the Cross. Many approached the group to greet them and to kiss the Cross. It was no rarity for whole villages, with their Orthodox parish priest, to come onto the road to greet the pilgrims as they passed. The further westward the group went, the more the difficulties grew and the less religious devotion and hospitality the pilgrims encountered”. What about the last stage, the approach to Jerusalem? “The journey from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was perhaps the most difficult of all. We did not have a permit to follow the main metalled roads. Consequently we went through the rugged hill country of Judah, following little country roads, very badly signposted. As if this were not enough, just when the group of pilgrims was on this last stage, the first autumn rains fell in Israel. The surfaces of the dirt tracks were turned into thick mud. So, ascending to Jerusalem, the pilgrims not only had to carry on their backs the huge wooden Cross and their rucksacks, but were also weighed down by all the clay sticking to their shoes. The 50 km route from Lod near Tel Aviv to Jerusalem took three days to complete. Due to exhaustion, but also to avoid provocations, the pilgrims did not go through the New Town on foot with the cross on their shoulders”. How was your contact with the Holy City? “In Jerusalem, at the entrance to the New Gate, the pilgrims were met by the Lithuanian bishop Monsignor Jonas Kauneckas. But the impact with the city was overwhelming when the group completed the Via Crucis, and the stations of the Via Dolorosa, carrying the Cross on their shoulders. The pilgrims paid no attention to the incurious glances of passing tourists or the local people. The Via Dolorosa was for them a very powerful experience and will probably remain indelible in their memories, because it marked the culmination of all their exertions and all their dreams”. What did you bring back to Lithuania from the Holy Land? “This pilgrimage marked an important stage in our life, which forms part of the history of salvation. Our pilgrimage did not end with the ascent to Jerusalem, nor with our return home. The work begun needs to be brought to completion. We ought therefore to persevere in carrying the cross of our daily endeavours and courageously bear witness to a truly Christian life”.