More than 60 pilgrimages are arriving at the Jasna Gora monastery, a Catholic shrine in southern Poland, for the feast of the Virgin Mary of Czestochowa, celebrated on August 26.

The pilgrimages number several dozen to several thousand participants. The biggest group, of some 8,000 Catholic faithful from Tarnow, has been on the road for almost a week now. Two thousand people have set out from Lodz. Some pilgrimages have a long tradition of several hundred years, like the 542nd walking pilgrimage from Pabianice in central Poland.

During this year’s pilgrimage season, which started on May 30, more than 100,000 people walked to Czestochowa in 157 groups.

There were 54 biking pilgrimages. Forty five pilgrims arrived on horseback. The longest route – 640 km – was covered by a Kashubian pilgrimage from Hel Peninsula in northern Poland. (kk)

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