Those Darn Jesuits . . . Speaking of Pilgrimage

Speaking of pilgrimage, as they did in Canada in 2002, the Jesuits are inviting young people from throughout the world to an Ignatian pilgrimage experience called Magis 2005, which will take place just prior to the World Youth Day celebration. Mixed international groups will set out on pilgrimages from various different sites and engage in experiments along the way. The experiments will involve community service, prayer, faith sharing and liturgy. The Magis website explains: The experiment groups formed at the reception centers go off on their own. The international pilgrim groups last for five days until August 13th. Most of the experiment groups will move about on foot, which can be up to 20 km per day. There will also be groups which stay at one place, and from there they will undertake exploratory tours. They may also engage in a social or creative project: examples include preparing a street theatre or putting together an event with the residents of a home for disabled people. The leadership of the experiments will be taken by an organizational team especially prepared for this purpose. You will not find out which experiment your group participates in until you arrive at the reception center. Be therefore open and let yourself be surprised.

Not exactly the kind of pilgrimage Saint Ignatius was engaged in, but hopefully it will yield some of the same spiritual fruits! I was on staff at the 2002 event, this one promises to be even better!