A record. This weekend of Pentecost, 16,000 pilgrims, including 1,400 people from abroad, will make, from this Saturday May 27 to Monday May 29, the 100 km route, linking the Saint-Sulpice church to the cathedral of Chartres (Eure-et-Loir), via Rambouillet or the Chevreuse valley.
Notre-Dame de Chrétienté, the ociation founded 40 years ago, organizer of this Pentecost pilgrimage, was thus forced to close registrations prematurely, due to the restrictions imposed by the reception capacity for the bivouacs: “ For the first time in the history of the pilgrimage for 40 years, we have been forced to take the painful decision to close all registrations except for the shepherds (young people aged 13 to 17) for whom there are still a few places left”, announced on the May 19 the ociation, inviting people who have not taken the steps in time “to pilgrimage differently: As guardian angels (non walkers) or by joining us for the day on Monday. »
“A form of spirituality in motion”
This peak in attendance confirms the increase in registrations observed in recent years. Maxime, 23, will for the first time be at the heart of this melee of pilgrims. Accustomed to the bivouac, this former scout from Seine-et-Marne felt the “need to share a form of spirituality in motion with others”. Seeking “a path of hope and to live a renewed faith experience in a very worrying time”, this science student will walk this summer on the paths of Compostela, “as if to play the extensions”, says, smiling, this amateur of rugby.
Like him, many young people have signed up for this pilgrimage, whose average age this year is 20 and a half. Maxime is not surprised by this crowd. A dozen young people from his entourage “committed to the Church or not” will walk by his side.