The theological study days for Catholics in the Nordic countries, organised by Ansgar-Werk for the 51st time, were held at Haus Ohrbeck near Osnabrück at the turn of June–July. Around forty Catholics from all five Nordic countries enjoyed a generous portion of exegesis, theological reflection, prayer, and ecclesial sharing in the heat of the German summer. This year’s theme, fitting for the Jubilee Year, was “Pilger der Hoffnung – Pilgrims of Hope”.
The first main lecture was given by Franciscan Father Cornelius Bohl OFM from Fulda. Fr. Bohl explored the word Pilger (pilgrim) from the perspective of hope and its etymology. Pilger, like the English pilgrim, French pèlerin, and equivalent words in many other languages, all derive from the Latin peregrinus. This is formed from two parts: per – through, over – and ager – field, land, area. It refers to a person who is on a journey, travelling somewhere. This connects with the New Testament’s Letter to the Hebrews, where the Apostle Paul describes those who trust in God’s promises as being “strangers and pilgrims on earth” – in Latin peregrini et hospites, in Greek ξένοι καὶ παρεπίδημοί. Xénoi means strangers or foreigners, parepídēmoi temporary residents or sojourners. In the final part of his lecture, Fr. Bohl invited participants to explore the theme of journeying and foreignness in small groups using various biblical texts.
The theme was continued by Dr Martina Kreidler-Kos, head of the pastoral care unit of the Diocese of Osnabrück. She inspiringly highlighted holy women and contemporary female figures who inspire hope, partly from the perspective of gender equality. In her talk and the subsequent discussion, many names were mentioned: St Catherine of Siena, St Agnes of Bohemia, and – perhaps most surprisingly and in a way that crossed religious boundaries – the Egyptian-born Professor Azza Karam, an internationally recognised peacebuilder and promoter of interreligious cooperation. She worked for many years in the service of the UN and from 2019 to 2023 served as Secretary General of the world’s largest interreligious network, Religions for Peace, as the first woman and the first Muslim in the role.
On the excursion day, the group walked along a forest path where Stations of the Cross had been erected. At several stations, Ansgar-Werk’s director, Fr. Hermann Hülsmann, offered short meditations.
New Testament Pilgrims
The theme of hope and pilgrimage continued with the lectures of the main speaker of the study days, priest and professor Hans-Georg Gradl, who drew insights from the New Testament. Gradl’s way of lecturing, teaching, and engaging his audience is unique. His enthusiasm, his method of analysing comments, and then guiding the discussion further – while keeping the thread of the subject – kept all the participants engaged on this little “pilgrimage of hope”.
What, then, is a pilgrimage? Setting out on a journey, walking step by step, facing uncertainty about what lies ahead, yet also carrying a certain inner trust and hope. Among the biblical stories that became especially vivid during the week was the journey of the disciples to Emmaus, a village sixty stadia from Jerusalem – in today’s terms about a two-hour walk (Luke 24:13–35).
When they arrived, the disciples, Cleopas and another, persuaded the man who had walked with them – and whom they had not recognised – to stay with them in the village. Even though the man, Jesus, had enlightened them by referring to the prophets’ teaching about what had just happened in Jerusalem, they did not recognise him until “he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them.” Then their eyes were opened – and at that moment, he vanished from their sight.
The disciples asked each other: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road?” This is the secret of pilgrimage. People set out for millions of different reasons, but what our minds and hearts encounter and discover along the way is always, in some sense, a surprise. “On the road, in conversation with the stranger, new understanding is born, and the future opens up,” Professor Gradl remarked. The road to Emmaus is for all of us an example of where the Christian way inevitably leads: to the breaking and sharing of bread, the Eucharist. It is no wonder that already early on, the community of those who believed in Christ and their faith were called simply “the Way” – Latin via, Greek Ὁδός (hodos). Our life as Christians is a way whose beginning and end is Christ.
The Lübeck Martyrs
In the midst of the German summer heat, one visit was arranged on a day when the temperature was even slightly under 30 degrees. By car, the group travelled to Christ the King Church in the Haste district of Osnabrück, where the memory of the Lübeck Martyrs is honoured. The parish priest spoke informally about the church and parish life in Germany, and then handed over to a senior parishioner who told more about the martyrs.
These martyrs were three Catholic priests and one Lutheran pastor who were arrested in 1942 during the Nazi regime and executed in June 1943. The Catholic priest martyrs Johannes Prassek, Eduard Müller, and Hermann Lange were beatified in 2011, and their Lutheran colleague, Pastor Karl-Friedrich Stellbrink, was also remembered at the commemoration.
The little pilgrimage then continued in a more hopeful mood, walking mainly along forest paths to St John the Apostle and Evangelist Pilgrimage Church in Rulle, 4.5 km away, where Mass was celebrated. Dinner was enjoyed at a nearby restaurant.
Unhealed Wounds?
Germany is a country with many traumas. One of them is, understandably, the abuse that has taken place within the Church – in some cases over long periods – and the inadequate response to it. The situation has, of course, improved significantly since cases came to light and measures and guidelines have been issued from Rome, but much remains to be addressed and reflected upon.
From the perspective of justice, healing, and reconciliation, the topic was addressed by parish priest Peter Winkeljohann, who had recently completed a doctorate on the subject. Perhaps the key point of his fact-filled presentation was the question of to what extent and in what way reconciliation between perpetrator and victim would be possible – if at all. At the very least, it was thought, it would require a great deal of time, and justice must truly have been served in the meantime.
The Pilgrim’s Freedom and Heart
At the beginning and end of the study days, we heard contributions from “the house’s own” Brother Andreas Brands OFM and Father Franz Richardt OFM. Brother Andreas spoke of his recently completed pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and of the many “strangers” he had met along the way. In such encounters, one can sometimes enter into much deeper, even existential conversations. Someone might say: “Here beside me is a stranger whom I will only get to know during this walk, and whom I will never see again. With this person, I can talk about anything.” Such independence and freedom is something our souls occasionally long for.
Father Franz reminded us at the end that a pilgrimage is always also a journey inward – and sometimes it can be very long. The answers and insights we find within cannot be rushed; they must be allowed to unfold in their own time. “Waiting and patience” may not appeal to the modern person, Father Franz noted, but they can also be understood differently: as attentive presence and participation in the present moment, as heartfelt compassion in a heartless world, as care, engagement, the giving of one’s own “heart’s blood” (cf. 2 Tim. 1:6–12), and – perhaps ultimately – as receiving a new heart.
Grateful Pilgrims
The Osnabrück study days are a major undertaking by Ansgar-Werk. We German-speaking Catholics from across the Nordic countries – both long-time and new participants – once again expressed our deep gratitude to all the organisers. We are already looking forward to next year with new lectures and experiences – and, above all, to meeting German and other Nordic brothers and sisters in the faith. This year, the Finnish group consisted, besides the undersigned, of Bishop Emeritus Teemu Sippo S.C.I., Deacon Marko Pitkäniemi, Nikodemus Heikman, and Pilvi Listo-Tervaportti.
Marko Tervaportti
Synodal Method for Group Work
Fr. Bohl’s instructions for the group work followed a method used in synodal work. It consists of seven steps:
- Silent reading and prayer over the text to be analysed.
- First round: listen to each person’s reflections on the text.
- Silence: what remarks have touched me inwardly?
- Second round: listen to how others’ thoughts have influenced my own.
- Silence: reflect further on what has been said in the previous rounds.
- Third round: discuss what the group can say together on the subject and what each person can take away from it.
- Prayer of thanksgiving.