Does a pilgrimage end?

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I stood by the final marker in front of Nidarosdomen four days ago. This wasn't the last walk, but it did mark the end of a journey over a month and about 560 km that is the northernmost Christian pilgrimage route in the world.

On Friday, I attended the Pilgrim service, where they announce that 58 pilgrims had arrived the previous day, including one Australian. Two more Australians, Jason and Annette from Goulburn had arrived that day and were acknowledged the following day at the last pilgrim service before the St Olav vigil on Olsok eve. There were nearly 160 pilgrims arrive with them.

Trondheim celebrates Olsok- St Olav's feast day with a range of events that to an Australian are far more openly religious than would happen at home.

Olsok eve starts with a pilgrim breakfast at Lian followed by a walk along the last eight kilometres of the route from Oslo. The walk stops briefly at Sverresborg, where there is the now de-consecrated church and where the western leg of the final pilgrims walk starts in the evening. It was also an opportunity to get another stamp in my credencial. This walk finished in the Archbishop's Courtyard, where the opening of Olavsfestdagene, the St Olav cultural festival, took place shortly after, we arrived. That is, for those who wanted to participate in that.

Early in the evening I walked over to Lade kirke, the church when the eastern leg of the Walking service began. This service generally follows the path of the routes from Oslo from the west, and Sundsvall and other start points from the east. Some groups time their arrival to reach these start points just in time to participate in the Walking service, effectively ending the final day of their pilgrimage walking to Nidarosdomen in this religious observance. One such group was at Lade, about 30 Norwegians and a man from Texas who had walked the Outer Route of the St Olavsleden from Munkaby, having started in Vuku. Expect for the Texan, who had started at Skulstagen in Sweden, an hour or so east of the boder.

Some of this group where impressed that an Australian had walked alone from Selangor (Sundsvall), but I think I was even more impressed to meet a woman amongst them who had walked alone from Oslo to Rome. She had taken five months to cover the 2,800 km, starting in Jul and finishing in mid-December.

The eastern and western groups proceed to the individual churches on their routes, coming together at Vår Frue kirke, the church of Our Lady. From here the combined groups walked to an assembly point just to the west of the cathedral, where there was a short final pilgrim ceremony before we crossed the cathedral square through an avenue of torches. Pilgrims were seated next to the octagon and alter at the eastern end of the cathedral for the Midnattsgudstjeneste Olavsvaka, the midnight service.

I did not stay for the vigil that followed the service, but many do, and the western end quickly filled as the seating was moved to make room for those who would stay the rest of the night.

Both the Norse and Catholic Churches hold services in Nidarosdomen on Olsok, and I went to the Catholic service in the afternoon. If the Norse Church midnight service was impressive for its quiet, almost austere, dignity, the Pontifical service the next day was a completely different affair. The entry procession was shrouded in incense, the simple regalia of attendants and non- ordained religious gave way to the opulent vestments of the priests who followed. Elaborately detailed religious artefacts were carefully held aloft within the folds of the vestments of the priest carrying them, perhaps to avoid the direct touch of a hand. The basic forms of the two services might have been similar, but the detailed conduct as different as perhaps would be possible.

I still find a sung Mass a moving service, even though I have long ceased to be an practicing Catholic. The use of Latin and Norwegian made it a little more difficult to follow, but not that much. A sermon in Norwegian made as much sense now as one in English might have made when I was a child. But I also knew this was the service marking an end point to my pilgrimage, and that the physical journey was now complete.

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Comments

[Monika]

Congrats!
I've enjoyed your blogs, Doug. You must feel as though this is a major achievement - and huge satisfaction at having completed it. What's next?!

[dougfitz]

What's next?
It's not clear yet when or where my next pilgrimage will be. I am still attracted to the idea of walking alone, which is easier to do in northern Europe than in Spain. We will see.