The pilgrimage started on Sunday, 25 June with the Holy Mass celebrated by the regional superior of the Salesian Society in Belarus, Father Pavel Shcharbitsky SDB. After worship the organisers took a photo of all the participants together and SMEP set off.
The theme of the pilgrimage this summer was “In search of God”. Father Oleg Korolev SDB was invited as the speaker and he also was responsible for organising and supervising the pilgrimage.
During six days, together with Father Oleg, pilgrims had the opportunity to contemplate the following topics: “Listening and hearing”, “Virgin Mary”, “Eucharist”, “Love”, “Mercy” and “Synodality”. In order to better understand the message of each conference the participants in the pilgrimage were divided into small groups to hold discussions and share their thoughts on the topics presented during the day.
The pilgrimage is an exceptional retreat opportunity while on the move. It is an opportunity to think about one’s life, restore oneself spiritually and morally. It should be noted that the word “Evangelisation” in the name of the SMEP pilgrimage did not appear accidentally. During the pilgrimage young people shared their faith with the people they met on their way. Every day the pilgrims arranged fun evenings at the places where they stopped for rest and local residents were always invited to talk, to dance, to pray and follow the pilgrims’ testimony. Every year when the SMEP follows the Budslav Smorgon route the Salesians have gained a good reputation and local people in many villages are always waiting for the pilgrims.
The last day of the pilgrimage was very exciting – all the thoughts, joys and worries, all the burden of the journey were brought to the altar of the Budslav Mother of God. On this day Bishop Alexander Yashevskii SDB, also an experienced pilgrim, joined the pilgrims. After lunch, the pilgrimage entered Budslav singing joyful songs. In Budslav the pilgrims met thousands of other pilgrims who had come from different parts of our country to the main shrine of the country.
Vladyslav Zaretsky, ASC
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