"The pilgrimage started during the World Youth Day in Czestochowa 25 years ago. The appeal of John Paul II to evangelise Eastern Europe was heard by two of our students at the time, now priests, Dariusz Presnal and Leszek Ziola, and they started the Salesian Pilgrimage of Evangelisation” says Fr Mejer.
In addition to the common characteristics of every pilgrimage, the Salesians and the young people participating in this experience proclaim the Good News to all the people they meet along the way, with renewed vigour and using different media. On the streets and squares of the towns and villages they pass through they perform simple plays and organize concerts of songs (religious and otherwise) and games for children, always ending with a prayer or a testimony.
The joy of evangelization, the spontaneity and the serenity of the young people after a tiring day and evenings spent with the people in entertainment and in prayer, have become a trait that distinguishes the Salesian Pilgrimage of Evangelisation from all the other pilgrimages that take place in Poland.
On the occasion of this 25th anniversary they also released a souvenir album. In his words of thanks, one of the founders, Fr Ziola, writes: "gratitude is an expression of love and respect that touches our hearts ... The Salesian Pilgrimage of Evangelisation is a real time of grace that God has given to all of us, especially to the young. Indeed, in all these events, meetings, gatherings and pilgrimages the Lord has made us happy. We discovered the merciful love of the Father and the gift of friendship among us."
