Pilgrimage - Bolivian style.

Having celebrated Independence Day early in August, Bolivia celebrated one of its most important religious festivals - Our Lady of Urkupiña. Although the feast centres around the Assumption it gets underway two weeks before and the crowds only diminish two weeks after. The origins of the pilgrimage are somewhat obscure but focus on the appearance of Our Lady to a young local girl. Nowadays hundreds of thousands of people converge on a town about 12 miles outside Cochabamba for the liturgical celebrations as well as mile after mile of processions, dancing, music and bands.



My own experience of the festivities began the day before the Assumption spending a leisurely afternoon watching the processions go by; groups from across the Country played local music and danced through the streets. The colour and variety were astounding as the hours went by and the groups seemed endless.





The pilgrimage was to begin for real the following day as thousands of people walked to the Shrine, setting off anytime after 1.00am. I settled for a more reasonable 4.00am start and a four hour walk to the sanctuary. It was quite a sight as people converged from different parts of the city and headed along the pilgrim route. Arriving at the Shrine the walk was not over; that was just the beginning of a procession to the hillside site of the apparitions and Mass finally at 11.00am celebrated by the Archbishop here who had led the pilgrimage from the City at 1.00am that morning accompanied largely by young pilgrims. His homily was simple and direct, the message of pilgrimage itself; our willingness to walk in the footsteps of Christ as Mary did. A journey of faith and trust in God which demands our commitment to peace, justice and love of our neighbour.




Hills and mountains were places of pilgrimage long before the arrival of Christianity in Latin America and mixed in with the pilgrimage are customs that go back to the religion of the people of the Andes. Here there is a great sense of the gifts we receive from the earth and of our responsibility to give back something of that goodness. People take stones from this place each year, symbolizing the grace received. An act of thanksgiving is to return that same stone the following year.



Looking down the hillside at the crowds and seeing the effort made, the suffering endured in the heat and the stifling, pressing of the crowd, I was struck by the faith of people here. A faith that is natural and unpretentious, spontaneous and alive. Everyone came with prayers and intentions, concerns and anxieties, but also a willingness to celebrate and enjoy the company of friends, family and the wider community of the Church.





After mass began the real challenge of the day - the journey back. The crowds were still arriving as we made our way back to Cochabamba. Concepts of crowd control and health and safety are far distant realities! It was a huge relief finally to find quiet back streets leading to the luxury of a bus ride home.

Touch down in Bolivia

Santa Cruz

Having given myself a month to settle into life here I’ve plenty to start this journal of my time in South America. Leaving Our Lady of Lourdes and St Oswald’s in Peterborough was harder than I ever imagined it would be; so many goodbyes and people to see and so many things left undone as I packed my holdall and headed for Heathrow. One major achievement was to realise my ambition of packing all I need into one 100 litre bag; having spread untidily over an entire house in Peterborough it has been good to know that so little is necessary!



Travelling with the struggling Brazilian airline, Varig, I was a little unsure how long the trip to Bolivia would take - I knew at least one connecting flight had been cancelled. As always happens if you’re ready and prepared for a long wait and have no urgent need to arrive at your destination, the cancellation managed to make my trip easier and quicker via another route and I arrived in Santa Cruz Bolivia earlier than envisaged. I was met there by Paul Koch, a St James’ Society priest and I began my South American adventure with a visit to one of Bolivia’s largest cities in the eastern lowlands. Bolivia is divided into three distinct areas. Firstly the low lying eastern areas including some rain forest as well as fertile lands and oil and gas fields. Secondly, the area I’m in now, the valleys up at moderate elevation around 8,000ft. Finally, the Altiplano, the high part of the Andes which takes in the capital La Paz. At this level life is at its hardest and levels of poverty are particularly high.

And so to Cochabamba where I arrived just over a month ago. I was met at the airport by the Bolivian family I am staying with for these five months. Having lived alone for the last eight years it was somewhat daunting to be sharing a home, but I’ve received a great welcome and it’s certainly a good way to learn a language being thrown into family life!

For most of the month I’ve been concentrating on my Spanish and I’m finally beginning to feel there are a few breakthroughs - fewer blank and pained expressions must be a sign that I’m making some kind of sense! I’m hoping that as September begins I’ll be able to do a little more and take on some limited pastoral work. Whilst in a way it’s a great luxury being a student with little more to worry about than the day’s homework, I do miss parish life and being with people.

Cochabamba's towering statue of Christ
just a bit taller than Rio's!

Bolivia is presently going through momentous times as the election of the first indigenous president, Evo Morales, brings the hope of change and an end to the endemic corruption which has characterized the Country for so long. In coming to power he promised a revised National Constitution and I was lucky to be in the historic legislative capital city of Sucre for the launch of the Constitutional Assembly.








It seems to be true here that if there’s something to be celebrated, it’s worth celebrating well. I’ve never seen so much colour and heard so many bands as that day. Endless processions of groups from across the land all with local music and costume. A truly amazing day.