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.