The reasons why people go on a pilgrimage can be different - the desire for change, to get closer to God or to understand oneself. In any case, not the destination of the pilgrimage, but the path itself is the most important thing, because it is the path that transforms a person, according to Sandra Rone, the founder of the Association of the Way of Saint James of Latvia, and Ilmārs Tolstovs, the dean of the Catholic parishes of Ogre and Salaspils.
On Thursday, August 1st, this year, the first pilgrims from Riga will set out on foot from from Riga's St. Jacob's Cathedral. More pilgrims will leave from Salaspils on Saturday, August 3, at eight in the morning, Tolstovs said, adding that currently more than 60 people have applied for the pilgrimage.
"There will be more. This is just the beginning. We will have a lot of teenagers, there will be such a pilgrimage of young people, teenagers," said Tolstovs.
The dean admitted that nowadays people have less time to devote to the pilgrimage, so it is not always necessary to walk the whole way to Aglona. It is also possible to join a pilgrimage group for one or two days, or when Aglona is already on the horizon.
"You just have to go. You have to get up and go, and the pilgrimage is a reminder that we are all travelers: we came into this world and we will leave. We are only here for a time, so the pilgrimage is a way of experiencing that God leads us through this life, that we are on the way, that we must not stop," Tolstovs said.
Of course, pilgrimages are present only a feature of Christianity, but also in other religions and cultural movements. Moreover, pilgrimages such as the Santiago de Compostela way are by no means limited to Catholics or even Christian believers in general.
"I think it is inscribed in human nature that we need to go, that we need a goal and at the same time, most importantly, need a path. The path is the most important thing, because when you reach end, you realize that the path is what has transformed you," believes Tolstovs.
"A lot of Lutherans and people of other denominations say, yes, but it's a Catholicization and so-and-so... [but] the Camino is a huge, powerful, wonderful alternative for those of different denominations, or all those who are only seekers, or thinkers, maybe philosophers," said Tolstovs.
If there has come a moment in life when it seems that something needs to be put in order, a pilgrimage is a good way to leave all unnecessary things at home, put aside all chores and go. Most people go on a pilgrimage alone, taking only what is necessary with them.
Everything has to be carried in the hands or on the back, and pilgrims know that every extra gram comes at a cost. Rone herself set off on the Camino for the first time 10 years ago.
"I mostly always walked alone. Then come many discoveries about what we meet on the road and how we treat ourselves. About the fact that we can be quite happy with what we have on our backs, that there are a lot of unnecessary things in life, that we are overgrown with things at home, because what we have in our backpacks is actually enough for us. That's the discovery," said Rone.
Being alone without unnecessary distractions, Rone got to know herself and her abilities better, and this gave her the courage and desire to learn even more, go even further and give this opportunity to people in Latvia as well.
That's how the idea came to create "Camino Latvija" - a network of the route of St. James throughout Latvia, which connects the international Santiago route in Europe with sections in Estonia and Lithuania.
"I myself belong to the congregation of the Riga Cross, and sometimes, when talking to people, they say: well, yes, you're fine, you can go to Spain, you have time and money. I wanted to say that everyone can go, and they can also go here in Latvia. There be this Camino in Latvia, and it will not require special time, nor knowledge of foreign languages," said Rone.
