News

Pilgrims set out for shrines in Eastern Europe

By Patricia Kasten
Compass Associate Editor

	READY TO GO: Bp. David Zubik goes over the check list while Pamela and Mary Zipp and others prepare to leave on The Compass pilgrimage to Poland, Austria and Germany. A photo gallery from the pilgrimage will be posted on The Compass Website after they return. (Rick Evans photo)

As they set off on a foggy June morning, 41 pilgrims found visions of the great shrines of Eastern Europe drawing them onward.

On June 1, they and Bp. David Zubik boarded a bus for the first leg in a 12-day pilgrimage to Poland, Austria and Germany. The trip, sponsored by The Compass, was tailored to highlight points dear to the heritage of northeast Wisconsin: including the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow and the birthplace of Pope John Paul II in Wadowice, Poland.

Many pilgrims were looking forward to seeing the sites in Poland.

"My mother was Polish and I always wanted to take her," said Mary Zipp of Niagara. The chance to do that never happened before her mother died, so when The Compass tour was announced, Mary decided to go. This time, she set off with her own daughter, Pamela. "It's still a mother-daughter trip," said Pamela, who lives in Tomahawk. "Just a different mother and daughter."

Shirley Kegel of Green Bay also wanted to learn more about her Polish heritage on this "dream vacation." She was especially anticipating visits to the Krakow shrine honoring Divine Mercy and its convent of St. Faustina, as well as the hometown of the late pope.

Kegel and others also anticipated the visit to the Nazi death camps of Auschwitz/Birkenau. Mike Chmielowiec of Brooklyn Center, Minn., said he had seen many videos about the camps and felt "it would be such a spiritual thing to see." The Zipps agreed: Pamela's great-grandmother had died at Auschwitz.

Bp. Zubik, whose grandfather was from Poland, felt it was important to see the concentration camps, even if it would be painful. "We can learn from that," he said, "about how not to be cruel to each other."

Mary Wagner of Athelstane, whose relatives came from Austria and Germany, was looking forward to seeing the European architecture. "I just love seeing churches."

Ann Vorpahl of Green Bay wanted to see the great shrines, especially in Poland, including the icon of the Black Madonna in Czestochowa. "I have my rosary with me," she said. "And I'm sure I'll be picking up a few more."

Bp. Zubik personally asked the pilgrims to bring rosaries, since that Marian devotion would figure prominently in the trip. Additionally, daily Mass was planned at shrines and churches, as well the Liturgy of the Hours to be prayed four times a day.

Barb Jurkowski of Green Bay said that will be a highlight: "Prayer, prayer, prayer. We kind of like that." Jurkowski is traveling with her brother, Mike Chmielowiec.

Bp. Zubik said "prayer is such an important part of a pilgrimage." But he was also "looking forward to new adventures" of all kinds.

Besides the shrines, the tour includes stops in Vienna, the site of imperial palaces and the renowned Mirabell Gardens, and Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart and site of The Sound of Music story, and Munich, with its 260-foot glockenspiel tower.

Judy Goddard of Ss. Edward and Isidore Parish in Flintville, was looking forward to Vienna. "I imagine there will be lots of music there." And Bernice Lasee of Sturgeon Bay, who had been to Austria on a one-day trip, was thrilled that The Compass tour would spend five days in that country. "One day just isn't long enough to see Austria," she said.

Bernadette McGovern was also looking forward to Austria for several reasons, including "all the wonderful desserts!"

The 12-day tour, the first sponsored by the diocesan paper in several years, ends on June 12.