Saint Henry's Way ( fi, Pyhän Henrikin tie, sv, S:t Henriksleden) is a pilgrim path in the regions of

Southwest Finland Southwest Finland, calqued as Finland Proper ( fi, Varsinais-Suomi ; sv, Egentliga Finland), is a region in the southwest of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Uusimaa, and Åland. The regi ...

and

Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish and Swedish, ) is a region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia and Ostrobothnia. The capital city of the region is ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

History

Saint Henry's Way was born as a result of the

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

Bishop Henry Saint Henry ( fi, Henrik; sv, Henrik; la, Henricus; died 20 January 1156.) was a medieval English clergyman. He came to Sweden with Cardinal Nicholas Breakspeare in 1153 and was most likely designated to be the new Archbishop of Uppsala, but th ...

who was allegedly murdered in the ice of

Lake Köyliö A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

in the winter of 1156. The original

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

route started from the

Kirkkokari Kirkkokari ("the Church Islet", also known as Saint Henry's Island) is a small island in Köyliönjärvi, Lake Köyliö in Köyliö, Köyliö municipality, Satakunta, Finland. It is the only Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Christian pilgrimage, pil ...

island in

Köyliö Köyliö ( sv, Kjulo) is a List of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality of Finland. It was merged to the municipality of Säkylä on 1 January 2016. It was located in the Satakunta (region), Satakunta regions of Finland, region. ...

, the site of Henry's murder, and ended at his burial site, the Nousiainen Church. The route was later expanded to a total length of 140 kilometres, leading from

Turku Cathedral Turku Cathedral ( fi, Turun tuomiokirkko, sv, Åbo domkyrka) is the only medieval basilica in Finland and the Mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. It is the central church of the Lutheran Archdiocese of Turku and the seat ...

to the St. Henry's Chapel in

Kokemäki Kokemäki (; sv, Kumo) is a town and municipality in the Satakunta Region of Finland. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Finland is constitutionally bi-lingual with a Swedis ...

. The first pilgrimages were made in the 13th century.

The route

Saint Henry's Way consists of three sections. The first two are "Nunnapolku" (the Nun's Path) from

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

Nousiainen Nousiainen (; sv, Nousis) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southwest Finland region, from Turku along Highway 8 ( E8). The Finnish-speaking municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The po ...

and "Sant Henrikin tie" (St. Henry's Road) between Nousiainen and Köyliö. The last part from Köyliö to Kokemäki follows the tracks of historical Huovintie road, which dates back to the 9th century. The Nun's Path begins from the Turku Cathedral and travels via

Koroinen Koroinen (Finnish; ''Korois'' in Swedish) is a district in the Koroinen ward of the city of Turku, in Finland. It is located to the north of the city centre, across the river Aura from the Turku Student Village. Koroinen is mostly non-built-u ...

to Nousiainen Church. The second part leads mostly through the inhabited marsh and forest areas which are located between the regions of Southwest Finland and Satakunta. After joining the Huovintie road in

Säkylä Säkylä is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Satakunta region, southeast of the city of Pori. The municipality has a population of () and the municipality covers an area of of which is inland water (). The population density is ...

, Saint Henry's Way travels along the Lake Köyliö finally ending at Kokemäki.

Present pilgrimages

Today the Saint Henry's Way is a marked path for hikers and cyclists. The

Catholic Church in Finland The Catholic Church in Finland is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. As of 2018, there were more than 15,000 registered Catholics in Finland out of a total population of 5.5 million. There ...

organizes an annual pilgrimage from Turku to Köyliö. It ends on a

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

held in the Kirkkokari island on the last pre-Midsummer Sunday. An

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

pilgrimage is organized every three years between Turku and Kokemäki. It was last arranged in June 2012.Pyhiinvaelluksia Suomessa
(in Finnish). Retrieved 21 April 2014.

References

External links

{{coord missing, Finland Pilgrimage routes Tourist attractions in Southwest Finland Tourist attractions in Satakunta