The pilgrimage from

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...

Telgte Telgte (German pronunciation: �tɛlktə regionally �tɛlçtə is a town in the Warendorf district, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the river Ems 12 km east of Münster and 15 km west of Warendorf. Telgte is famous as a place of ...

takes place since 1852 on the second Sunday after the

Feast of Saints Peter and Paul The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul or Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul is a liturgical feast in honor, of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June. The celebration is of ancient Christi ...

; it is known as Telgte pilgrimage ("Telgter Wallfahrt") or Osnabrück pilgrimage ("Osnabrücker Wallfahrt (nach Telgte)"). Each year approximately 8,000 pilgrims participate in the 47 km long walk along the B51 and more visitors arrive by bus or car.

History

The pilgrimage was started by layman citizen of Osnabrück in 1852, approved by the Catholic Church under the condition, that no spirits or other alcoholic beverages will be drunk. In 1856 the procession was led for the first time by a priest.
Despite an interdiction during the wars in 1864-1866 (

Second War of Schleswig The Second Schleswig War ( da, Krigen i 1864; german: Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg) also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. T ...

) and 1914-1918 (

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

), during the

Kulturkampf (, 'culture struggle') was the conflict that took place from 1872 to 1878 between the Catholic Church led by Pope Pius IX and the government of Prussia led by Otto von Bismarck. The main issues were clerical control of education and ecclesiastic ...

1872-1882 and during

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

1938-1944 many people went in small groups or alone on the pilgrimage to Telgte.

Object of veneration

The object of veneration is the statue of the painful

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

. It shows Mary, holding the body of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

after his death. The statue was made in 1370 and is thus one of the oldest portrayals of this motive (see

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...

). The statue is made from wood of the poplar and 150 cm in height.
In 1654 the Prince-Bishop

Bernhard von Galen Christoph Bernhard Freiherr von Galen (12 October 1606, Drensteinfurt – 19 September 1678) was Prince-bishop of Münster. He was born into a noble Westphalian family. Background, education and conversion to Roman Catholicism Christoph Bernha ...

had a chapel built especially for the pietà and the pilgrimage. After this the interest in the Osnabrück pilgrimage increased even more.

Course of the pilgrimage

The pilgrimage starts on Saturday at 1:30 am with masses in the churches St. Johann and St. Joseph in

, and at 3 am the walk begins. The pilgrims walk through the village Oesede (

Georgsmarienhütte Georgsmarienhütte () is a town in the district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Teutoburg Forest, approx. 7 km south of Osnabrück. History In 1856 the company "Georgs-Marien-Bergwerks- und Hüttenverein" wa ...

) and the town

Bad Iburg Bad Iburg (; Westphalian: ''Bad Ibig'') is a spa town in the district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Teutoburg Forest, 16 km south of Osnabrück. Bad Iburg is also the name of a municipality which includes ...

. They reach Glandorf at about 8 am where another mass is celebrated. At 10 am they rest in Oedingberge and a meditation is held. The procession reaches

Ostbevern Ostbevern is a municipality in the district of Warendorf, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Ostbevern is situated on the river Bever, approx. 18 km north-east of Münster and 18 km north-west of Warendorf. Neighbouring m ...

approximately at 1 pm and after a lunch break they set out for the last part of the walk. They reach Telgte at 4 pm and visit the

pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form o ...

. With prayers for the night in the church St. Clemens, the schedule for the first day ends.
The first pilgrim mass starts on Sunday at 4:30 am with at least one other mass following for children and youths. Before they begin their way back at 8 am they come together for a last prayer. At 7 pm they reach The church of Peter and Paul in Oesede (Georgsmarienhütte), where the final meditation is held.

External links

{{Commons cat, Telgte Pilgrimage
Osnabrück pilgrimage
official website of bishopric Osnabrück (German)
Telgte pilgrimage
official website of parish St. Clemens, Telgte (German)
Pietà in Telgte
an article from bishopric Münster (German) Marian devotions Christian pilgrimages