With very little luggage and riding a tandem bicycle, two young brothers embarked on an 850 km adventure through Europe. Ignacio and Simón Jurado live in London and took advantage of their recent vacation to visit the Original Shrine in Schoenstatt. Between June 28 and July 11, they traveled through five countries, including England, where they started their journey.
In an interview, they share some details of their epic journey, in which they had to face scorching heat and search for shelter amid beautiful landscapes.
Can you tell us a little about yourselves: where you are from, your age, and if you belong to the Schoenstatt Movement?
We are Ignacio and Simón Jurado Terán, we are 19 and 18 years old, respectively. We are Argentineans, but we were born and live in London (England). We do not belong to the Schoenstatt Movement, but before they got married and moved to London, our parents led a Schoenstatt group of couples engaged to be married in Argentina. Once in London, they started a group with the Pilgrim Mother, so she has always been very present in our lives since we were little.
What was the itinerary of the pilgrimage, how many days did it last, and how many kilometers did you travel?
The pilgrimage was from London to Schoenstatt, and during the journey we crossed France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany, passing through the cities of Dover, Dunkirk, Ostend, Bruges, Rotterdam, The Hague, Leiden, Düsseldorf, Cologne, and finally Schoenstatt. We covered a total of 850 km and cycled for 11 days, not counting the three-day stop at our uncle’s house in Düsseldorf.
Why did you decide to make this pilgrimage? Why the Original Shrine in Schoenstatt?
We decided to make this pilgrimage because we have seen how political tension and wars have increased in the world, in Israel, Iran, and Palestine, but also closer to home, in England, Russia, and Ukraine. Our purpose was to make a journey in search of peace and hope for the world. We hadn’t planned our route very well, but we wanted to visit family and friends along the way, as well as Schoenstatt, since we had always been very aware of this shrine, through the Pilgrim Mother who visited us from time to time. Our plan was to pass through the Original Shrine and continue until we reached 1,000 km, but the day we arrived, we felt the peace of this place and decided to end our trip there.
How was this experience?
This experience was quite intense. We faced challenges and received God’s blessings along the way. For example, on the second night, we arrived in Dunkirk and drove around the city without finding a place to sleep. It was 10 p.m. when we arrived at a church in the city center. The parish priest was not there, but there was a party in the parish hall. We asked for help there and, providentially, they let us set up our tent in the garden in front of the parish house. Through things like this, God and the Blessed Mother protected us along the way. When we arrived in Schoenstatt, we found peace in the shrines, but also in the people we met: the volunteers, the seminarians, the sisters, and the priests. We had the opportunity to help where it was needed with gardening at the original shrine and with preparations for the Ignis.
Today we start driving to Italy with our family. Perhaps Simon will join the Youth Jubilee in Rome, and since I cannot do that, I will try to go to the canonization of Frassati and Acutis in September.
Translation: Maribel Acaron
