Around the Benedictine monastery of San Vincenzo al Volturno

From September 8 to 15, 2025, we invite you to an ecumenical pilgrimage around the historic Benedictine monastery of San Vincenzo al Volturno in the province of Molise in Italy.

On the pilgrimage, you will not only experience the impressive mountain world of Abruzzo on challenging high-altitude tours, but you will also participate in the spiritual life and enriching exchange with the sisterhood of the monastery.

In the midst of the majestic mountain world, we will undertake challenging hikes that demand both physical ability and mental strength. We will offer spiritual impulses along the way to help us enter into conversation with God and with one another.

The high mountain tours will take you through breathtaking landscapes where you can fully enjoy the unspoilt nature and tranquillity of the mountains. Every step you take on these paths will be accompanied by the beauty and silence of the surroundings. This creates space for reflection and inner contemplation.

Another aspect of this pilgrimage is the immersion in the almost 1300-year history of the monastery and the history of the province. Shared meals, the exchange of thoughts and experiences, as well as the experience of common prayer strengthen the bonds within the group and promote a feeling of connection and understanding.

Let yourself be inspired by the spirituality of the monastery, the beauty of nature and the warmth of the community and enjoy a week full of deep and enriching experiences in the heart of Italy.

You are warmly invited to the information evening on January 31, 2025, 5 p.m., in the basement of the Catholic rectory in Stralsund (Frankenwall 7, 18439 Stralsund). On this evening, you can also register for the program.

We offer: 

• Simple shared accommodation in the monastery guesthouses with shower and made beds (some bunk beds)
• Breakfast and (hot) dinner, as well as provisions for the road
• Flight, accommodation, meals and transportation from Naples airport and back
• Travel to and from Berlin airport is at your own expense and responsibility

We expect:

• Mental and physical health
• Openness to the Catholic and Protestant Christian faiths, as well as participation in prayers and church services
• Flexibility if tours have to be replaced by other excursions due to bad weather
• A private health and accident insurance policy
• Travel cancellation insurance

The route requires a good level of fitness (daily distances of around 15 km with some 900 m elevation gain) on forest-like and partly unsurfaced scree paths. Appropriate clothing is required, as well as well-broken-in climbing shoes, walking sticks or a hiking pole, and a day backpack for a change of clothes and snacks.

Costs: €989.00

The organizer is the Pilgrim Center in the north of St. Jacobi Hamburg
Address: Jakobi-Kirchhof 22, 20095 Hamburg

The pilgrimage group is limited to a maximum of 18 participants.

You will receive an invoice from the “Pilgerzentrum im Norden St. Jacobi Hamburg” for the deposit and the balance. Upon confirmation of the deposit of €200, the terms and conditions of participation are accepted and the registration is binding. The balance is to be paid by July 30, 2025.

The number of participants is subject to change.

Please register by February 28, 2025 by email to:
info@pilgerinitiative-vorpommern.de

Kind regards,

Your accompanying team:
Pastor Johannes Schaan, Parish of St. Bernhard Stralsund - Rügen - Demmin
Pastor Ellen Nemitz
Marion von Brechan – Tourism Chaplaincy of the Archdiocese of Berlin
Christoph Nemitz