Fourteen young people from across Europe, along with the Rev. Scott Moore (Erfurt/Nürnberg), recently linked their participation in the annual Festival of Gathering with a pilgrimage to St. Hildegard’s Abbey near Rüdesheim, Germany.
“I could have not predicted such a great outcome,” said Antonio Merino, who co-leads the 20s30s group out of the American Cathedral in Paris. “We had a very good number of people and, what is most beautiful, is that they were very open and really participated.”
The group was made up of participants from across the Convocation, as well as a representative from the Board of Foreign Parishes in New York and the president of the Church of Sweden Youth. They participated in the Festival on Friday and Saturday and then went to Rüdesheim on Sunday and Monday where, following the Benedictine tradition of the sisters, they both prayed and worked (Ora et Labora).
“We all deeply connected with St Hildegard, due to her spirituality, devotion, and love of nature and all God’s creation. Her passion for music, creativity, and leadership was so inspiring to us,” Merino commented.
He explained that this year’s program grew out of a pilgrimage by the 20s30s group from the Cathedral to the convention in Florence, Italy, in 2024. “During that journey, we realized there were many other Episcopal young adults around Europe, so we applied for and successfully got a grant from the Episcopal Church in the US to fund and create this Convocation-wide Young Adults’ Ministry and this was our first pilgrimage.
“It worked well. There was a different dynamic at the beginning than last year, since we didn’t all know one another, but it worked well,” he said. The fact the Abbey is so near Wiesbaden “could not have been more perfect. We’ve made a great connection with the Abbey and since there will likely be more conventions in Wiesbaden, I expect we will continue to develop programs with them.”
