My new role as a consultant for innovative pilgrimage formats

I am embarking on a new role – and I am doing so with great curiosity, respect, and a genuine desire to work together: since November 2025, I have been a consultant for innovative pilgrimage formats based at the Catholic parish office in Stralsund. The two-year part-time position is largely funded by the Bonifatiuswerk as a so-called personnel position and is based in the Archdiocese of Berlin.

What may sound a little like promotional prose at first glance means, in concrete terms, that I have an open space in front of me where I can work with partners to explore how pilgrimages today reach people who long for meaning, depth, and orientation—without having to identify with the church. In a strongly secular region like Vorpommern, this is a great opportunity for me.

The position builds on the established structures of ecumenical pilgrimage work in Vorpommern – but deliberately adds an additional emphasis. I see time and again that many people feel a longing for meaning, spirituality, and conversations about their lives. At the same time, they are put off by the idea of a pilgrimage lasting several days, or it simply does not fit into their everyday lives.

This is exactly where low-threshold pilgrimage formats should come in in the future – in everyday life, in one's own neighborhood, in the middle of the city. For me, pilgrimage does not have to be a week-long walk. Spiritual experiences on the road can be integrated into the daily routine in a similar way to everyday retreats.

Among other things, the following are planned:

• short everyday formats such as “5-minute pilgrimages” with spiritual impulses on the way to work or during a walk,
• “pilgrimages in your own neighborhood” with spiritual stations at familiar everyday locations,
• themed pilgrimage routes on sustainability, reconciliation, and vocation,
• intergenerational and interfaith offerings, as well as culture-related routes that combine art, music, or literature with spirituality.

The aim is to reach those who have not yet consciously embarked on a search for meaning, but who have long felt an inner longing for depth and orientation.

Networking and exchange expressly desired

I deliberately see this position as a networking role. Through close cooperation with the Ecumenical Pilgrimage Initiative Vorpommern, the pilgrimage centers in Hamburg and Berlin, and other church and municipal partners, the impact should extend far beyond the region. Vacationers who have their first pilgrimage experiences in Stralsund, on Rügen, or on the Baltic Sea coast should be able to take these impulses with them and continue them in their home communities.

At the same time, I would like to develop, test, and learn together with others on site. The first ideas will already be put into practice in January:

• Thursdays at 12:30 p.m., a short pilgrimage break: employees from the Catholic parish office will set off on a 30-minute pilgrimage to St. Nicholas Church.
• On Tuesdays, I would like to start pilgrimage explorations in and around Stralsund – I would be delighted to have companions join me.
• together with the Luther congregation and the Grünhufe neighborhood center, we are planning a pilgrimage day in Grünhufe.

My invitation

If you have any ideas, questions, would like to collaborate, or are simply curious about what is possible in this role, please feel free to contact me. I look forward to meeting you, thinking together, and taking courageous steps into the unknown.

Because that is exactly where pilgrimage begins for me.

Contact for inquiries

Sabine Petters
Sabine.Petters@erzbistumberlin.de
Tel.: 0160 6388947