10-04-2025, Antwerpen

Pilgrimage trip of the youth of the Church of the Nativity of Christ of Antwerp to Bruges.

On Thursday 10 April 2025 the youth of the Church of the Nativity of Christ of Antwerp took a pilgrimage trip to Bruges. The pilgrimage was organised with the active participation of Sunday school teachers and parishioners of the church, the spiritual leadership of the group was taken by Priest Ioann Nedosekin. A total of 25 people aged 10 to 18, as well as five chaperones took part in the trip.

The main event of the trip was the opportunity to lay hands on the great shrine - a flask with the blood of the Saviour, kept in the Basilica of the Holy Blood. The youth pilgrimage group also visited the Basilica of St. Basil the Great, the majestic Cathedral of the Virgin Mary, which houses Michelangelo's famous sculpture ‘Madonna and Child’, as well as the Cathedral of the Saviour.

In addition to the prayer, religious and informative part, the youth were able to admire the beauty of Bruges, taking a walk along the picturesque streets of the city and a boat ride along the ancient canals.

During the pilgrimage the children asked many deep questions about God, about faith, about life. The pilgrimage trip itself, which took place during the school Easter holidays on the eve of Holy Week, served as a reminder of the central importance of the Last Supper, the Passion of Christ and the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the life of every Christian, allowed them to touch the shrines associated with these great events, and strengthened the spiritual unity of the youth of the church.