A Dutch woman’s solo pilgrimage on foot from Maastricht to Rome

By Piotr Kowalczuk

“My name is Christel Grimbergen. I live in Amsterdam. I am a psychiatrist. In my work, I help people from the streets, many of whom struggle with legal problems and addictions. I celebrated my 52nd birthday on my way to Rome while crossing the Po River,” said Grimbergen, sitting in a café on Piazza della Città Leonina, beneath the former residence of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, just next to St. Peter’s Square.

Reading God’s signs

She was baptized Catholic but grew up in a family that did not practice the faith. She became interested in religion eight years ago and gradually drew closer to Catholicism, eventually receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation.

She had never considered going on a pilgrimage because she simply did not like walking.

Three years ago, her close friend Marieke, who had travelled all over the world, passed away. Partly in tribute to her memory and partly for religious reasons, Grimbergen decided to set out on a pilgrimage. “She inspired me. I thought she would certainly have liked this idea, and if she were still alive, she would have come with me.”

During the winter, she travelled to Spain and walked 150 kilometres (about 93 miles) of the famous Camino Francés to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Two years later she returned—this time starting from Amsterdam. She walked for four months.

“This time it was a very long journey. Then I thought: all right, let’s do it again—but this time to Rome. I wanted to experience silence, solitude, and have plenty of space to stay in contact with God, to read God’s signs and to experience trust in Him. Walking such a long distance involves a great deal of stress. So many things happen. You simply have to believe that in the end everything will be all right,” Grimbergen explained.

Saint Servatius

Before setting out for Rome, Grimbergen repeatedly trained by walking the 450-kilometer (the 280-mile) route from Amsterdam to Maastricht.

She chose to start here pilgrimage to Rome in Maastricht “because it is a city close to my heart. I studied there, and that is where I first entered a church—the Basilica of Saint Servatius. In the fourth century, he was Bishop of Tongeren and is the patron saint of Maastricht. Even though he was no longer young, he walked to Rome three times. I thought: if he managed it, maybe I can too.”

The reliquary of St Servatius in the basilica in Maastricht, where Grimbergen began her pilgrimage

Saint Servatius is traditionally associated with keys, so Grimbergen saw a connection with Saint Peter, who is buried in Rome. She completed the final kilometre of her pilgrimage to the Apostle’s tomb accompanied by Dutch priest Eric van Teijlingen, a canon of St. Peter’s Basilica, who met her at the entrance to Via della Conciliazione—the road leading to the Basilica.

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On the way to the Vatican Grottoes, he led her into one of the side chapels and showed her a ceiling fresco depicting Saint Peter rising from his tomb and handing the Keys of Heaven to Saint Servatius, who is praying before the altar, in recognition of his defense against Arianism.

Thirty-eight kilometres in one day

Asked how she organized such an expedition, Grimbergen explained that it is sometimes possible to book accommodation in special pilgrim hostels along pilgrimage routes—but it is not always guaranteed.

On journeys this long, much has to be improvised. Sometimes meals are available at the hostel, or food can be bought in a café or supermarket. However, in eastern France many small villages are isolated, with no shops at all.

Her plan was to walk no more than 25 kilometres (16 miles) a day, and even less in the mountains. But sometimes the only way to reach accommodation required much longer distances. Her personal record was 38 kilometres (24 miles) in a single day.

Dangers along the way

Grimbergen shared that many unexpected dangers await a pilgrim.

Walking with a heavy backpack, even with trekking poles, it is easy to stumble, fall and get injured. There are also heat waves, snow, thunderstorms, insects and aggressive dogs.

She recalled the most dramatic moment of her pilgrimage. “I was walking in the mountains between France and Switzerland. The forecast suggested there was only a slight chance of thunderstorms, so I set off. I had to cross one mountain before descending to my accommodation. Suddenly a thunderstorm broke out. I felt as if the air itself was electrified. Then hail started falling and the wind became fierce.”

At Great St Bernard Pass, which sits high in the Pennine Alps directly on the border between Switzerland and Italy

She found herself alone on an empty road through the middle of a dense forest, with nowhere to take shelter.

“At first I became worried and frightened. Then I started praying,” Grimbergen said. Eventually a van appeared.

“The driver stopped and rescued me. He was an electrician and his name was Florian—the patron saint who protects against fire and lightning. He drove me to a small bar called Le Refuge—’The Refuge.’ I was very lucky.”

Moments of doubt

“Every day I asked myself: Why am I doing this?” Grimbergen admitted. “Can I really make it? I’m not a good walker. It’s either too cold or too hot. Dogs terrify me because I’m terribly afraid of them.”

Prayer helped her, as did beautiful moments in nature and the people she met along the way.

Heat was one of the challenges Grimbergen faced during the pilgrimage

“The best thing is not to think further ahead than one day. I would wake up in the morning and set off again on my little walk, convinced that I can do it—that I simply have to keep going.”

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Faith in humanity

Asked what the pilgrimage gave her and what such an experience can teach a person, Grimbergen began by speaking about the feeling that someone—or something—was protecting her, whether from dogs or hailstorms.

She said that encounters with people who helped her along the route meant a great deal. Often they prayed together. In Italy, people showed her holy cards of saints especially important to them. “They gave them to me to kiss. For me, it was very important to understand how they lived their faith. We talked about it a lot.”

In France, local people often asked her: “Pray for us when you reach Rome.”

Grimbergen carefully wrote down their prayer intentions, phone numbers and addresses so that she could pray for them at the tomb of Saint Peter and later send them photographs or postcards.

“It is truly remarkable that when you travel on foot, so many people help you,” she stressed. “There is mutual trust. People help one another, and that is really beautiful. I think that is the most beautiful thing about a pilgrimage: you gain faith in humanity.”

A pilgrimage to Jerusalem

When asked about her next pilgrimage, Grimbergen immediately mentioned Jerusalem, but that destination is currently on hold as war continues there.

She stressed that such pilgrimages require careful preparation.

For Rome, she trained four times a week under the guidance of a former professional football player, focusing especially on strengthening the muscles and tendons in her knees and ankles, which fortunately caused her few problems.

“I think Jerusalem will present different challenges—especially the heat. My preparation will take at least two years. If everything goes well, if my parents stay healthy and my employer grants me leave, perhaps I can set out in three years. If that happens, I will have completed the three great pilgrimages on foot from my home in Amsterdam: to Santiago de Compostela, Rome and Jerusalem.”