Pilgrims of Peace
“Be the change you want to see in the world”
Mahatma Gandhi
In May 2026, a community of pilgrims will hit the road across Europe to embody Gandhi’s words, which call on us to be the change we wish to see in the world.
Setting out for peace, walking in peace. But which peace? Peace in our hearts, first and foremost. In our families. In our cities. In our countries. Peace among peoples. Among religions. And, perhaps above all, peace with the living world.
Dark Times
Many today feel that humanity is navigating a period of profound darkness. We are systematically destroying the natural environment, the very foundation of life itself. From the pollution of our atmosphere and oceans to the degradation of our soil, our actions are collapsing ecosystems and driving an alarming loss of biodiversity.
Beyond environmental decay, the world is scarred by escalating wars, geopolitical friction, and religious strife. The shadow of a new global conflict and the specter of nuclear warfare have, once again, become a reality.
Driven by materialism and individualism, modern society is increasingly defined by identity-based tensions and the "rule of the strongest." As the moral values that once anchored our communities fade, a sense of fragmentation begins to dominate human relationships.
An act of life
To be a community of pilgrims of peace, walking together across the lands of Europe.
Today, forming a community of men and women who stand tall, open, in motion, and attuned to something greater than ourselves, is a symbolic act. It is a stand against the fear, the burden, and the discouragement so often sparked by the current state of our world.
To set out today as pilgrims of peace upon the paths of Europe is to perform a poetic act. An act of resistance. An act of hope. A prophetic act. An act of life. Each of us will find the words that speak to our own heart.
Through this journey, we join a growing global community: those who strive, in their own way, to be catalysts for an awakening and a profound transformation of humanity.
An initiatory journey
All great spiritual traditions invite us to move, to immerse ourselves in the currents of life, and quite literally, to walk.
For centuries, millennia even, people across the globe have practiced pilgrimage. By suspending the ordinary flow of time, the pilgrim becomes a child of the present moment, walking toward a sacred place, a symbol of the transcendent, toward which their heart mysteriously leads.
This pilgrimage for peace is, above all, an initiatory act. Personal. Unique. It is a path of self-discovery, inviting each of us to return to the very source of life within.
Through encounters, hardships, wonder, and questioning, we each walk a path of learning a journey of awareness, humility, and trust.
We walk in search of inner peace, the essential first step toward the shared peace we all long for.
To meet, to sing, to keep watch
We will walk to meet the inhabitants of Europe’s villages and cities, and perhaps beyond. We will connect through the universal language of song, music, and dance, seeking to touch the soul of the peoples and traditions we encounter.
In sacred spaces, we will meditate, sing, or pray alongside them. We will reach out to all living spiritual traditions along our path, seeking what unites them beyond their differences. We also seek to meet communities of change, servants of Peace, and those dedicated to healing the world.
We will gather at sites of remembrance to honor our diverse roots and acknowledge collective traumas. Together, through listening, meditation, and symbolic acts, we will tend to the wounds still left open by the wars of the past and those of today.
Celebrating beauty and caring for the Earth
Crossing mountains, forests, hills, fields, and rivers, we will seek out beauty. We will stand in silence, listening to the teachings of the living world and the elements.
We will also listen within ourselves to the "echoes of the earth's suffering," in the words of the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. We will keep watch, meditate, and sing where life is in pain.
Wherever we can, through the gentleness of our footsteps and acts of care, we will strive to heal and beautify the Earth as we pass.
The birth of a pilgrim community on the Via Arduinna
The first steps...
In late October 2025, twenty-five pilgrims (12 women, 12 men, and a dog) set out to test this vision of a community pilgrimage for peace. Braving autumn winds and rain, they walked for eight days along the ancient paths of the Via Arduinna in the Belgian Ardennes, linking the Monastery of Wavreumont to Orval Abbey.
This pioneering march was a defining experience. Carried by the clarity of their intentions, inspired by the beauty of nature, and bound by their songs, they felt the power of this act in heart, body, and mind.
Through the days and nights on the road, they realised that peace is a movement, a quest, a dance ever-renewed. Here. Now. An art of living together. A relentless search to be the peace we wish to see in the world.
This nascent community and this first pilgrimage are the starting point of a much larger journey, which will continue in the spring of 2026 toward Sarajevo...
A film of this first experience has been produced. If you are interested in screening it, please contact the pilgrim-filmmaker: Alain Laurent.
A journey to the East
Our pilgrimage will be oriented toward the East. Year after year, for several months at a time, our caravan of Peace Pilgrims will walk toward the Rising Sun.
The East, the Orient, is a symbol of great depth, honored across all traditions. It represents light triumphing over darkness, birth, renewal, the source of life, hope, wisdom, and initiation. These values lie at the very heart of our intention.
In concrete terms, to the East of Europe lie Ukraine and Russia, lands of war and suffering. Beyond Europe, the Middle East and its conflict zones: Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank, Gaza… and Jerusalem. Jerusalem, the Holy City for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We will walk toward Jerusalem, a city that symbolises a wounded peace.
On the road to Sarajevo
On May 1, 2026, we will depart from Orval Abbey toward Sarajevo, a city of memory and a historical turning point. Sarajevo stands as a symbol of fragile coexistence, of the enduring possibility of harmony, and of the constant vigilance required to build Peace.
The journey from Belgium to Sarajevo covers over 2,000 kilometers, approximately a four-month walk. Our route will cross the French border toward Alsace, then lead through Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, and finally Bosnia.
Not everyone joining the caravan will necessarily walk for the full four months. It is possible to join the path for a limited time, depending on your availability and physical condition.
We will move step by step, day by day, week by week, guided by the path and whatever comes our way.
Picture: Samir ZahirovicJoin the pilgrimage
This pilgrimage is open to everyone, believers, atheists, and people of all traditions, generations, and nationalities who wish to walk toward peace.
It is open to anyone in good physical condition, capable of walking 20 to 25 kilometers a day and willing to embrace the spirit and demands of a community on the move, including a degree of physical discomfort.
However, our approach is meant to be inclusive. We will do our utmost to facilitate the participation of people with reduced mobility or disabilities.
We are also exploring ways for those who feel called by the project, but cannot join the physical caravan, to participate in other ways.
If this initiative speaks to you, you will find all practical information and registration details here.
Coincidence and synchronicity
On October 26 2025, twenty-four Buddhist monks and their dog Aloka, set out to walk across the United States for peace. You can read more about their journey on their Facebook page.
When we set out on October 25, we were also twenty-four, accompanied by a dog, taking the first step of our peace pilgrimage across Europe and beyond.
We see this striking coincidence, this synchronicity, as a subtle testament to the deep kinship that unites all beings in their desire for peace and harmony.
It strengthens our inner conviction: we must set out into the world today to bear witness to this shared humanity.