For the fiftieth consecutive year, the hills of Burgundy became the spiritual heart of Europe. From October 30 to November 2, nearly 3,600 young Scouts d’Europe from various countries across the continent participated in the traditional Vézelay pilgrimage, an event that unites prayer, fraternity, and Christian commitment. This year, the event—which commemorated half a century of history—particularly attracted young newcomers to the Route, eager to discover the spiritual dimension of Catholic scouting.
A generation seeking meaning and depth
In the church of Notre-Dame-de-Saint-Père, a few kilometers from Vézelay, around 500 young people aged 17 to 19 sang liturgical chants in unison during the All Saints’ Mass. “Who is coming to Vézelay for the first time?”, asked Martin de Villeneuve, national commissioner of the senior branch of Scouts d’Europe. More than half raised their hands. An image that speaks for itself: Catholic scouting remains a school of faith and interior life for a youth seeking meaning amid the digital noise and contemporary superficiality.
“The young people who arrive here discover what almost no longer exists: silence, prayer, and authentic fraternity,” explained De Villeneuve. Each day includes a time for route hour, a daily moment of silence and contemplation. “For an hour, without notifications or screens, each one questions the direction of their life. It’s an exercise that seems impossible today, but one that transforms the heart”.
The Belgian presence, a testimony of European communion
Among the thousands of participants, the 180 Belgian routiers who traveled to France to join the jubilee stood out. Their presence is the fruit of a tradition that has already surpassed four decades, consolidating a friendship between the Scouts d’Europe of both countries. “For us, Vézelay is an experience that has no equivalent in Belgium,” said David, a young Flemish man. “We march together, pray together, and sing with them… that unites us more than any border”.
Pierre-Marie, group leader in Arlon, added: “Coming here is living an authentic community of men, recharging energies to return to our families, to work, to everyday life”.
The Dominican Laurent Mathelot, from the Diocese of Liège, shared his enthusiasm on social media: “Imagine 3,500 scouts who have walked for four days, cooked over a wood fire, and slept outdoors. And then see them filling the Basilica of Saint Mary Magdalene with their chants and prayers… It’s a spectacle of living faith”.
A route that becomes a school for the soul
More than an event, the Vézelay pilgrimage is a profound spiritual experience. For four days, the young people traverse rural paths, alternating marching, silence, prayer, Eucharistic adoration, and fraternal life. In the nighttime camps, around the fire, the leaders and chaplains transmit teachings on service, vocation, and Christian commitment.
This jubilee year, the Basilica of Saint Mary Magdalene once again hosted the final Mass, after several years of restorations. It was the culminating moment: thousands of male voices resounding in the temple, intoning hymns that express a simple but firm faith.
The “Kyrie des gueux”: the prayer that opens the soul of the routiers
Upon entering the basilica, the young Scouts d’Europe intoned the “Kyrie des gueux”, a traditional chant composed by Jacques Chailley and inspired by the ancient “Wir zogen in das Feld”, a German military hymn from 1540. This hymn was created during the route pilgrimage to Puy-en-Velay and has since become a spiritual symbol of the Route.
Its grave notes and solemn rhythm evoke the humility of the sinner who, weary and poor, prostrates himself before Christ to implore his mercy: “Kyrie, eleison”. In the dim light of the basilica, thousands of male voices intoned this ancestral chant with a force that shook the very stones of the temple.
The “Kyrie des gueux”, passed down from generation to generation, summarizes the spirit of Vézelay: the union between the virile strength of commitment and the tenderness of the Christian soul, between inner struggle and the prayer that rises from human weakness toward heaven.
Sources: Famille Chrétienne / CathoBel