In addition to the large pilgrimage sites Weingarten and Reute, the parish of Bergatreute also has a historic pilgrimage day to Our Lady of the Blood, which triggered a large stream of pilgrims for the first time 335 years ago. Due to the pandemic, the pilgrimage festival will take place in a different setting this year, the Bergatreute parish announced.
On July 1st, a Marian vigil ceremony with a sacramental blessing will take place at 7 p.m. to get in the mood for the pilgrimage day. The festive divine service on July 2nd will be held twice, at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., each time with a sermon in the pilgrimage church and broadcast to the seating area in front of the church. According to the announcement, dean Elmar Spöckle from the Upper Palatinate pilgrimage site of Habsberg will be the preacher at both services.
As there can be no corridor procession this year either, a special path of reflection will be set up along the procession path, as was the case last year. In this way, the believers can go their personal pilgrimage to the Mother of God, which they experience until July 11th with the various stations and ends in silent prayer in the house of God with the miraculous image of Mary of the Blood.
The origin of this bleeding Madonna can be traced back to a stone thrown by a sinister in 1494 in Re, northern Italy. A copy of a picture of grace was brought to the Bohemian town of Klattau by a chimney sweep. From there, in 1686 another image, which came to Bergatreute through family relationships of the pastor at that time, triggered a secondary pilgrimage in the Upper Swabian town.
The feast of the Visitation of Mary was celebrated as the main day of pilgrimage in Bergatreute in the early 18th century in honor of Our Lady of the Blood. After bans as a result of the secularization of Upper Swabia and after restrictions during the time of National Socialism, a smaller pilgrimage festival without procession and community celebration will take place again this year due to the pandemic.
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