General Assistance
The pilgrimage is a journey of prayer, mortification and detachment, but hardly deprivation.
There are seven Divisions of the pilgrimage organization — from brigades to choirs, and chaplains to altar servers.
For two decades of charity in imitation of their blessed Patron, the pilgrim-volunteers of the Company of St. René Goupîl (CSRG), for example, have assisted weary, thirsty, hungry and foot-sore pilgrims every step of the way.
CSRGers keep pilgrims supplied with water throughout, and also provide first-aid during rest stops and at the end of the day.
The Company also transports pilgrims’ luggage & gear from camp to camp each day.
In addition, the Company shadows the brigades in vans, transporting those who can no longer walk or (in rare emergency) conveying the sick to hospital.
Those pilgrims who cannot meet the physical demands may ride in the vans until refreshed, or may join the “modified pilgrimage”, spending more time in the camps praying, confessing and receiving spiritual counsel from a chaplain.
Shuttle Service
Pilgrims arriving via public transportation* and all those needing to recover their vehicles at the end of Sunday’s events can request (in advance) the shuttle service offered this year (2021) on Thursday, September 23 — the day before step-off.
With your request & confirmed itinerary in hand, CSRG volunteers will shuttle you to the check-in point (required) and to your accommodations in Hamburg, PA (2021) from the public transportation terminal*, or — for those driving their own vehicles — from the designated parking lot directly behind St. Stephen of Hungary Church in downtown Allentown.
* e.g., in 2021 Lehigh Valley Internat’l Airport or the downtown Allentown bus terminal at the corner of Hamilton St & American Pkwy [ Albany International Airport, NYS in 2019 ]
Pilgrims may request the shuttle service only after registering.
Click here to request the shuttle
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Finalizing your itinerary
Before finalizing public transportation (PT) reservations, pilgrims traveling via PT must confirm with the CSRGer in charge of shuttling to make sure Company volunteers can meet PT arrival- and departure-times.
Additional answers to frequently asked questions about transportation etc. can be found in the online FAQs.