The 85 Russian pilgrims – most from Moscow, but also from parishes in St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Vladimir, and other cities in northern Russia – had been planning their archdiocesan Jubilee pilgrimage to Rome for ages. Despite various difficulties, they arrived in the Eternal City, where on March 12 they had been scheduled to be received by Pope Francis.

That meeting, of course, was impossible due to the Pope’s hospitalisation at the Gemelli Hospital. The Russian pilgrims, though, led by their Archbishop, Paolo Pezzi, the head of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God at Moscow, still wanted to be present with the Pope, and subsequently walked from Rome’s Cornelia Metro station to the Gemelli Hospital, a journey of more than four kilometres. There, they gathered around the statue of St John Paul II to pray for the recovery of Jorge Mario Bergoglio – who the Moscow auxiliary Bishop Nikolaj Gennad'evič Dubinin described as “a great pope” in remarks to Vatican Media.

A walking pilgrimage

Together with Archbishop Pezzi, Bishop Dubinin, a conventual Franciscan, is accompanying the group of Russian pilgrims, comprised of a dozen priests, two nuns and numerous lay faithful.

“It is a diverse group, mostly Russians but also Poles, Belarusians, Germans, Armenians,” the Bishop said. He explained, “It is not easy to organise a pilgrimage for Russian citizens at this time. We are therefore very grateful because various people and organizations have helped us to experience the Jubilee.”

The pilgrimage which is taking place from 10 to 15 March, includes passing through the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica, praying the Stations of the Cross in the Vatican Gardens, and visiting the other Papal Basilicas.

Wednesday was dedicated entirely to Pope Francis. For about an hour, before the large statue of Pope John Paul II the group recited the Rosary in Russian and the Litany to Our Lady in Latin, in which they were joined by others gathered outside the hospital.

Spiritual closeness

“We had planned the meeting with the Holy Father, we know that the Pope also cared a lot,” Bishop Dubinin said. “We understood that we could not see him physically, but we tried to meet him spiritually, to intensify our spiritual bonds with him. Each pilgrim experienced this moment intensely. The meeting with the Pope had been highly anticipated, but we felt very strongly the closeness with him.”

Bishop Dubinin told Vatican Media that Pope Francis is much loved by the Russian faithful: “There is a strong bond, we know that he prays for our Church. We are grateful to him and try to live unity. We also remember the online meeting with our young people and various moments in which he expressed suffering, all evangelical, for a peace that is not there.”

Invocation of peace

Along with prayers for Pope Francis’ recovery, “peace” is the main theme of this trip to Rome by the faithful from Russia: “We keep [peace] in our hearts, because peace is what the Lord wants, and the lack of peace is a great suffering for everyone,” the Bishop said, adding, “We are suffering from divisions, from hatred, from these situations of conflict.”

Bishop Dubinin appealed for prayers, saying, “Let us pray to the Lord to give us that peace that we are not able to build on our own.”

And he insisted, “It is not right to say that the world wants war... It is a part of the world that wants it and that claims to be ‘the whole’ world. Peace is a gift from God and those who believe want nothing but peace.”