At the house where St. Stanislaus Kostka lived
The pilgrimage began in the Chapel of St. Stanislaus Kostka at Kurrentgasse 2, in the house where the saint lived during his stay in Vienna. The pilgrims were blessed by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Vienna, Josef Grünwidl.
“I am very happy that we began our pilgrimage in the chapel of the house where St. Stanislaus Kostka lived. It is an extraordinarily beautiful place, yet still little known. This makes it all the more worthwhile to discover it as an important stop on the saint’s journey to Rome,” – emphasized Bishop Stułkowski.
Following this, a Mass was celebrated at the Church of the Nine Choirs of Angels on Am Hof Square, presided over by the Bishop of Płock. The Eucharist was concelebrated by, among others, Archbishop Andrzej Przybylski, Metropolitan of Katowice, Auxiliary Bishop Grzegorz Olszowski of the Archdiocese of Katowice, priests from the Diocese of Płock, and Polish priests who serve daily in Vienna.
A busload of pilgrims from Płock also arrived for the inauguration, along with a group of 50 young people participating in a retreat in the Beskids. “They came to Vienna specifically to participate in the Holy Mass marking the start of the pilgrimage,” reported the Bishop of Płock.
In the Footsteps of the Saint from Rostków
The group from the Diocese of Płock undertook the first stage of the pilgrimage. Fr. Adam Gnyp from Ciechanów and Fr. Maciej Szostak from Drobin set out on the route along with pilgrims from Ciechanów, Drobin, and Płock.
“The first day is short. It’s only 16 kilometers—a warm-up stage before the coming weeks on the road,” said Bishop Stułkowski with a smile.
The pilgrimage is organized as a relay. Successive sections of the route will be covered by rotating groups of participants, forming a single community of prayer and journey. They are accompanied by a reliquary case containing the relics of St. Stanisław Kostka and St. Carlo Acutis.
Prayer for New Vocations
The jubilee pilgrimage, organized to mark the 300th anniversary of the canonization of Stanisław Kostka, is first and foremost a prayer for new and holy vocations to service in the Church.
The Bishop of Płock encourages everyone to participate spiritually in this endeavor. “I invite everyone to visit the pilgrimage’s website and, in the ‘Prayer’ tab, light virtual flames of prayer. It is a simple gesture, but a very important one, because prayer for new vocations is the main intention of this entire event,” he told Vatican News.
The website kostka300.pl will feature reports from the route, testimonies, and information about the next stages of the pilgrimage. An app is also available there that allows users to join in prayer for vocations.
With the Pope’s blessing
It is worth recalling that the pilgrimage received the Holy Father’s blessing. During an audience on May 27, Pope Leo XIV learned about the project, blessed the reliquary case accompanying the pilgrims, and lit the first virtual flame of prayer for vocations.
The jubilee pilgrimage is one of the most important events marking the 300th anniversary of the canonization of St. Stanislaus Kostka, which falls in December of this year. It combines remembrance of the patron saint of youth with prayer for those who are discerning their life’s vocation today.
Fr. Łukasz Bankowski – Vatican
