Pilgrimage to Rome with 300 pilgrims

European shooters cheer enthusiastically for Pope Leo.

Rome. The largest pilgrimage of shooters in the Holy Year was described by the nearly 300 participants as emotional and touching. The encounter with the Holy Father contributed greatly to this. Leo XIV waved to the pilgrims of the European community of historic guilds and the Knighthood of Holy Sebastian in Europe. ‘He was within reach,’ said one pilgrim, describing the brief moment when the popemobile drove past the cheering shooters. The pilgrims, who were presented as a group at the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, experienced six eventful days in Rome. Although the departure was fraught with obstacles for some, in the end everyone praised the excellent preparation and intensive support provided by Marion Stimmel. The group was led in Rome by General Secretary Peter-Olaf Hoffmann, an experienced pilgrim to Rome, who skilfully organised the two large masses with Berlin Archbishop Heiner Koch (in St. Peter’s Basilica and in San Sebastiano al Palatino) and the music parade on the Via della Concilliazione as a sign of solidarity. In San Sebastiano, the Knighthood welcomed 22 new members through a ceremony performed by Grand Master Karl von Habsburg, including Andre Kuper, President of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Parliament, and Robert Hoppe, Federal Master of Marksmen, who were awarded the rank of Officer.

In his sermons, Archbishop Koch, who has close ties to the shooters, called for a personal decision for the faith. In his address, the Pope had called for active charity and standing up for peace. Karl von Habsburg, who is involved in many ways in supporting Ukraine, called for continued support for the beleaguered country. In Germany, he sees the Russian Orthodox Church as an extension of Putin’s arm. During a visit to the Campo Santo Teutonico (where a cheque for 5,000 euros was presented), European Shooters’ President Albert Henri Prince de Merode emphasised how essential the idea of freedom is for Europe.

Among the pilgrims in Rome were Prince Hubertus zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, former Grand Master of the Federation of Historic German Shooting Clubs, and North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament members Vanessa Odermatt and Jochen Klenner. The Belgian-Dutch Noble Order of the Papagay accompanied the pilgrimage of the European shooters and honoured Bishop Koch, Prince de Merode and Prince Sayn-Wittgenstein as honorary commanders of the community. European Shooters Vice President Horst Thoren and his wife Gundhild, who were recently married, were given special seats and were able to speak with the Pope. Thoren presented Leo XIV with the Europa-Schützen-Willi doll as a sign of the enthusiasm of the custom, which also reaches children and wins them over to the message of honest joy and Christian friendship. The pilgrimage to Rome, which was also attended by European Prince Maksymilian Kuropa, was marked by the charisma of the new Pope, who, with his warmth and openness, turned all pilgrims into missionaries of togetherness.