In Cammino pilgrimage to European Abbeys ahead of the Jubilee stops off in Holland

In Cammino, a modern pilgrimage to the Abbeys of Europe ahead of the 2025 Jubilee, has progressed to its twelfth and thirteenth stops. Tomorrow, September 13, it will reach Holland, with a visit to the Trappist Abbey of Notre-Dame of Koningshoeven, founded in 1881 near the town of Tilburg.

The complex is known both as an important spiritual center and as the Abbey that produces the beer La Trappe. Indeed, it is the only Dutch monastery (the others are in Belgium) to be able to boast the “Authentic Trappist Product (ATP)” label. But there is another unusual feature of the abbey’s production: La Trappe is a completely ecological and environmentally friendly beer, as the monks have adopted a system to save and purify water, thanks to a filtering greenhouse made up of 70 different species of plants and ferns. The process is unique in Europe.

After their visit to the Abbey, the delegation from In Cammino will reach the town of Tilburg, where the LocHal is located, one of the most impressive cultural centers in the country. It is based in an old railway depot which has been renovated and converted into a civic library and multifunctional space, equipped with cutting-edge technology.

The word chosen for the pilgrimage stops in the Netherlands is: ‘Purity’. In the Werkplaats Hall of the LocHal, at 2 pm the conference “Times and places of sustainability: from the recovery of architectural spaces to agriculture, and the purity of what we eat and drink” will begin, chaired by Professor Livia Pomodoro, holder of the Unesco Chair of “Food Systems for Sustainable Development and Social Inclusion” at the University of Milan. Then, at 4 pm, there will be a concert by the Combo Jazz quartet, The Buddy’s, who will perform a selection of New Orleans Jazz, blues and swing.

On September 14, the delegation will move on to the town of Heeswijk-Dinther, where the Berne Abbey is located. Built in 1134, it is in the care of the Premonstratensian Canons, also known as the Norbertines, from the name of their founder Norbert of Prémontré. The community has a close bond with the land, and they have established a gymnasium, a publishing house with an attached printing facility and the “Holie Hub”, a special meeting and work facility which focuses on issues of sustainability.

At Berne Abbey, at 11 am there will be a video presentation by journalist Massimo Sebastiani, creator and curator of the Ansa column [Ansa is Italy’s main press agency] “La Parola della Settimana” [The Word of the Week] who will illustrate the etymology and history of the word “Purity”. At 12 noon there will be a meeting with the Master Brewer, while at 2 pm there will be a meeting with the Norbertine Fathers and a guided tour of the Abbey.

Professor Pomodoro, who is also President of the Spazio Teatro No’hma in Milan said:  “It was so surprising to discover such interesting places as the Koningshoeven Abbey,  with the commitment of the Trappist monks to purify the water of their brewery in a natural and sustainable way. Another surprise was the LocHal in Tilburg, which is a perfect example of the recovery of an industrial building now being made available to the wider community and especially to young people. This is important for a university town like Tilburg. And how could we not mention the Abbey of Berne, where the Norbertines are in direct and constant dialogue with the land and wider society? Beauty and purity co-exist in these places, which are so different from each other, yet also so similar.”

In Cammino – Abbeys of Europe started in 2023, and by 2025, the year of the Jubilee, will have crossed Europe, with stops in seven nations (England, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, and Italy) and visits to many prestigious Abbeys on the continent. The final destination will be Rome.