From Lade to the Cathedral

At the beginning of the evening on St Olavs Eve, there is a walking pilgrimage service, with one part starting from the west of the cathedral at Sverresborg and the other to the east at Lade. They follow the pilgrim trail at the start, but then come together at Vår Frue Kirke for two more stops before the pilgrims enter the cathedral.

I walked out the couple of kilometres to Lade kirke and joined the start of the eastern segment there. There weren't that many people there, but I knew that more would be waiting along the way to join the throng.

Along the way, we were also joined by pilgrims who had timed their arrival in Trondheim so that they finished their pilgrimage as part of this walking pilgrimage. They arrived carrying their packs and looking very much like they had already done a long day's walking.

The three Finnish women who had been staying at the same places as me for the last few days were there, and one of them led two of the stages between the churches and then the final walk into the cathedral. I have often wondered how this is decided because, for a committed believer, it must be an honour to be chosen for these and some other roles during the evening services.

The large American group were waiting in Vår Frue kirke, but it had become quite crowded, and I didn't speak to any of them there. One of the Norwegian men guiding them waved, and we exchanged pleasantries but didn't catch up to chat until after the midnight service.

As we circled the Cathedral Square, I saw the Dutch woman, Floor, who had been walking from Åre in Sweden. I met her a couple of weeks ago at Stalljärnstuggan, and we had stayed at the same places until Vuku. It was rather touching that she had waited to see me finish. She did reveal some interesting pieces of information, including that someone had reported me to the Pilgrim Office as a homeless person. When the Pilgrim Office informed the police, they quickly responded that I was 'one of theirs', i,e, a pilgrim. Certainly, walking with a trailer seems to have attracted more attention than I had anticipated.Read more